Montesquieu

In a true state of nature, all men are born equal, but they cannot remain so. Society makes them lose their equality, and they can recover it only by the laws.

To be truly great, one has to stand with people, not above them.

The less we read, the more we admire.

The principle of democracy is corrupted not only when the spirit of equality is lost, but also when it is carried to an extreme.

I have never known any distress that an hour's reading did not assuage.

Useless laws weaken the necessary laws.

There is no nation in the world that is more in love with its own government than the English.

When a man is flattered, he is often made to believe that he is greater than he is.

The greatest changes are not made by great men, but by small causes.

The love of reading is an exchange of hours of tedium for hours of delight.

A people is not free if it does not know the laws.

The state of monarchy is the best of all states, provided that it is a moderate one.

In every government there are three sorts of power: the legislative; the executive in respect to things dependent on the law of nations; and the executive in regard to matters that depend on the civil law.

The most important quality of a minister of state is to know how to suffer.

When a people is lazy, it attributes everything to fortune.

The spirit of moderation should be the spirit of the legislator.

The people are extremely susceptible to flattery and easily deceived.

The English love liberty so much that they are always ready to sacrifice it to their interests.

It is not the business of the public to think, but to see.

The most important thing for a wise man is to have a good wife.