MONTESQUIEU, Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de la Bride et di, French philosophical historian: b. at La Bride, near Bordeaux, 18 Jan. 1689; d. La Bretle, 10 Feb, 1755. He was of a noble family, received an excellent education and studied law which was the family traditional profession. From his father and his mother he inherited titles, prop erty and position, and his uncle, who died in 1716, left him his whole fortune, his very im portant judicial office of °president a mortier" and his old and noble family name of °Montes quieu." The office thus bequeathed him he held for 12 years, but his serious occupation was writing on philosophy, politics, natural science and various other subjects. In 1721 his 'Lewes persones) were published at Amster dam anonymously. In these Montesquieu satirizes the follies of his age in literature, society, politics and religion. So popular were these letters that the public called for several editions in the first year following their pub lication. They pointed the way to a new field in literature and are credited with being the first book in the so-called °Philosophe" move ment. Montesquieu became a sort of literary lion in Paris and he enjoyed his reputation and the peculiar advantages it brought him to the full. But to do this he sold the life tenure of his office in Bride and removed to the capitol in 1726, and two years later he was elected a member of the Academie Fmncaise. He sud denly resolved upon an extensive tour of Europe with the purpose of observing the life of the various countries visited. His tour took him to Austria; Hungary, Italy, England and the Rhine country and occupied nearly four years which were very fruitful in the life of the author. Returning to La Bride he set up a great study hall and library 60 feet long by 40 feet wide. The result of his work here was; in part, 'Considerations sur les causes de la grandeur et de la decadence des Romains> which was published anonymously in Amster dam in 1734. This became at once popular, not alone in France, but all over Europe, and was probably the most widely read of all Montes quieu's works. It opened the wide field of the philosophy of history. In the meantime he was carrying' on deep and original researches for a still greater work. But he loved the literary salons and the brilliant life of Paris and much of his time was spent in the capital, however, not to the neglect of his literary investigations; for the 'Esprit des lois,' the most original book of its age, appeared in Geneva in 1748, It was published in two volumes comprising in all 31 books. Though the 'Esprit' met with considerable opposition at first, in France, it became popular in other European countries, and France soon also fell into line and Montes quieu was looked upon as the greatest literary man of his day. His passion for literary work continued; but most of his subsequent writings remained unpublished during his lifetime.
His fame continued long after his death and for more than a century he was the one great authority of the moderate reform party, not alone in France, but also in other countries where the spirit of reform was abroad. Of all the early writers on the science of comparative politics and history he easily stands first on account of the actual excellence of the work done, the originality of thought which he con stantly displays and the deep and lasting in fluence he had upon the thought of his own day and upon succeeding generations. In France, however, Montesquieu's enemies and detractors have accused him of being more English than French in literary form and in manner of thought; and, in fact, so great an admirer was he of everything English, that he was looked upon, during his lifetime and long afterward as an Anglomaniac. Montesquieu is a much more rational thinker than Voltaire, though the latter far outran him in popularity. The two men were, however, so far apart in their modes of thought that neither was able to appreciate the greatness of the other. The cool, moderate reasoning of Montesquieu was not only in every way fitted for the age in which he lived, but it was couched in language that attracted and commended itself to all men of liberal tendencies. Thus it was a preparation for the work that Voltaire himself was called upon to do; and both Montesquieu and Voltaire, though working along different lines and imbued each with a different spirit, were both on the broad road to the Revolution of 1789 and the rejuvena tion of France. In an age when the real spirit of all just law was hidden from the sight of most men, the original, truthful and clear-cut views of Montesquieu on politics and their rela tion to law came as an inspiration and took hold of the imagination of thinking Europe. He made men think clearly and powerfully along lines that they had been unaccustomed to think rightly for centuries. His masterly genius for generalization may be said to have created the science of politics. His plain, un adorned, forceful language and withal beautif 1 composition is in marked contrast to the spirit that ruled the literature of his own and the following generation. To this simplicity of language and directness of thought he owed much of his popularity. Montesquieu was well known to the more inquiring spirits of the Eng lish colonies in America and his work had a strong influence over the revolutionary spirit that began to make itself felt among the colonies early in the latter half of the 18th century, where, during the struggle for inde pendence, it became a veritable textbook of the Revolutionary party. There have been many editions of Montesquieu's works published in French and in all the languages of Europe. (See