The Spirit of the Laws

Description

The Spirit of the Laws is, without question, one of the central texts in the history of eighteenth-century thought, yet there has been no complete, scholarly English-language edition since that of Thomas Nugent, published in 1750. This lucid translation renders Montesquieu's problematic text newly accessible to a fresh generation of students, helping them to understand quite why Montesquieu was such an important figure in the early enlightenment and why The Spirit of the Laws was, for example, such an influence upon those who framed the American constitution. Fully annotated, this edition focuses attention upon Montesquieu's use of sources and his text as a whole, rather than upon those opening passages towards which critical energies have traditionally been devoted, and a select bibliography and chronology are provided for those coming to Montesquieu's work for the first time. Cover Title Page Copyright Page Contents Introduction Principal events in Montesquieu's life Bibliographical note Translators' preface List of abbreviations Author's foreword Preface Figure I Part 1 Book 1 On laws in general Book 2 On laws deriving directly from the nature of the government Book 3 On the principles of the three governments Book 4 That the laws of education should be relative to the principles of the government Book 5 That the laws given by the legislator should be relative to the principle of the government Book 6 Consequences of the principles of the various governments in relation to the simplicity of civil and criminal laws, the form of judgments, and the establishment of penalties Book 7 Consequences of the different principles of the three governments in relation to sumptuary laws, luxury, and the condition of women Book 8 On the corruption of the principles of the three governmentsI Part 2 Book 9 On the laws in their relation with defensive force BOOk 10 On laws in their relation with offensive force Book 11 On the laws that form political liberty in its relation with the constitution Book 12 On the laws that form political liberty in relation to the citizen Book 13 On the relations that the levy of taxes and the size of public revenues have with liberty Part 3 BOOK 14 On the laws in their relation to the nature of the climate BOOK 15 How the laws of civil slavery are related with the nature of the climate Book 16 How the laws of domestic slavery are related to the nature of the climate Book 17 How the laws of political servitude are related to the nature of the climate Book 18 On the laws in their relation with the nature of the terrain Book 19 On the laws in their relation with the principles forming the general spirit, the mores, and the manners of a nation Part 4 BooK 20 On the laws in their relation to commerce, considered in its nature and its distinctions BooK 21 On laws in their relation to commerce, considered in the revolutions it has had in the world BooK 22 On laws in their relation to the use of money BOOK 23 On laws in their relation to the number of inhabitants Part 5 BooK 24 On the laws in their relation to the religion established in each country, examined in respect to its practices and within itself BooK 25 On the laws in their relation with the establishment of the religion of each country, and of its external police BooK 26 On the laws in the relation they should have with the order of things upon which they are to enact Part 6 Book 27 ONLY CHAPTER. On the origin and revolutions of the Roman laws on inheritance Book 28 On the origin and revolutions of the civil laws among the French Book 29 On the way to compose the laws Book 30 The theory of the feudal laws among the Franks in their relation with the establishment of the monarchy Book 31 The theory of the feudal laws among the Franks in their relation to the revolutions of their monarchy Bibliography Index of names and places Index of works cited