New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-01-13
MCNTESQUIEU.
AN INFLUENCE OF A FORMER DAY.

MONTESQUIEU. BY Albert sorel. Translated by
Melville b. Anderson and Edward Playfair Ander-
son. 16mo, DIP. 21e. Chicago A. C. McClurg & Co.
1t will probably occur to many readers OF this
monograph that NJ. Sorei has while making an
admirable piece Cf criticism and a readable sketch
Of a great French author, ascribed TO his subject
a more extended influence than the acts justify
No doubt :" The Spirit Of the Laws was IN i'm
portant and. in several respects. q revolutionary
work. No doubt 1t exercised o powerful reflex
influence. not only upon France. but Europe; not
only upon Europe, but America Yet-and NJ.
Sorcl csnddy recognizes the fact--it was the fate
Of montesauleu to write In such way that his
conclusions could be wrested from their original
purpose and used 10 furnish forth arguments for
radically opposed theories; and thus 1t happened
that he supplied the foundations and the excuses
for proceedings and excuses which would certainly
not have been approved by him or admitted as
entitled TO auy ldnl OF fiation with his ph sophy
Like many another Frenchman OF genius from
Montaigne onward Montesqueu was all his life
drawn In two directions. The intellect OF q
philosopher. as in the case Of Diderot was united
with sensual tendency. which cropped out
strangely in his writings. to the bewilderment OF
foreigners, IL not OF his own countrymen. That
the author Of the Persian Letters" should also
have written the Spirit of the Laws and the
Considerations on the Greatness and Decline OF
the Romans" would indeed seem odd did not even
the Persian Letters shadow forth that critical.
reflective and analytic power which was TO appear
so strongly in his later works. The Persian
Letters" are satrical in the mild and ambiguous
way which was alone safe at the time they were
written Absolutism. indeed always hindered the
free and full manifestation Of Montesauieu's
genius. lie had no ambition 10 be martyr. nor
did he write his books 10 be suppressed conse.
ouently, he had recourse to figures and literary
DISCUSSES Which to-day interfere considerably with
the effect Of much of his work, and which have
at different periods facilitated the misinterpre-
tation to which he has been inoie than commonly
exposed.
He was far in advance Of his age. and vet ae
was equally far from diyining what was TO follow
him. No man perceived more clearly the abuses
Of his time. and 10 man has pointed out the causes
Of them more sagaciously. But he was mon
srchist and even while extolling the republcanism
of Rome he never thought of applying the ex-
periencc OF Rome TO France In writing the
Spirit OF the LAW" he allowed himself to be
Influenced by some considerations which can only
be called pnltry. His desire that the book should
be generally read. that it should not be thought
heavy and dull led him to employ form Of CON-
position AMI arrangement which. while il had
the effect intended II the time initiated AGAINST
the book SUI seeuentIy. He cut the work up into
paragraphs AMI short chapters, giving it thus at
once a disiointed, spasmodic and frsgmcntary ap-
pearance which has detracted much firm It's
legblity In modern times. This however. is not
the main cause OF the comparative neglect into
which it has fallen during the last balf-century.
The true explanation Of that neglect is the fact
that MontesQuieus lessons have been 50 thoroughly