“I acknowledge that history is full of religious wars: but we must distinguish; it is not the multiplicity of religions which has produced wars; it is the intolerant spirit animating that which believed itself in the ascendant.”

—  Montesquieu

No. 86. (Usbek writing to Mirza)
Lettres Persanes (Persian Letters, 1721)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "I acknowledge that history is full of religious wars: but we must distinguish; it is not the multiplicity of religions …" by Montesquieu?
Montesquieu photo
Montesquieu 34
French social commentator and political thinker 1689–1755

Related quotes

Montesquieu photo

“History is full of religious wars; but, we must take care to observe, it was not the multiplicity of religions that produced these wars, it was the intolerating spirit which animated that one which thought she had the power of governing.”

Montesquieu (1689–1755) French social commentator and political thinker

No. 65. (Usbek writing to his wives)
Lettres Persanes (Persian Letters, 1721)

Ludwig von Mises photo

“When people were committed to the idea that in the field of religion only one plan must be adopted, bloody wars resulted. With the acknowledgment of the principle of religious freedom these wars ceased.”

Socialism (1922), Epilogue (1947)
Context: When people were committed to the idea that in the field of religion only one plan must be adopted, bloody wars resulted. With the acknowledgment of the principle of religious freedom these wars ceased. The market economy safeguards peaceful economic co-operation because it does not use force upon the economic plans of the citizens. If one master plan is to be substituted for the plans of each citizen, endless fighting must emerge. Those who disagree with the dictator's plan have no other means to carry on than to defeat the despot by force of arms.

Ulysses S. Grant photo

“Wars produce many stories of fiction, some of which are told until they are believed to be true.”

Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885) 18th President of the United States

Source: 1880s, Personal Memoirs of General U. S. Grant (1885), Ch. 67.

Walter Rauschenbusch photo
Henri Fayol photo

“This code is indispensable. Be it a case of commerce, industry, politics, religion, war or philanthropy in every concern there is a management function to be performed and for its performance there must be principles, that is to say acknowledged truths regarded as proven on which to rely.”

Henri Fayol (1841–1925) Developer of Fayolism

Source: General and industrial management, 1919/1949, p. 42-43 cited in: John B. Miner (2006) Historical Origins, Theoretical Foundations, And the Future. p. 114

Richard Dawkins photo
William Edward Hartpole Lecky photo
Rob Bell photo

“In empire, you believe in that which you preserve, you preserve that which you are entitled to, and you are entitled to that which you have accumulated. … That is the religion, the animating spirit, of empire.”

Rob Bell (1970) American author and pastor

Jesus Wants to Save Christians: A Manifesto for the Church in Exile (2008), p. 128

Yitzhak Rabin photo

“We sail onto a war which has no casualties, no wounded, no blood nor suffering. It is the only war which is a pleasure to participate in — the war for peace.”

Yitzhak Rabin (1922–1995) Israeli politician, statesman and general

Speech to the US Congress (26 July 1994)
Context: I, serial number 30743, Lieutenant General in reserves Yitzhak Rabin, a soldier in the Israeli Defense Forces and in the army of peace, I, who have sent armies into fire and soldiers to their death, say today: We sail onto a war which has no casualties, no wounded, no blood nor suffering. It is the only war which is a pleasure to participate in — the war for peace.

Rutherford B. Hayes photo

“Strikes and boycotting are akin to war, and can be justified only on grounds analogous to those which justify war, viz., intolerable injustice and oppression.”

Rutherford B. Hayes (1822–1893) American politician, 19th President of the United States (in office from 1877 to 1881)

Diary (6 April 1886)
Diary and Letters of Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1922 - 1926)

Related topics