QuoteProject
If I knew of something that could serve my nation but would ruin another, I would not propose it to my prince, for I am first a man and only then a Frenchman... because I am necessarily a man, and only accidentally am I French.
Baron De Montesquieu
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote emphasizes the importance of humanity over national identity.

Baron De Montesquieu expresses a profound belief that one's identity as a human being should take precedence over one's national allegiance. He suggests that ethical responsibilities to humanity should guide decisions and actions, rather than blind loyalty to one's country, indicating that moral integrity is a higher value than nationalism.

Themes

HumanityNationalismIntegrityMoralityEthics

In practice

Example use cases

During a speech on international relations, one might quote Montesquieu to highlight the importance of global ethics.

More from Baron De Montesquieu

I have never known any distress that an hour's reading did not relieve.
Baron De MontesquieuRead
Law 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

Stars, too, were time travelers. How many of these ancient points of light were the last echoes of suns now dead? How many had been born but their light not yet come this far? If all the suns but ours collapsed tonight, how many lifetimes would it take us to realize that we were alone? I had always known the sky was full of mysteries - but not until now had I realized how full of them the earth was.
Ransom RiggsRead
Intelligence flourishes only in the ages when belief withers.
Emile M. CioranRead
For instance, we're always fighting amongst each other. Who gives us the arms? And then we become indebted to wherever we are buying them from - with what? The very resources we need to keep there.
Miriam MakebaRead
You will die. You will not live forever. Nor will any man nor any thing. Nothing is immortal. But only to us is it given to know that we must die. And that is a great gift: the gift of selfhood. For we have only what we know we must lose, what we are willing to lose... That selfhood which is our torment, and our treasure, and our humanity, does not endure. It changes; it is gone, a wave on the sea. Would you have the sea grow still and the tides cease, to save one wave, to save yourself?
Ursula K. Le GuinRead
America's greatest contribution to the world is its concept of democracy, its concept of freedom, freedom of action, freedom of speech, and freedom of thought.
Benazir BhuttoRead
The complexity of the connection between the world of perception and the world of physics does not preclude that such a connection can be shown to exist at any time.
Max HorkheimerRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.