--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: according to Montesquieu, the persons…" description: "\"“according to Montesquieu, the persons, the liberties, the property, mankind itself, are nothing but materials to exercise the sagacity of lawgivers.\" ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e70/frederic-bastiat-2151_freedom_according-to-montesquieu-the-persons-the_1277654.png" --- # according to Montesquieu, the persons, the liberties, the… ![“according to Montesquieu, the persons, the liberties, the property, mankind itself, are nothing but materials to exercise the sagacity of lawgivers." Rousseau.” quote by Frédéric Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e70/frederic-bastiat-2151_freedom_according-to-montesquieu-the-persons-the_1277654.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e70/frederic-bastiat-2151_freedom_according-to-montesquieu-the-persons-the_1277654.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e70/frederic-bastiat-2151_freedom_according-to-montesquieu-the-persons-the_1277654.png) > ““according to Montesquieu, the persons, the liberties, the property, mankind itself, are nothing but materials to exercise the sagacity of lawgivers." Rousseau.”” [Frédéric Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Lawmakers treat people, freedoms, and property as tools to test legal wisdom, reducing humans to mere material. **In simple terms:** Law treats people as legal material. Key Takeaway Question the use of law as a tool. Themes law property human dignity philosophy politics Mood critical analytical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - policy drafting - civil rights advocacy - education - public discourse Key Concepts legal theory human rights materialism Questions to Reflect On - How does law balance material and moral? - Can rights be reduced to legal assets? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on law can ignore moral considerations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Montesquieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/montesquieu/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [“I have always been interested in this man . My father had a set of Tom Paine 's books on the shelf at home.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/i-have-always-been-interested-in-this-man-my-father-had-a-set-of-tom/) [Thomas A. 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Imagine a congress of eminent celebrities, such as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-acton/there-is-no-error-so-monstrous-that-it-fails-to-find-defenders-among/) [Lord Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-acton/) > [ Montesquieu well knew, and justly admired, the happy constitution of this country \[Great Britain\], where fixed and known laws equally restrain monarchy from tyranny… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/montesquieu-well-knew-and-justly-admired-the-happy-constitution-of/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [Montesquieu had the style of a genius; Buffon, the genius of style.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-melchior-baron-von-grimm/montesquieu-had-the-style-of-a-genius-buffon-the-genius-of-style/) Friedrich Melchior, Baron von Grimm > [We may like well to know what is Plato’s and what is Montesquieu’s or Goethe’s part, and what thought was always dear to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/we-may-like-well-to-know-what-is-plato-s-and-what-is-montesquieu-s-or/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [ \[Montesquieu\] lifted the veil from the venerable errors which enslaved opinion, and pointed the way to those luminous truths of which he had but… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/montesquieu-lifted-the-veil-from-the-venerable-errors-which-enslaved/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [Many a person who could not comprehend Rousseau, and would be puzzled by Montesquieu, could understand Paine as an open book. 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His words, as light as wings, bear on them grave reflections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/the-lively-phraseology-of-montesquieu-was-the-result-of-long/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [Jefferson, Madison and many others taught that complex laws and codes were sure signs of oppression. They agreed with Montesquieu, Lock and Hume and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-demille/jefferson-madison-and-many-others-taught-that-complex-laws-and-codes/) [Oliver DeMille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-demille/) > [The late Président de Montesquieu told me that he knew how to be blind--he had been so for such a long time--but I swear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/the-late-pr-sident-de-montesquieu-told-me-that-he-knew-how-to-be/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [“Montesquieu wrote: "I have never known any distress that an hour of reading did not relieve." 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