Introduction This paper looks into Montesquieu’s treatment of virtue as it is practiced in an ancient republic. The paper indicates clearly what Montesquieu understands virtue to be and how it is cultivated. Further, the paper discusses in what ways Montesquieu’s account can be understood as an attack on what Aristotle had said in his Ethics and Politics. In conclusion, this paper points out that some governments are more stable and thus more desirable than others. Balancing between public good and private good in a democracy is more complicated. Therefore, Aristotle’s premise that aristocracy is a better form of governance still holds water. Practice of Virtue in Ancient Republic In “The Spirit of the Laws, Montesquieu provides an explanation on how people come up with laws and how they develop the different social institutions within which they develop and grow. Montesquieu differentiates between two types of laws. On the one hand, there are the physical laws that are instituted or put in place by God. As for human or social laws, Montesquieu argues, they are purely positive i.e. created by human beings based on their experience of the world and are subject to error (Montesquieu 10). Given social institutions are also based on positive thinking, Montesquieu points out that the same are bound to be limited by human error or oversights and hindsight in human thinking. He argues that laws practiced by different nations or republics confirm the idea that human laws are purely positive and are subject to human error. Therefore, in trying to understand any human laws or laws that govern the republic, one cannot fail to contextualize or understand as per given context. The context matters a lot because circumstantial issues dictate the kind of laws or the inclinations of a people. Different societies live in circumstances characterized by different climates, soils, and do different socio-economic activities (Montesquieu 14). Therefore, in coming up with laws or principles to guide behavior, they necessarily peg them on their way of life. The laws or principles that guide behavior also are meant to respond to the situation and cannot be otherwise. It is for this reason that Montesquieu calls for a more appreciative approach even towards laws that may seem rudimentary or perverse. He argues that such laws understood in the context or situation in which a people live, they make sense or will be found to have served a given clear purpose. One key thing that should be observed or appreciated about all republics is the extent to which they allow their law abiding citizens to exercise their own free will and act freely. However, we need to notice that every country or republic only allows freedoms as enabled by its context i.e. the situation informs the laws that provide a framework within which citizens are able to exercise their discretion or freedom. Looking at republics this way, Montesquieu argues, one will be able to find sense even in the rudimentary laws and regulations put in place. Each law or regulation is put in place as informed by a people’s situation to give guidance in terms of what is possible and what is not possible. Therefore, it can be argued that positive laws h