Charles De Montesquieu Quotes & Sayings

The reason the Romans built their great paved highways was because they had such inconvenient footwear. — Charles De Montesquieu

There should be weeping at a man's birth, not at his death. — Charles De Montesquieu

Author: A fool who, not content with having bored those who have lived with him, insists on tormenting generations to come. — Charles De Montesquieu

The less men think, the more they talk. — Charles De Montesquieu

Lunch kills half of Paris, supper the other half. — Charles De Montesquieu

The sublimity of administration consists in knowing the proper degree of power that should be exerted on different occasions. — Charles De Montesquieu

The spirit of moderation should also be the spirit of the lawgiver. — Charles De Montesquieu

There is no crueler tyranny than that which is perpetuated under the shield of law and in the name of justice. — Charles De Montesquieu

Laws undertake to punish only overt acts. — Charles De Montesquieu

No kingdom has shed more blood than the kingdom of Christ. — Charles De Montesquieu

We must have constantly present in our minds the difference between independence and liberty. Liberty is a right of doing whatever the laws permit, and if a citizen could do what they forbid he would no longer be possessed of liberty. — Charles De Montesquieu

Peace is a natural effect of trade. — Charles De Montesquieu

In the infancy of societies, the chiefs of state shape its institutions; later the institutions shape the chiefs of state. — Charles De Montesquieu

To love to read is to exchange hours of ennui for hours of delight. — Charles De Montesquieu

Friendship is an arrangement by which we undertake to exchange small favors for big ones. — Charles De Montesquieu

In most things success depends on knowing how long it takes to succeed. — Charles De Montesquieu

Men should be bewailed at their birth, and not at their death. — Charles De Montesquieu

There is no nation so powerful, as the one that obeys its laws not from principals of fear or reason, but from passion. — Charles De Montesquieu

An empire founded by war has to maintain itself by war. — Charles De Montesquieu

The severity of the laws prevents their execution. — Charles De Montesquieu

What orators lack in depth they make up for in length. — Charles De Montesquieu

To become truly great, one has to stand with people, not above them. — Charles De Montesquieu

A nation may lose its liberties in a day and not miss them in a century. — Charles De Montesquieu

Liberty is the right to do what the law permits. — Charles De Montesquieu

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. — Charles De Montesquieu

It is always the adventurers who do great things, not the sovereigns of great empires. — Charles De Montesquieu

False happiness renders men stern and proud, and that happiness is never communicated. True happiness renders them kind and sensible, and that happiness is always shared. — Charles De Montesquieu

We should weep for men at their birth, not at their death. — Charles De Montesquieu