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An empire founded by war has to maintain itself by war.
Charles de Montesquieu -
Lunch kills half of Paris, supper the other half.
Charles de Montesquieu
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There should be weeping at a man's birth, not at his death.
Charles de Montesquieu -
It is not the young people that degenerate; they are not spoiled till those of mature age are already sunk into corruption.
Charles de Montesquieu -
To become truly great, one has to stand with people, not above them.
Charles de 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.
Charles de Montesquieu -
We should weep for men at their birth, not at their death.
Charles de Montesquieu -
An author is a fool who, not content with boring those he lives with, insists on boring future generations.
Charles de Montesquieu
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If triangles had a god, they would give him three sides.
Charles de Montesquieu -
Men should be bewailed at their birth, and not at their death.
Charles de Montesquieu -
It is always the adventurers who do great things, not the sovereigns of great empires.
Charles de Montesquieu -
Friendship is an arrangement by which we undertake to exchange small favors for big ones.
Charles de Montesquieu -
If the triangles made a god, they would give him three sides.
Charles de Montesquieu -
Liberty is the right to do what the law permits.
Charles de Montesquieu
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In most things success depends on knowing how long it takes to succeed.
Charles de Montesquieu -
No kingdom has shed more blood than the kingdom of Christ.
Charles de Montesquieu -
The severity of the laws prevents their execution.
Charles de Montesquieu -
Countries are well cultivated, not as they are fertile, but as they are free.
Charles de Montesquieu -
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.
Charles de Montesquieu -
Luxury ruins republics; poverty, monarchies.
Charles de Montesquieu
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A nation may lose its liberties in a day and not miss them in a century.
Charles de Montesquieu -
In the infancy of societies, the chiefs of state shape its institutions; later the institutions shape the chiefs of state.
Charles de Montesquieu -
Success in the majority of circumstances depends on knowing how long it takes to succeed.
Charles de Montesquieu -
There is no crueler tyranny than that which is perpetuated under the shield of law and in the name of justice.
Charles de Montesquieu