MONTESQUIEU, Charles de Secondat, Baron de, & Jean le Rond d'Alembert.

£750 · Offered by Peter Harrington

Miscellaneous Pieces. First edition in English, including the first English translations of the Defence of the Spirit of Laws - "the most brilliantly written of all his works" (Ency. Brit) - and of the final eight Persian Letters. The collection also includes a 52-page eulogy by d'Alembert, who worked to bring Montesquieu into the group working on the Encyclopédie. The utilitarian approach to religious commandments in the Spirit of Laws provoked fierce criticisms of moral degradation, blasphemy, and atheism. The Defence was Montesquieu's reply, reiterating his Christian credentials and receiving praise from no less a figure than Voltaire. For Carruthers, it remains "the most revelatory of all Montesquieu's writings regarding his understanding of his method as a political philosopher" (p. 22). The remaining pieces capture Montesquieu in a range of less familiar settings, including historical fiction (Lysimachus), love poetry (The Temple of Gnidus) and a protean article for the Encyclopédie (An Essay on Taste).

Found via Rare Books Intel, a search across rare-book dealers, auction houses and marketplaces worldwide.