The Spirit of the Laws is， without question， one of the central texts m the history of eighteenth -century thought， yet there has been no complete，scholarly English - language edition since that of Thomas Nugent， published in 1970. This lucid translation renders Montesqnieu' s problematic text newlyaccessible to a fresh generation of students， helping them to understand quite why Montesquieu was such an important figure in the early Enlightment and why The Spirit of the Laws was， for example， such an influence upon those who framed the American constitution. Fully annotated， this edition should focus attention upon Montesquieu' s use of sources and his text as a whole.rather than upon those opening passages towards which critical energies have traditionaUy been devoted， and a selected bibliography and chronology are provided for those coming to Montesquieu's work for the first time.
Part 1 BOOK i On laws in general BOOK 2 On laws deriving directly from the nature of thegovernment BOOK 3 On the principles of the three governments BOOK 4 That the laws of education should be relative to theprinciples of the government BOOK 5 That the laws given by the legislator should berelative to the principle of the government BOOK 6 Consequences of the principles of the variousgovernments in relation to the simplicity of civiland criminal laws, the form of judgments, and theestablishment of penalties BOOK 7 Consequences of the different principles of thethree governments in relation to sumptuary laws,luxury, and the condition of women BOOK 8 On the corruption of the principles of the threegovernments 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 itsrelation with the constitution BOOK 12 On the laws that form political liberty in relationto the citizen BOOK 13 On the relations that the levy of taxes and the sizeof public revenues have with liberty Part 3 BOOK 14 On the laws in their relation to the nature of theclimate BOOK 15 How the laws of civil slavery are related with thenature of the climate BOOK 16 How the laws of domestic slavery are related tothe nature of the climate BOOK 17 How the laws of political servitude are related tothe nature of the climate BOOK 18 On the laws in their relation with the nature ofthe terrain BOOK 19 On the laws in their relation with the principlesforming the general spirit, the mores, and themanners 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, consideredin 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 ofinhabitants Part 5 BOOK 24 On the laws in their relation to the religionestablished in each country, examined in respectto its practices and within itself BOOK 25 On the laws in their relation with theestablishment of the religion of each country, andof its external police BOOK 26 On the laws in the relation they should have withthe order of things upon which they are to enact Part 6 BOOK 27 ONLY CHAPTER. On the origin and revolutionsof the Roman laws on inheritance BOOK 28 On the origin and revolutions of the civil lawsamong the French BOOK 29 On the way to compose the laws BOOK 30 The theory of the feudal laws among the Franksin their relation with the establishment of themonarchy BOOK 31 The theory of the feudal laws among the Franksin their relation to the revolutions of theirmonarchy Bibliography Index of names and places Index of works cited
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