102 Quotes by Montesquieu

There is only one thing that can form a bond between men, and that is gratitude... we cannot give someone else greater power over us than we have ourselves.

Happy the people whose annals are tiresome.

Republics end through luxury; monarchies through poverty.

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.

What orators lack in depth they make up for in length.

It is always the adventurers who do great things, not the sovereigns of great empires.

The severity of the laws prevents their execution.

An author is a fool who, not content with boring those he lives with, insists on boring future generations.

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