...when the laws have ceased to be executed, as this can only come from the corruption of the republic, the state is already lost. - Montesquieu

At the birth of societies, it is leaders of republics who bring about the institution, and thereafter it is the institution that forms the leaders of the republic

In the end, the public renders justice. Here’s the reason: the votes of the wise are constant, but fools’ votes are various, change constantly, and cancel each other out.

In a free nation, it matters not whether individuals reason well or ill; it is sufficient that they do reason. Truth arises from the collision and from hence springs liberty, which is a security from the effects of reasoning.