Montesquieu

“What orators lack in depth they make up for in length.”

“Peace is a natural effect of trade.”

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

“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?”

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

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

“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.”

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

“History is full of religious wars; but, we must take care to observe, it was not the multiplicity of religions that produced these wars, it was the intolerating spirit which animated that one which thought she had the power of governing.”

“Every man is capable of doing good to another, but to contribute to the happiness of an entire society is to become akin to the gods”

“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.”

“Liberty is the right of doing whatever the laws permit.”

“Weak minds exaggerate too much the wrong done to the Africans.”

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

“A nation may lose its liberties in a day and not miss them in a century.”

“Useless laws weaken the necessary laws.”

“Society is the union of men and not the men themselves.”

“There are three species of government: republican, monarchical, and despotic.”

“Happy the people whose annals are tiresome.”

“תמיד חשבתי שעל מנת להצליח בעולם צריך להיראות סכל, אך להיות חכם.”