The Spirit of the Laws
by Montesquieu · De l'esprit des lois
Assigned by 2 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- 1748
- Form
- Political theory
- Language
- French
- Length
- Long · 750 pp300 to 700 pages
- Difficulty
- Demanding3 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendThe Spirit of the Laws, translated by Anne M. Cohler, Basia C. Miller and Harold S. StoneCambridge University Press, 1989The complete modern translation in the Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought series.
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Montesquieu's treatise, twenty years in the making, examines the laws of many nations to find the relations that explain them. He classifies governments as republics, monarchies and despotisms, each with its animating principle of virtue, honour or fear. He describes the English constitution as a separation of legislative, executive and judicial powers that secures liberty, argues that climate and terrain shape a people's laws and character, and treats commerce, money, population, religion and the history of feudal law in France. The book was placed on the Index and shaped the American founders.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns The Spirit of the Laws are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
