Fain would I glide down a gentle river, but I am carried away by a torrent.
BARON DE MONTESQUIEUEurope is a state with several provinces
More Baron de Montesquieu Quotes
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It is rare to find learned men who are clean, do not stink and have a sense of humour.
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Each citizen contributes to the revenues of the State a portion of his property in order that his tenure of the rest may be secure.
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Political liberty is to be found only in moderate governments.
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It is requisite the government be so constituted as one man need not be afraid of another.
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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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A fondness for reading changes the inevitable dull hours of our life into exquisite hours of delight.
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There is no crueler tyranny than that which is perpetuated under the shield of law and in the name of justice.
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Raillery is a mode of speaking in favor of one’s wit at the expense of one’s better nature.
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A man who writes well writes not as others write, but as he himself writes; it is often in speaking badly that he speaks well.
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Great commanders write their actions with simplicity; because they receive more glory from facts than from words.
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Friendship is a contract in which we render small services in expectation of big ones.
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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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Passion makes us feel, but never see clearly.
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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.
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When the savages of Louisiana wish to have fruit, they cut the tree at the bottom and gather the fruit. That is exactly a despotic government.
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What unhappy beings men are! They constantly waver between false hopes and silly fears, and instead of relying on reason they create monsters to frighten themselves with, and phantoms which lead them astray.
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No kingdom has shed more blood than the kingdom of Christ.
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The public business must be carried on with a certain motion, neither too quick nor too slow.
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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.
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An empire founded by war has to maintain itself by war.
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Experience constantly proves that every man who has power is impelled to abuse it; he goes on till he is pulled up by some limits. Who would say it! virtue even has need of limits.
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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.
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The state is the association of men, and not men themselves; the citizen may perish, and the man remain.
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If I knew something that would serve my country but would harm mankind, I would never reveal it; for I am a citizen of humanity first and by necessity, and a citizen of France second, and only by accident
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A nation may lose its liberties in a day and not miss them in a century.
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The mood and temper of the public in regard to the treatment of crime and criminals is one of the most unfailing tests of the civilisation of any country.
BARON DE MONTESQUIEU