--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Laws are maintained in credit, not…" description: "\"Laws are maintained in credit, not because they are essentially just, but because they are laws. It is the mystical foundation of their authority; they..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfb/michel-de-montaigne-142_authority_laws-are-maintained-in-credit-not-becaus_1037264.jpg" --- # Laws are maintained in credit, not because they are… ![“Laws are maintained in credit, not because they are essentially just, but because they are laws. It is the mystical foundation of their authority; they have none other.” quote by Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfb/michel-de-montaigne-142_authority_laws-are-maintained-in-credit-not-becaus_1037264.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfb/michel-de-montaigne-142_authority_laws-are-maintained-in-credit-not-becaus_1037264.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfb/michel-de-montaigne-142_authority_laws-are-maintained-in-credit-not-becaus_1037264.jpg) > “Laws are maintained in credit, not because they are essentially just, but because they are laws. It is the mystical foundation of their authority; they have none other.” [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Laws persist because of collective belief, not inherent justice; their power is a shared illusion. **In simple terms:** Laws work because we believe they do. Key Takeaway Question the foundations of authority. Themes law authority belief social contract illusion Mood critical inquisitive Type philosophical political When to use this quote - legal reform - public policy debates - education on civic duty Key Concepts political theory philosophy sociology Questions to Reflect On - What gives laws their power? - Can unjust laws be reformed without losing order? A Different Perspective Changing belief may not easily alter entrenched systems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority/) [Constitution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution/) [Credit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/credit/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Laws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laws/) [Mystical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystical/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) ## Related quotes > [The laws keep up their credit, not by being just, but because they are laws; 'tis the mystic foundation of their authority; they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-laws-keep-up-their-credit-not-by-being-just-but-because-they-are/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [For as laws are necessary that good manners may be preserved, so there is need of good manner that laws may be maintained. \[It.,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/for-as-laws-are-necessary-that-good-manners-may-be-preserved-so-there/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [Just laws are no restraint upon the freedom of the good, for the good man desires nothing which a just law will interfere with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/just-laws-are-no-restraint-upon-the-freedom-of-the-good-for-the-good/) [James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/) > [Just as it is the duty of all men to obey just laws, so it is the duty of all men to disobey unjust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/just-as-it-is-the-duty-of-all-men-to-obey-just-laws-so-it-is-the-duty/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Just because the laws were changed doesn't mean that the attitudes have changed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/questlove/just-because-the-laws-were-changed-doesn-t-mean-that-the-attitudes/) [Questlove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/questlove/) > [All just laws condemn cruelty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pedro-calder-n-de-la-barca/all-just-laws-condemn-cruelty/) [Pedro Calderon de la Barca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pedro-calder-n-de-la-barca/) > [Reason and reality are the only means to just laws; mindless wishes, if given sovereignty, become deadly masters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/reason-and-reality-are-the-only-means-to-just-laws-mindless-wishes-if/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [I think most people are fascinated by chess for that reason. It's just these mystical shapes. It's almost like Harry Potteresque, like wizard's chess…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-ashley/i-think-most-people-are-fascinated-by-chess-for-that-reason-it-s-just/) [Maurice Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-ashley/) > [Mystical experiences (unlike scientific conclusions) cannot be communicated from one person to another. Philosophers and little children are continually amazed that we, unaccountably, find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-keen/mystical-experiences-unlike-scientific-conclusions-cannot-be/) [Sam Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-keen/) > [I think the word 'soul' - it depends on what you define by 'soul.' If you're defining it as a mystical aura that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-nicolelis/i-think-the-word-soul-it-depends-on-what-you-define-by-soul-if-you-re/) [Miguel Nicolelis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-nicolelis/) > [I feel in me the vocation of the Priest. I have the vocation of the Apostle. Martyrdom was the dream of my youth, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/therese-of-lisieux/i-feel-in-me-the-vocation-of-the-priest-i-have-the-vocation-of-the/) [Therese of Lisieux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/therese-of-lisieux/) > [If physics leads us today to a world view which is essentially mystical, it returns, in a way, to its beginning, 2,500 years ago.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritjof-capra/if-physics-leads-us-today-to-a-world-view-which-is-essentially/) [Fritjof Capra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritjof-capra/) > [Generating ideas isn't some mystical talent that you have to be born with: it's a skill you can develop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/generating-ideas-isn-t-some-mystical-talent-that-you-have-to-be-born/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [Tonight I have inundated you with the mystical kundalini. Now, of course, I'm moving into the supra-conscious; it's kind of a doubleheader this evening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/tonight-i-have-inundated-you-with-the-mystical-kundalini-now-of/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [A human being can only absorb a small amount of the mystical kundalini, you can be exposed again and again to it, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-human-being-can-only-absorb-a-small-amount-of-the-mystical/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) ## More by Michel de Montaigne > [No man is exempt from saying silly things; the mischief is to say them deliberately.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/no-man-is-exempt-from-saying-silly-things-the-mischief-is-to-say-them/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [The laws keep up their credit, not by being just, but because they are laws; 'tis the mystic foundation of their authority; they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-laws-keep-up-their-credit-not-by-being-just-but-because-they-are/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Every one rushes elsewhere and into the future, because no one wants to face one's own inner self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/every-one-rushes-elsewhere-and-into-the-future-because-no-one-wants/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Beauty is the true prerogative of women, and so peculiarly their own, that our sex, though naturally requiring another sort of feature, is never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/beauty-is-the-true-prerogative-of-women-and-so-peculiarly-their-own/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [The height and value of true virtue consists in the facility, utility, and pleasure of its exercise; so far from difficulty, that boys, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-height-and-value-of-true-virtue-consists-in-the-facility-utility/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Fie on the eloquence that leaves us craving itself, not things!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/fie-on-the-eloquence-that-leaves-us-craving-itself-not-things/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [The plainest sign of wisdom is a continual cheerfulness: her state is like that of things in the regions above the moon, always clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-plainest-sign-of-wisdom-is-a-continual-cheerfulness-her-state-is/) [Michel De Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [The corruption of the age is made up by the particular contribution of every individual man; some contribute treachery, others injustice, atheism, tyranny, avarice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-corruption-of-the-age-is-made-up-by-the-particular-contribution/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [If people must be talking about me, I would have it to be truthfully and justly. I would willingly return from the next world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/if-people-must-be-talking-about-me-i-would-have-it-to-be-truthfully/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Most pleasures embrace us but to strangle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/most-pleasures-embrace-us-but-to-strangle/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [In true friendship, in which I am expert, I give myself to my friend more than I draw him to me. I not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/in-true-friendship-in-which-i-am-expert-i-give-myself-to-my-friend/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [There are as many and innumerable degrees of wit, as there are cubits between this and heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/there-are-as-many-and-innumerable-degrees-of-wit-as-there-are-cubits/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [A man has need of tough ears to hear himself fairly judged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/a-man-has-need-of-tough-ears-to-hear-himself-fairly-judged/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Lucius Arruntius killed himself, he said, to escape both the future and the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/lucius-arruntius-killed-himself-he-said-to-escape-both-the-future-and/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [I have a vocabulary all my own. 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