The lively phraseology of Montesquieu was the result of long meditation. His words, as light as wings, bear on them grave reflections.

Antiquity! I like its ruins better than its reconstructions.

Avoid singularity. There may often be less vanity in following the new modes than in adhering to the old ones. It is true that the foolish invent them, but the wise may conform to, instead of contradicting, them.

I do not call reason that brutal reason which crushes with its weight what is holy and sacred, that malignant reason which delights in the errors it succeeds in discovering, that unfeeling and scornful reason which insults credulity.

Men must be either the slaves of duty, or the slaves of force.

The essence of life consists in thinking, and being conscious of one's soul.

Let your cry be for free souls rather than for freedom. Moral liberty is the only important liberty.