Baron de la Brede et de Montesquieu
France
18 Jan 1689 // 10 Feb 1755
Political Philosopher
18 Jan 1689 // 10 Feb 1755
Political Philosopher
Quotes
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Useless laws weaken the necessary laws
To love to read is to exchange hours of ennui for hours of delight
There is no one, says another, whom fortune does not visit once in his life; but when she does not find him ready to receive her, she walks in at the door, and flies out at the window
There is no nation so powerful, as the one that obeys its laws not from principals of fear or reason, but from passion
The sublimity of administration consists in knowing the proper degree of power that should be exerted on different occasions
The spirit of moderation should also be the spirit of the lawgiver
The severity of the laws prevents their execution
It is always the adventurers who do great things, not the sovereigns of great empires
I have never known any distress that an hour's reading did not relieve
Friendship is an arrangement by which we undertake to exchange small favors for big ones
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On Anger: "For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind."
Essays
Essays
On Destiny: "Our destiny exercises its influence over us even when, as yet, we have not learned its nature: it is our future that lays down the law of our today."
Human, All Too Human
Human, All Too Human
On Friendship: "A crowd is not company; and faces are but a gallery of pictures; and talk but a tinkling cymbal, where there is no love."
Essays
Essays