86+ Montesquieu Quotes On Government, Separation Of Powers And Checks And Balances

Montesquieu was a French philosopher and political thinker of the 1700s. He is best known for his work, The Spirit of the Laws, which argued for the separation of powers in government and for checks and balances to prevent tyranny. He also wrote about the importance of religious tolerance and the need for a balance between liberty and authority. Following is our collection on famous quotes by Montesquieu on government, separation of powers, checks and balances.

Top 10 Montesquieu Quotes

1. There is no crueler tyranny than that which is perpetuated under the shield of law and in the name of justice.
2. To become truly great, one has to stand with people, not above them.
3. Religious wars are not caused by the fact that there is more than one religion, but by the spirit of intolerance... the spread of which can only be regarded as the total eclipse of human reason.
4. But constant experience shows us that every man invested with power is apt to abuse it, and to carry his authority as far as it will go.
5. Useless laws weaken the necessary laws.
6. We should weep for men at their birth, not at their death.
7. The tyranny of a prince in an oligarchy is not so dangerous to the public welfare as the apathy of a citizen in a democracy.
8. Men, who are rogues individually, are in the mass very honorable people.
9. To love to read is to exchange hours of ennui for hours of delight.
10. If we only wanted to be happy, it would be easy; but we want to be happier than other people, and that is almost always difficult, since we think them happier than they are.

Montesquieu Image Quotes

Useless laws weaken the necessary laws. — Montesquieu

Montesquieu Short Quotes

• Lunch kills half of Paris, supper the other half.
• Countries are well cultivated, not as they are fertile, but as they are free.
• What orators lack in depth they make up for in length.
• Luxury ruins republics; poverty, monarchies.
• 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.
• No kingdom has shed more blood than the kingdom of Christ.
• Friendship is an arrangement by which we undertake to exchange small favors for big ones.
• Life was given to me as a favor, so I may abandon it when it is one no longer.
• If triangles made a god, they would give him three sides.

Montesquieu Quotes About Government

Man, as a physical being, is like other bodies governed by invariable laws. — Montesquieu

Thus the creation, which seems an arbitrary act, supposes laws as invariable as those of the fatality of the Atheists. It would be absurd to say that the Creator might govern the world without those rules, since without them it could not subsist. — Montesquieu

It is requisite the government be so constituted as one man need not be afraid of another. — Montesquieu

There are three species of government: republican, monarchical, and despotic. — Montesquieu

The deterioration of a government begins almost always by the decay of its principles. — Montesquieu

Law in general is human reason, inasmuch as it governs all the inhabitants of the earth: the political and civil laws of each nation ought to be only the particular cases in which human reason is applied. — Montesquieu

Political liberty is to be found only in moderate governments. — Montesquieu

Montesquieu Quotes About Liberty

When the legislative and executive powers are united in the same person, or in the same body of magistrates, there can be no liberty; because apprehensions may arise, lest the same monarch or senate should enact tyrannical laws, to execute them in a tyrannical manner. — 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. — Montesquieu

Liberty is the right of doing whatever the laws permit. — Montesquieu

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

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

Montesquieu Quotes About War

An empire founded by war has to maintain itself by war. — 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

The law of nations is naturally founded on this principle, that different nations ought in time of peace to do one another all the good they can, and in time of war as little injury as possible, without prejudicing their real interests. — Montesquieu

Each particular society begins to feel its strength, whence arises a state of war between different nations. — Montesquieu

As soon as man enters into a state of society he loses the sense of his weakness; equality ceases, and then commences the state of war. — Montesquieu

The object of war is victory; that of victory is conquest; and that of conquest preservation. — Montesquieu

Montesquieu Quotes About Laws

The severity of the laws prevents their execution. — Montesquieu

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

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

There is no greater tyranny than that which is perpetrated under the shield of the law and in the name of justice. — Montesquieu

Laws undertake to punish only overt acts. — Montesquieu

Montesquieu Quotes About People

It is not the young people that degenerate; they are not spoiled till those of mature age are already sunk into corruption. — 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

Happy the people whose annals are tiresome. — Montesquieu

When the body of the people is possessed of the supreme power, it is called a democracy. — Montesquieu

If one only wished to be happy, this could be easily accomplished; but we wish to be happier that other people, and this is always difficult, for we believe others to be happier than they are. — Montesquieu

Montesquieu Quotes About Succeed

I have always observed that to succeed in the world a person must seem simple, yet wise. — Montesquieu

I have always observed that to succeed in the world one should seem a fool, but be wise. — Montesquieu

Success in the majority of circumstances depends on knowing how long it takes to succeed. — Montesquieu

I have always observed that to succeed in the world one should appear like a fool but be wise. — Montesquieu

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

The success of most things depends upon knowing how long it will take to succeed. — Montesquieu

Montesquieu Famous Quotes And Sayings

Useless laws weaken the necessary laws. — Montesquieu

In bodies moved, the motion is received, increased, diminished, or lost, according to the relations of the quantity of matter and velocity; each diversity is uniformity, each change is constancy. — Montesquieu

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

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

This is how I define talent; it is a gift that God has given us in secret, which we reveal without knowing it. — Montesquieu

Slavery, properly so called, is the establishment of a right which gives to one man such a power over another as renders him absolute master of his life and fortune. — Montesquieu

Although born in a prosperous realm, we did not believe that its boundaries should limit our knowledge, and that the lore of the East should alone enlighten us. — 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. — Montesquieu

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

An author is a fool who, not content with boring those he lives with, insists on boring future generations. — 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. — Montesquieu

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

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

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

Power ought to serve as a check to power. — Montesquieu

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

Weak minds exaggerate too much the wrong done to the Africans. — Montesquieu

The state of slavery is in its own nature bad. — Montesquieu

I have read descriptions of Paradise that would make any sensible person stop wanting to go there. — Montesquieu

Peace is a natural effect of trade. — Montesquieu

They who assert that a blind fatality produced the various effects we behold in this world talk very absurdly; for can anything be more unreasonable than to pretend that a blind fatality could be productive of intelligent beings? — Montesquieu

A man should be mourned at his birth, not at his death. — Montesquieu

You have to study a great deal to know a little. — Montesquieu

Republics end through luxury; monarchies through poverty. — Montesquieu

Not to be loved is a misfortune, but it is an insult to be loved no longer. — 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

Raillery is a mode of speaking in favor of one's wit at the expense of one's better nature. — 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

Society is the union of men and not the men themselves. — Montesquieu

Talent is a gift which God has given us secretly, and which we reveal without perceiving it. — Montesquieu

What orators lack in depth, they make up to you in length. — Montesquieu

If triangles had a god, they would give him three sides. — Montesquieu

Do you think that God will punish them for not practicing a religion which he did not reveal to them? — Montesquieu

Life Lessons by Montesquieu

1. Montesquieu emphasizes the importance of understanding the power of laws and how they shape society. He teaches us to be aware of the consequences of our actions, and to be mindful of the effects of our decisions on those around us.
2. Montesquieu also stresses the importance of maintaining a balance between the different branches of government and the need for checks and balances in order to ensure freedom and justice.
3. Finally, Montesquieu encourages us to think critically and to question the status quo, so that we can strive for a more just and equitable society.