Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu

1689 - 1755

Titles on this disk:

• author: Complete Works, vol. 1 (The Spirit of Laws)
• author: Complete Works, vol. 2 (The Spirit of Laws)
• author: Complete Works, vol. 3 (Grandeur and Declension of the Roman Empire; A Dialogue between Sylla and Eucrates; Persian Letters)
• author: Complete Works, vol. 4 (Familiar Letters; Miscellaneous Pieces; The Temple of Gnidus; A Defence of the Spirit of Laws)

Quotations:

• (1 May, 2006) Montesquieu was fascinated by the liberty which was enjoyed in England, which he attributed to security of person and the rule of law (1748)
• (27 January, 2006) Montesquieu thought that commerce improves manners and cures “the most destructive prejudices” (1748)
• (2 May, 2005) Montesquieu states that the Roman Empire fell because the costs of its military expansion introduced corruption and the loyalty of its soldiers was transferred from the City to its generals (1734)

About this person:

Montesquieu was one of the most influential legal theorists and political philosophers of the 18th century. His ideas about the separation of powers and checks on the power of the executive had a profound impact on the architects of the American constitution.

• Liberty Fund plans to publish a new translation of Montesquieu’s Mes Pensées by Henry C. Clark in 2012. A French edition of Mes Pensées will appear shortly as part of the collaborative effort by the Montesquieu Society and the Voltaire Foundation to put the complete works of Montesquieu online.