Montesquieu to the aid of the Russians? To justify the war in Ukraine unleashed by Moscow in February 2022, many people, like the far-right millionaire Charles Gave, like to quote our illustrious Enlightenment philosopher. ” This is what Montesquieu said: we must condemn the one who makes the war, but we must even more condemn the one who made the war inevitable. “. In other words, for the poutinosphere that relies on this maxim, the Russians had no choice but to invade Ukraine.
Even before the current conflict, this phrase was often lent to the philosopher by very serious sources, such as the Institut de France, which brings together the various academies, or even the Napoleon Foundation.
However, as the professor of literature and specialist in the thinker of the 18th century, Catherine Volpilhac-Auger points out, ” this quotation is not from Montesquieu: it is not found, in this form or with some variations, in his work “. According to the expert, the philosopher mainly criticized despotism and the will of tyrants to always want to expand their territory.
By tracing the thread of its origins, Désintox was able to find its true author. In a book published in 1824, the historian François-Auguste Mignet noted that ” the real author of war is not the one who declares it, but the one who makes it necessary “. It then justified the declaration of war of April 20, 1792 by revolutionary France against Austria.
This same phrase was later quoted twice by Napoleon III. A first time to defend the wars of his uncle, correctly quoting Mignet, then a second time to evoke the battles of Julius Caesar, claiming, by mistake, that she was from Montesquieu. Hence, no doubt, the origin of fake news.
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