The first issue of the first counterfeit edition and the first edition to printed in France, published by Prault in Paris in January 1749, with the misspelling of Barrilot with only one ‘r’ on the title page and the errata leaf at the end of the first volume.
“One of the most remarkable works of the eighteenth century” (PMM), De l’Esprit des Loix is a rigorous and diverse analysis that subjects to scrutiny all forms of social structures that organise the distribution of power among social groups. Its greatest contribution has been directly to political philosophy, most notably with regards to the theory of jurisprudence. Montesquieu insisted upon the separation of powers, particularly the separation of judicial power from executive and legislative authority, as a bulwark against abuse of state power.
Most pertinently, however, Montesquieu’s ‘theories underlay the thinking which led up to the American and French revolutions, and the United States Constitution in particular is a lasting tribute to the principles he advocated’ (PMM).
PMM, 197 (first edition); Kress 4920; Tchemerzine VIII, p. 460.
