As soon as man enters into a state of society he loses the sense of his weakness; equality ceases, and then commences the state of war.
BARON DE MONTESQUIEUInjustice towards others is a threat to everybody
More Baron de Montesquieu Quotes
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The coffee is prepared in such a way that it makes those who drink it witty: at least there is not a single soul who, on quitting the house, does not believe himself four times wittier that when he entered it.
BARON DE MONTESQUIEU -
Not to be loved is a misfortune, but it is an insult to be loved no longer.
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Friendship is a contract in which we render small services in expectation of big ones.
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The alms given to a naked man in the street do not fulfil the obligations of the state, which owes to every citizen a certain subsistence, a proper nourishment, convenient clothing, and a kind of life not incompatible with health.
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The harshest tyranny is that which acts under the protection of legality and the banner of justice.
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I shall ever repeat it, that mankind are governed not by extremes, but by principals of moderation.
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[The Pope] will make the king believe that three are only one, that the bread he eats is not bread… and a thousand other things of the same kind.
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Man is a social animal formed to please in society.
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Success in the majority of circumstances depends on knowing how long it takes to succeed.
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If one only wished to be happy, this could be easily accomplished; but we wish to be happier that other people, and this is always difficult, for we believe others to be happier than they are. you are comparing your lot with an ideal which is of course better and therefore you feel worse
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When we seek after wit, we discover only foolishness.
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I suffer from the disease of writing books and being ashamed of them when they are finished.
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In republican governments, men are all equal; equal they are also in despotic governments: in the former, because they are everything; in the latter, because they are nothing.
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To succeed in the world we must look foolish but be wise.
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Political liberty in a citizen is that tranquillity of spirit which comes from the opinion each one has of his security, and in order for him to have this liberty the government must be such that one citizen cannot fear another citizen.
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If I knew of something that could serve my nation but would ruin another, I would not propose it to my prince, for I am first a man and only then a Frenchman… because I am necessarily a man, and only accidentally am I French.
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Solemnity is the shield of idiots
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When the [law making] and [law enforcement] powers are united in the same person… there can be no liberty.
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Men, who are rogues individually, are in the mass very honorable people.
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There is a very good saying that if triangles invented a god, they would make him three-sided.
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Democracy is corrupted not only when the spirit of equality is corrupted, but likewise when they fall into a spirit of extreme equality.
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One more organ or one less in our body would give us a different intelligence. In fact, all the established laws as to why our body is a certain way would be different if our body were not that way.
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Politics are a smooth file, which cuts gradually, and attains its end by slow progression.
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Friendship is an arrangement by which we undertake to exchange small favors for big ones.
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I never listen to calumnies, because if they are untrue I run the risk of being deceived, and if they be true, of hating persons not worth thinking about.
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Virtue has needs of limits.
BARON DE MONTESQUIEU