“I believe it to be true that if men were virtuous, they would have no friends.” — Montesquieu Copy Share Image
“Every man is capable of doing good to another, but to contribute to the happiness of an entire society is to become akin to… — Montesquieu Copy Share
“We are so blind that we know neither when to mourn, nor when to rejoice; our mirth and our sadness are nearly always false.” — Montesquieu Copy Share
“The desire for glory is no different from that instinct for preservation that is common to all creatures. It is as if we enhance… — Montesquieu Copy Share
“The public revenues are a portion that each subject gives of his property, in order to secure or enjoy the remainder.” — Montesquieu Copy Share
“The right of conquest is not a right. A society can be founded only with the consent of its members. If it is destroyed… — Montesquieu Copy Share
“One of them said to me once, “I believe in the immortality of the soul for six months at a time; my opinions depend… — Montesquieu Copy Share
“History is full of religious wars; but, we must take care to observe, it was not the multiplicity of religions that produced these wars,… — Montesquieu Copy Share
“[92] Plato, in his fourth book of Laws, says that the præfectures of music and gymnic exercises are the most important employments in the… — Montesquieu Copy Share
“As with their fashions, so is it with their customs and style of living: French manners change with the age of the king. The… — Montesquieu Copy Share
“MOST legislators have been men of inferior capacity whom chance exalted over their fellows, and who took counsel almost exclusively of their own prejudices… — Montesquieu Copy Share
“Democratic and aristocratic states are not in their own nature free. Political liberty is to be found only in moderate governments; and even in… — Montesquieu Copy Share
“I can assure you that no kingdom has ever had as many civil wars as the kingdom of Christ.” — Montesquieu Copy Share
“I have seen descriptions of Paradise sufficient to make all sensible people give up their hopes of it.” — Montesquieu Copy Share
“I believe it to be true that if men were virtuous, they would have no friends.” — Montesquieu Copy Share
