I have never known any distress that an hour's reading did not relieve.
Baron De MontesquieuRead
[The Pope] will make the king believe that three are only one, that the bread he eats is not bread... and a thousand other things of the same kind.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote critiques the influence of authority on perception and belief.
Baron De Montesquieu's quote reflects on the power of religious and political leaders to shape beliefs and realities for individuals. By asserting that the king can be made to believe in contradictions, such as that three becomes one or that bread is not bread, Montesquieu critiques the manipulation of truth and the complexities of human perception under the sway of authority figures. This highlights the importance of critical thinking and questioning the narratives presented by those in power.
Themes
BeliefAuthorityPerceptionTruthManipulation
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of independent thinking, one could use this quote to emphasize the need to question narratives given by authority figures.
More from Baron De Montesquieu
All quotes βLaw in general is human reason, inasmuch as it governs all the inhabitants of the earth: the political and civil laws of each nation ought to be only the particular cases in which human reason is applied.
Baron De MontesquieuRead
To become truly great, one has to stand with people, not above them.
Baron De MontesquieuRead
Love of the republic in a democracy, is a love of the democracy; love of the democracy is that of equality. Love of the democracy is likewise that of frugality.
Baron De MontesquieuRead
It is not the young people that degenerate; they are not spoiled till those of mature age are already sunk into corruption.
Baron De MontesquieuRead
If you would be holy, instruct your children, because all the good acts they perform will be imputed to you.
Baron De MontesquieuRead
Similar quotes
You can't live in this world but there's nowhere else to go.
Jack KerouacRead
The truly good and wise man will bear all kinds of fortune in a seemly way, and will always act in the noblest manner that the circumstances allow.
AristotleRead
Human freedom involves our capacity to pause, to choose the one response toward which we wish to throw our weight.
Rollo MayRead
Lack of power and opportunity passes off too often for virtue.
Zora Neale HurstonRead
I put forward formless and unresolved notions, as do those who publish doubtful questions to debate in the schools, not to establish the truth but to seek it.
Michel De MontaigneRead
But then he told himself: What does it really mean to be useful? Today's world, just as it is, contains the sum of the utility of all people of all times. Which implies: The highest morality consists in being useless.
Milan KunderaRead