Montesquieu - Œuvres de Montesquieu - 1788

Magnificent five-volume set of one of the most important editions of the writings of Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu, philosopher, magistrate and major writer of the Enlightenment –

Produced on the eve of the French Revolution, this edition gathers the essential of his literary, philosophical, historical and political production, offering an overarching view of the thought of an author who profoundly renewed reflection on institutions, laws, governments and the foundations of freedom –

The volumes notably include Persian Letters, an epistolary novel in which two Oriental travelers observe with an outsider’s eye the customs, institutions, religious beliefs and contradictions of French society, using satire and irony to denounce intolerance, despotism, social prejudices and abuses of power –

The edition also brings together Considerations on the Causes of the Grandeur and Decline of the Romans, a vast historical study in which Montesquieu analyzes the political, military, economic and moral factors that ensured Rome’s power before its gradual decline, showing that empires are subject to historical laws independent of individual wills –

Montesquieu - Works of Montesquieu. New edition, more correct and more complete than all previous ones - 1788 - Volume I, II, III, IV and V - Jean-François Bastien -
CXL, 438 + 574 + 509 + 495 + 531 pages

Good condition of bindings, volumes in their full mottled smooth levant leather original, light wear, some minor defects on covers and spines, heads and corners worn, yellow edges, smooth spine decorated, author’s name and tomes engraved on red morocco pieces, golden edging framing the covers -

Good interior condition, rare foxing, small stain on the title page, volumes enriched with a handsome portrait of the author in the frontispiece and a superb folding geographical map, clean text, fresh interior, marbled endpapers in good condition, a beautiful set -

Delivery service ensured within a few days -