French - Philosopher | January 18, 1689 - February 10, 1755
Each particular society begins to feel its strength, whence arises a state of war between different nations.
Montesquieu
StrengthWarSocietyFeelBegins
Life was given to me as a favor, so I may abandon it when it is one no longer.
LifeMeMayFavorAbandonGiven
People here argue about religion interminably, but it appears that they are competing at the same time to see who can be the least devout.
TimeReligionPeopleSameSeeHere
Men, who are rogues individually, are in the mass very honorable people.
MenPeopleHonorableWhoMassVery
They who assert that a blind fatality produced the various effects we behold in this world talk very absurdly; for can anything be more unreasonable than to pretend that a blind fatality could be productive of intelligent beings?
WorldBlindIntelligentTalkMore
There should be weeping at a man's birth, not at his death.
DeathManBirthShouldHisWeeping
The less men think, the more they talk.
MenThinkTalkMoreLess
Luxury ruins republics; poverty, monarchies.
PovertyLuxuryRuinsRepublics
An empire founded by war has to maintain itself by war.
WarEmpireMaintainItselfFounded
There is no greater tyranny than that which is perpetrated under the shield of the law and in the name of justice.
JusticeLawNameTyrannyGreater
We must have constantly present in our minds the difference between independence and liberty. Liberty is a right of doing whatever the laws permit, and if a citizen could do what they forbid he would no longer be possessed of liberty.
IndependencePresentDoingLiberty
False happiness renders men stern and proud, and that happiness is never communicated. True happiness renders them kind and sensible, and that happiness is always shared.
HappinessMenProudTrue Happiness
Copyright © 2024 QuotesDict Montesquieu quotes