102 Quotes by Montesquieu

Democratic and aristocratic states are not in their own nature free. Political liberty is to be found only in moderate governments; and even in these it is not always found. It is there only when there is no abuse of power. But constant experience shows us that every man invested with power is apt to abuse it, and to carry his authority as far as it will go.

I have never known any distress that an hour’s reading did not relieve.

Aimer lire, c'est faire un échange des heures d'ennui contre des heures délicieuses.

I can assure you that no kingdom has ever had as many civil wars as the kingdom of Christ.

Ne pas être aimé est un malheur, mais c'est une insulte de ne plus être aimé.

We were born in a flourishing realm, but we did not believe that its boundaries were those of our knowledge.

[An author is] a fool who, not content with boring everyone around him during his lifetime, insists on boring generations yet to come.

The political men of Greece who lived under popular government recognized no other force to sustain it than virtue. Those of today speak to us only of manufacturing, commerce, finance, wealth, and even luxury.

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.