Montesquieu quotes

There is no greater tyranny than that which is perpetrated under the shield of the law. (Montesquieu)
If one only wished to be happy, this could be easily accomplished; but we wish to be happier than other people, and this is always difficult, for we believe others to be happier than they are.
Montesquieu
An injustice committed against anyone is a threat to everyone.
Montesquieu
I have always observed that to succeed in the world one should appear like a fool but be wise.
Montesquieu
There is only one thing that can form a bond between men, and that is gratitude... we cannot give someone else greater power over us than we have ourselves.
Montesquieu
Do you think that God will punish them for not practicing a religion which he did not reveal to them?
Montesquieu
You have to study a great deal to know a little.
Montesquieu
I have read descriptions of Paradise that would make any sensible person stop wanting to go there.
Montesquieu
If I knew of something that could serve my nation but would ruin another, I would not propose it to my prince, for I am first a man and only then a Frenchman... because I am necessarily a man, and only accidentally am I French.
Montesquieu
We should weep for men at their birth, not at their death.
Montesquieu
Useless laws weaken the necessary laws. (Montesquieu)
To become truly great, one has to stand with people, not above them.
Montesquieu
The success of most things depends upon knowing how long it will take to succeed.
Montesquieu
People here argue about religion interminably, but it appears that they are competing at the same time to see who can be the least devout.
Montesquieu
Not to be loved is a misfortune, but it is an insult to be loved no longer.
Montesquieu
Raillery is a mode of speaking in favor of one's wit at the expense of one's better nature.
Montesquieu
Life was given to me as a favor, so I may abandon it when it is one no longer.
Montesquieu
There are only two cases in which war is just: first, in order to resist the aggression of an enemy, and second, in order to help an ally who has been attacked.
Montesquieu
Solemnity is the shield of idiots.
Montesquieu
Friendship is an arrangement by which we undertake to exchange small favors for big ones.
Montesquieu
What unhappy beings men are! They constantly waver between false hopes and silly fears, and instead of relying on reason they create monsters to frighten themselves with, and phantoms which lead them astray. (Montesquieu)
The majority of men are more capable of great actions than of good ones.
Montesquieu
An author is a fool who, not content with boring those he lives with, insists on boring future generations.
Montesquieu
The less men think, the more they talk.
Montesquieu
[The Pope] will make the king believe that three are only one, that the bread he eats is not bread...and a thousand other things of the same kind.
Montesquieu