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Life
He studied laws the way others studied nature, and gave the modern world the separation of powers.
The mind begins as a blank slate. All knowledge comes from experience. He wrote the philosophy that launched modern democracy.
Connection
John Locke influence Montesquieu — Montesquieu drew on Locke's account of liberty in building his theory of the separation of powers.
Ideas
Words
“Constant experience shows us that every man invested with power is apt to abuse it.”
“No man's knowledge here can go beyond his experience.”
Key Moments
1689 CE
Born near Bordeaux
1721 CE
Persian Letters
1748 CE
The Spirit of the Laws
1755 CE
Death in Bordeaux
1632 CE
Born in Wrington, Somerset
1689 CE
Publishes Essay Concerning Human Understanding
1689 CE
Returns to England After the Glorious Revolution
1690 CE
Two Treatises of Government
Works
The Spirit of the Laws
An Essay Concerning Human Understanding