Montesquieu

"Art is not what you see, but what you make others see."

"Time is the greatest innovator."

"A man should love his country without idolizing it."

"The taste for forbidden fruit is the secret of its sweetness."

"In free governments, the security of the government depends on the happiness of the governed."

"Ambition is the germ from which all growth of nobleness proceeds."

"The hand that follows intellect can achieve."

"War should be undertaken with reluctance."

"Fortunes built on war are not sustainable."

"A doctor is judged by whether he heals, not by whether he tried."

"The cause of good governance is the virtue of those who govern."

"People should be governed by laws, not by traditions alone."

"Moderation is the virtue of those who will not be virtuous."

"The smallest grain of salt is enough to flavor the whole pot."

"History is a tableau of crimes and misfortunes."

"Memory is the treasury and guardian of all things."

"The preservation of the state is the supreme law."

"A body of magistrates is often corrupted by its spirit of body."

"The soul is willing but the flesh is weak."

"There is no greater tyranny than that which pretends to liberate."

"Laws are useless when they are not enforced."

"The more corrupt the republic, the more laws it needs."

"True independence consists in the strength to dispense with others."

"A fool is content with his own opinions."

"The good is the enemy of the great."

"One should be wary of the friendship of the great."

"Sincerity is the sole virtue that cannot survive."

"Peace is the natural desire of mankind."

"In democracies, the voice of the people is the voice of God."

"The less you own, the freer you become."