80 phrases by Charles-Louis de Secondat, Barón de Montesquieu

Charles-Louis de Secondat, Lord of the Brède and Barón de Montesquieu (1689 - 1755) He was an illustrious writer, novelist, philosopher, sociologist, historian, lawyer and French judge during the era of the Enlightenment.

In 1721, Montesquieu gained fame with the publication of Persian Letters, a satire of religions, monarchies and rich French under the pretext of being an epistolary novel, although he disdained that he called it like this. He moved to Paris, traveled a lot and continued publishing, changing political treaties such as the consideration of the fall of Rome.

His masterpiece, Law spirit, Published in 1748, it had an enormous influence on how governments work, avoiding the classical definitions of the same. He also established the idea of ​​a separation of powers (legislative, executive and judicial) to propagate more effectively freedom. Although the Catholic Church included this book in its “prohibited books” list, work definitely influenced the Declaration of the Rights of Man of France (Declaration of the Rights of Man and Cities) and in the Constitution of the United States. Montesquieu later published his Défense de l'Esprit des lois In 1750.

Do not miss these beautiful famous quotes from the Baron de Montesquieu.

Celebres from Montesquiu

The word is half of the one who pronounces it, half of who listens to it.

Cowardice is the mother of cruelty.

It is necessary to have studied a lot to know little.

The one who fears suffer already suffers from what he fears.

The law must be like death, which does not exceed anyone.

Virtue must have limits.

To get success in the world, you have to look crazy and be wise.

The truth in one time is a mistake in another and vice versa.

Soon the haughty of a beautiful woman tires; Never bores a good woman.

Divorce is indispensable in modern civilizations.

Before an envious man, always praise those who make him pale.

Talent is a gift that God makes in secret, and that we reveal without knowing it.

There are two kinds of men: those who think and those who have fun.

The less the man thinks, the more he speaks.

HAPPY THE PEOPLE WHOSE HISTORY READS WITH Boredom.

Governing a family is almost as difficult as governing a whole kingdom.

Is there anything so sure, determined, disdainful, contemplative, serious, serious, like the donkey?

Friendship is a contract for which we force ourselves to make small favors to others so that others make them great.

Confidence in others's goodness is non -small testimony of goodness.

When men are gathered, they lose the meaning of their weakness.

Freedom is the right to do what laws allow.

It is not convenient that, in a work, irony be continuous; It ceases to surprise.

The government should be established so that no man can fear another.

Modestos, you offer sweetness and charm to life.

The main occupation of my life is to make it as well as possible.

Great God! How many things are needed to make a single man happy!

The clearest test of wisdom is a continuous joy.

The reason is a pot of two handles: the same can be taken by the right than on the left.

What a peace of all of us to know that there is in the hearts of all men an inner principle that fights in our favor and puts us covered with all the violence of the powerful!

The injustice made to one is only a threat to all.

When a government lasts a long time, it decomposes little by little without noticing it.

Useless laws weaken to the necessary.

The love of the Republic in a democracy is the love of equality.

Men are more capable of great actions than good actions.

Those who have little business to attend are good charlatans, intellectuals and employed.

Nothing scares in our memory something as the desire to forget it.

Blessed people whose annals are boring.

I do not share what you say, but I will defend until death your right to say it.

To most people I prefer to prove them right than listen to them.

When we have reached a category, we should not do anything that makes us look inferior to it.

The talent man is naturally inclined to criticism, because he sees more things than other men and sees them better.

There is no greater and more common nonsense than to bitter because of the world's nonsense.

Loving reading is changing the boredom hours that one has in life, for the most delicious hours.

In the clothing one must always stay below their own resources.

The one that being angry imposes a punishment, does not correct, but to come.

When men promise a woman that they will love her forever, they suppose in turn that they promise them, they are always friendly; If she is missing her word, they do not believe they are forced to theirs.

The study has been for me the complete remedy against life dislikes; I have never had an hour of sadness that an hour of reading has not dissipated.

I have never had a sadness that an hour of reading has not managed to dissipate.

The passion of most French is to have ingenuity; And the passion of those who want to have ingenuity is to write books.

To judge big and noble things it is necessary.

If we were enough to be happy, the thing would be very easy; But we want to be happier than others, and this is almost always impossible, because we believe that others are much happier than they really are.

There is no tyranny worse than that exercised in the shadow of laws and with appearances of justice.

We men boast of being more bad than we really are.

I have always observed that to succeed in life you have to be understood, but appear as a fool.

One thing is not fair for being law. It must be law because it is fair.

To be really big, you have to be with people, not above it.

Nothing could imagine worse; It seemed that nature had arranged that the nonsense of men were passengers, but the books make them immortal.

An injustice made to the individual is a threat made to the whole society.

I do not meet myself where I look for me. I find myself by surprise when I least wait for him.

The same that there is an infinity of very discreet things directed in a crazy way, there are also follies driven with the greatest discretion.

Bankers are going to take advances, their art is to take advantage of their funds without being able to accuse us of usury.

Instead of a great treasure you cools a great town.

Men end up being used to everything, even servitude, as long as the master is not harder than the servitude itself.

What brings man closer to the condition of beast is not to be free where the others are. And who lives like this, is a natural enemy of society.

To know if each one's wishes are lawful, you have to see everyone's.

I consider that as long as one has not read all the old books, he has no reason to read the modern ones.

The bad laws made to lazy men; for being laziness they made slaves.

It is typical of intelligent beings to feel their imperfections.

I prefer to say that the right of slavery of contempt with which one nation looks at another, with no more basis than the difference in customs,

Nature is fair with men: they reward them; The work makes them laborious, because to greater works it grants greater rewards.

The force of the law is to be applicable to everyone.

If the triangles made a God, they would devise it with three sides.

Every town knows, loves and defends their customs rather than their laws.

It is necessary that religion not funeral funeral. Is there more natural thing than to dispense with the difference in fortunes on an occasion when luck equals them?

Democracy must be stored with two excesses: the spirit of inequality, which leads to the aristocracy, and the spirit of external equality, which leads it to despotism.

The decomposition of every government begins with the decline of the principles on which it has been founded.

The rising generation is not the one that degenerates; If corrupted, mature men were already corrupted.

A power ends up devouring everything else; two to face; Three maintain balance, so that, if two fight, the third equally interested in the order will join the weakest side of the weakest

The true strength of a prince does not consist so much in his ability to overcome his neighbors and how difficult it can be for them to attack him.