Nature, in her wisdom, seems to have arranged it so that men's stupidities should be ephemeral, and books make them immortal. A fool ought to be cont… - Montesquieu

Nature, in her wisdom, seems to have arranged it so that men's stupidity should be ephemeral, and books make them immortal. A fool ought to be content having exacerbated everyone around him, but he insists tormenting future generations.

If only we wanted to be happy, it would be easy; but we want to be happier than other people, which is difficult, since we think them happier than they are.

Il est vrai qu'elles ne s'y livrent guère dans leur jeunesse que pour favoriser une passion plus chère; mais, à mesure qu'elles vieillissent, leur passion pour le jeu semble rajeunir, et cette passion remplit tout le vide des autres. Elles veulent ruiner leurs maris et, pour y parvenir, elles ont des moyens pour tous les âges, depuis la plus tendre jeunesse jusques à la vieillesse la plus décrépite : les habits et les équipages commencent le dérangement; la coquetterie l'augmente; le jeu l'achève.

CHAP. I.: Of the Spirit of a Legislator. I SAY it, and methinks I have undertaken this work with no other view than to prove it; the spirit of a legislator ought to be that of moderation; political, like moral evil, lying always between two extremes. Let us produce an example. The set forms of justice are necessary to liberty; but the number of them might be so great as to be contrary to the end of the very laws that established them; processes would have no end; property would be uncertain; the goods of one of the parties would be adjudged to the other without examining, or they would both be ruined by examining too much. The citizens would lose their liberty and security; the accusers would no longer have any means to convict, nor the accused to justify themselves.