Slavery, properly so called, is the establishment of a right which gives to one man such a power over another as renders him absolute master of his life and fortune.
BARON DE MONTESQUIEUPeople here argue about religion interminably, but it appears that they are competing at the same time to see who can be the least devout.
More Baron de Montesquieu Quotes
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It is clear that in a monarchy, where he who commands the exceution of the laws generally thinks himself above them, there is lessneed of virtue than in a popular government, where the person entrusted with the execution of the laws is sensible of his being subject to their direction.
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Friendship is a contract in which we render small services in expectation of big ones.
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The less men think, the more they talk.
BARON DE MONTESQUIEU -
The state is the association of men, and not men themselves; the citizen may perish, and the man remain.
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An author is a fool who, not content with boring those he lives with, insists on boring future generations.
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Republics come to an end by luxurious habits; monarchies by poverty.
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In the infancy of societies, the chiefs of state shape its institutions; later the institutions shape the chiefs of state.
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The spirit of moderation should also be the spirit of the lawgiver.
BARON DE MONTESQUIEU -
Solemnity is the shield of idiots
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The Christian religion is a stranger to mere despotic power. The mildness so frequently recommended in the Gospel is incompatible with the despotic rage.
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Liberty is the right to do what the law permits.
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The prejudices of superstition are superior to all others, and have the strongest influence on the human mind.
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I should like to abolish funerals; the time to mourn a person is at his birth, not his death.
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The English are busy; they don’t have time to be polite.
BARON DE MONTESQUIEU -
A good writer does not write as people write, but as he writes.
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When the body of the people is possessed of the supreme power, it is called a democracy.
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If triangles had a god, he would have three sides.
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Honor sets all the parts of the body politic in motion, and by its very action connects them; thus each individual advances the public good, while he only thinks of promoting his own interest.
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Luxury ruins republics; poverty, monarchies.
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When a government lasts a long while, it deteriorates by insensible degrees. Republics end through luxury, monarchies through poverty.
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Those who have few affairs to attend to are great speakers. The less men think, the more they talk.
BARON DE MONTESQUIEU -
The reason the Romans built their great paved highways was because they had such inconvenient footwear.
BARON DE MONTESQUIEU -
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.
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The less luxury there is in a republic, the more it is perfect.
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It is always the adventurers who do great things, not the sovereigns of great empires.
BARON DE MONTESQUIEU -
There is as yet no liberty if the power of judging be not separated from legislative power and the executrix
BARON DE MONTESQUIEU