In the infancy of societies, the chiefs of state shape its institutions; later the institutions shape the chiefs of state.
- Charles de Montesquieu
Shape, Later, Chiefs, Institutions
Countries are well cultivated, not as they are fertile, but as they are free.
- Charles de Montesquieu
Well, Fertile, Countries, Cultivated
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
Young, Mature, Till, Spoiled
The reason the Romans built their great paved highways was because they had such inconvenient footwear.
- Charles de Montesquieu
Reason, Romans, Footwear, Inconvenient
What orators lack in depth they make up for in length.
- Charles de Montesquieu
Make Up, Length, Up, Depth
The sublimity of administration consists in knowing the proper degree of power that should be exerted on different occasions.
- Charles de Montesquieu
Knowing, Administration, Sublimity
It is always the adventurers who do great things, not the sovereigns of great empires.
- Charles de Montesquieu
Great Things, Always, Things, Adventurers
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
Proud, Always, Shared, Sensible
I have always observed that to succeed in the world one should seem a fool, but be wise.
- Charles de Montesquieu
Wise, World, Always, Observed
There is no nation so powerful, as the one that obeys its laws not from principals of fear or reason, but from passion.
- Charles de Montesquieu
Powerful, Reason, Laws, Principals
Liberty is the right to do what the law permits.
- Charles de Montesquieu
Law, Liberty, Right, Permits
To love to read is to exchange hours of ennui for hours of delight.
- Charles de Montesquieu
Love, Hours, Read, Delight
Author: A fool who, not content with having bored those who have lived with him, insists on tormenting generations to come.
- Charles de Montesquieu
Generations, Having, Author, Bored
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.
- Charles de Montesquieu
Door, Flies, Receive, Visit
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.
- Charles de Montesquieu
Independence, Doing, Citizen, Between
An empire founded by war has to maintain itself by war.
- Charles de Montesquieu
Maintain, Itself, Founded, Empire
Luxury ruins republics; poverty, monarchies.
- Charles de Montesquieu
Luxury, Poverty, Republics, Ruins
Talent is a gift which God has given us secretly, and which we reveal without perceiving it.
- Charles de Montesquieu
Gift, Which, Given, Secretly
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.
- Charles de Montesquieu
Tyranny, Citizen, Public, Oligarchy
Useless laws weaken the necessary laws.
- Charles de Montesquieu
Laws, Necessary, Weaken, Useless
If triangles had a god, they would give him three sides.
- Charles de Montesquieu
Give, Had, Would, Sides
If the triangles made a god, they would give him three sides.
- Charles de Montesquieu
Give, Made, Would, Sides
The spirit of moderation should also be the spirit of the lawgiver.
- Charles de Montesquieu
Spirit, Should, Also, Moderation
We should weep for men at their birth, not at their death.
- Charles de Montesquieu
Death, Men, Should, Weep
To become truly great, one has to stand with people, not above them.
- Charles de Montesquieu
Great, Above, Them, Become
A nation may lose its liberties in a day and not miss them in a century.
- Charles de Montesquieu
Nation, May, Century, Miss
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
Think, Always, Other, Since
Friendship is an arrangement by which we undertake to exchange small favors for big ones.
- Charles de Montesquieu
Small, Arrangement, Which, Undertake
Laws undertake to punish only overt acts.
- Charles de Montesquieu
Laws, Only, Punish, Undertake
Lunch kills half of Paris, supper the other half.
- Charles de Montesquieu
Lunch, Other, Half, Paris
No kingdom has shed more blood than the kingdom of Christ.
- Charles de Montesquieu
More, Christ, Shed, Kingdom
The less men think, the more they talk.
- Charles de Montesquieu
Men, Think, More, Less
Success in the majority of circumstances depends on knowing how long it takes to succeed.
- Charles de Montesquieu
Circumstances, Knowing, How, Majority
The severity of the laws prevents their execution.
- Charles de Montesquieu
Execution, Laws, Severity, Prevents
Peace is a natural effect of trade.
- Charles de Montesquieu
Peace, Trade, Natural, Effect
In most things success depends on knowing how long it takes to succeed.
- Charles de Montesquieu
Knowing, How, Most, Takes
An author is a fool who, not content with boring those he lives with, insists on boring future generations.
- Charles de Montesquieu
Boring, Lives, Author, Fool
There should be weeping at a man's birth, not at his death.
- Charles de Montesquieu
Death, Should, His, Weeping
There is no crueler tyranny than that which is perpetuated under the shield of law and in the name of justice.
- Charles de Montesquieu
Law, Shield, Which, Justice
I have never known any distress that an hour's reading did not relieve.
- Charles de Montesquieu
Fear, Never, Distress, Known
Men should be bewailed at their birth, and not at their death.
- Charles de Montesquieu
Death, Men, Should, Birth
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