Question

"There would be an end to everything, were the sane man or the sane body...to exercise those three powers, that of enacting laws, that of executing the public resolutions, and of trying the cause of individuals."

Whose words are these?​

Answer 1

These words are part of Montesquieu's treatise The Spirit of the Laws. More specifically, they belong to the Chapter 6 ("Of the Constitution of Engand") of this treatise.

In this text, Montesquieu defends political liberty. Moreover, he argues that the best way of achieving it is by establishing the separation of the powers. In that way, Montesquieu believes that the different functions of government, that is to say the executive, legislative, and judicial functions, should be assigned to different bodies. Furthermore, he argues that liberty cannot be established in a nation where there is no separation of powers.