Quotes from Baron de Montesquieu

The history of commerce is that of the communication of the people.

Honor is unknown in despotic states.

As virtue is necessary in a republic, and honor in a monarchy, fear is what is required in a despotism. As for virtue, it is not at all necessary, and honor would be dangerous there.

Liberty is the right of doing whatever the laws permit.

There is something in animals beside the power of motion. They are not machines; they feel.

There is as yet no liberty if the power of judging be not separated from legislative power and the executrix

Power should be a check on power.

The Christian religion is a stranger to mere despotic power. The mildness so frequently recommended in the Gospel is incompatible with the despotic rage.

The power of divorce can be given only to those who feel the inconveniences of marriage, and who are sensible of the moment when it is for their interest to make them cease.

Knowledge humanizes mankind, and reason inclines to mildness; but prejudices eradicate every tender disposition.

Do you think that God will punish them for not practicing a religion which he did not reveal to them?

Although born in a prosperous realm, we did not believe that its boundaries should limit our knowledge, and that the lore of the East should alone enlighten us.

You have to study a great deal to know a little.

It is rare to find learned men who are clean, do not stink and have a sense of humour.

Study has been for me the sovereign remedy against all the disappointments of life. I have never known any trouble that an hour's reading would not dissipate.

The state is the association of men, and not men themselves; the citizen may perish, and the man remain.

The success of most things depends upon knowing how long it will take to succeed.

Life was given to me as a favor, so I may abandon it when it is one no longer.

There is no one, says another, whom fortune does not visit once in his life; but when she does not find him ready to receive her, she walks in at the door, and flies out at the window.

Vitam Impendere Vero (I consecrate my life to truth).

A fondness for reading changes the inevitable dull hours of our life into exquisite hours of delight.

The English are busy; they don't have time to be polite.

In the infancy of societies, the chiefs of the state shape its institutions; later the institutions shape the chiefs of state.

The English are busy folk; they have no time in which to be polite.