Montesquieu Quotes on Politics
Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu, was a French philosopher and one of the architects of Enlightenment political thought. This page collects quotes attributed to Montesquieu on the topic of politics, drawn from across the philosopher's works.
Quotes
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Attributed to Montesquieu:
“Liberty is the right to do what the laws permit.”
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Attributed to Montesquieu:
“Useless laws weaken the necessary laws.”
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Attributed to Montesquieu:
“There is no nation so powerful as the one that obeys its laws.”
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Attributed to Montesquieu:
“The deterioration of every government begins with the decay of the principles on which it was founded.”
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Attributed to Montesquieu:
“When power is constant, free states will not last.”
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Attributed to Montesquieu:
“Mankind has been corrupted, and an admirable lesson is given by the law that obliges the rulers themselves to obey it.”