It has been said that the letter kills, but that in the spirit there is life. It is decidedly the contrary in the book of Montesquieu; the spirit is diffusive2, and the letter teaches nothing.
False Citations in the “Spirit of Laws,” and False Consequences Drawn3 from Them by the Author.
It is observed, that “the English, to favor liberty, have abstracted all the intermediate powers which formed part of their constitution.”
On the contrary, they have preserved the Upper House, and the greater part of the jurisdictions4 which stand between the crown and the people.
“The establishment of a vizier in a despotic state is a fundamental law.”
A judicious5 critic has remarked that this is as much as to say that the office of the mayors of the palace was a fundamental office. Constantine was highly despotic, yet had no grand vizier. Louis XIV. was less despotic, and had no first minister. The popes are sufficiently6 despotic, and yet seldom possess them.
“The sale of employments is good in monarchical7 states, because it makes it the profession of persons of family to undertake employments, which they would not fulfil from disinterested9 motives10 alone.”
Is it Montesquieu who writes these odious11 lines? What! because the vices12 of Francis I. deranged13 the public finances, must we sell to ignorant young men the right of deciding upon the honor, fortune, and lives of the people? What! is it good in a monarchy14, that the office of magistrate15 should become a family provision? If this infamy16 was salutary, some other country would have adopted it as well as France; but there is not another monarchy on earth which has merited the opprobrium17. This monstrous18 anomaly sprang from the prodigality19 of a ruined and spendthrift monarch8, and the vanity of certain citizens whose fathers possessed20 money; and the wretched abuse has always been weakly attacked, because it was felt that reimbursement21 would be difficult. It would be a thousand times better, said a great jurisconsult, to sell the treasure of all the convents, and the plate of all the churches, than to sell justice. When Francis I. seized the silver grating of St. Martin, he did harm to no one; St. Martin complained not, and parted very easily with his screen; but to sell the place of judge, and at the same time make the judge swear that he has not bought it, is a base sacrilege.
Let us complain that Montesquieu has dishonored his work by such paradoxes22 — but at the same time let us pardon him. His uncle purchased the office of a provincial23 president, and bequeathed it to him. Human nature is to be recognized in everything, and there are none of us without weakness.
“Behold how industriously24 the Muscovite government seeks to emerge from despotism.”
Is it in abolishing the patriarchate and the active militia25 of the strelitzes; in being the absolute master of the troops, of the revenue, and of the church, of which the functionaries26 are paid from the public treasury27 alone? or is it proved by making laws to render that power as sacred as it is mighty28? It is melancholy29, that in so many citations and so many maxims30, the contrary of what is asserted should be almost always the truth.
“The luxury of those who possess the necessaries of life only, will be zero; the luxury of those who possess as much again, will be equal to one; of those who possess double the means of the latter, three; and so on.”
The latter will possess three times the excess beyond the necessaries of life; but it by no means follows that he will possess three times as many luxuries; for he may be thrice as avaricious32, or may employ the superfluity in commerce, or in portions to his daughters. These propositions are not affairs of arithmetic, and such calculations are miserable33 quackery34.
“The Samnites had a fine custom, which must have produced admirable results. The young man declared the most worthy35 chose a wife where he pleased; he who had the next number of suffrages36 in his favor followed, and so on throughout.”
The author has mistaken the Sunites, a people of Scythia, for the Samnites, in the neighborhood of Rome. He quotes a fragment of Nicholas de Demas, preserved by Stob?us: but is the said Nicholas a sufficient authority? This fine custom would moreover be very injurious in a well-governed country; for if the judges should be deceived in the young man declared the most worthy; if the female selected should not like him; or if he were objectionable in the eyes of the girl’s parents, very fatal results might follow.
“On reading the admirable work of Tacitus on the manners of the Germans, it will be seen that it is from them the English drew the idea of their political government. That admirable system originated in the woods.”
The houses of peers and of commons, and the English courts of law and equity37, found in the woods! Who would have supposed it? Without doubt, the English owe their squadrons and their commerce to the manners of the Germans; and the sermons of Tillotson to those pious38 German sorcerers who sacrificed their prisoners, and judged of their success in war by the manner in which the blood flowed. We must believe, also, that the English are indebted for their fine manufactures to the laudable practice of the Germans, who, as Tacitus observers, preferred robbery to toil39.
“Aristotle ranked among monarchies40 the governments both of Persia and Laced?mon; but who cannot perceive that the one was a despotism, the other a republic?”
Who, on the contrary, cannot perceive that Laced?mon had a single king for four hundred years, and two kings until the extinction41 of the Heraclid?, a period of about a thousand years? We know that no king was despotic of right, not even in Persia; but every bold and dissembling prince who amasses42 money, becomes despotic in a little time, either in Persia or Laced?mon; and, therefore, Aristotle distinguishes every state possessing perpetual and hereditary43 chiefs, from republics.
“People of warm climates are timid, like old men; those of cold countries are courageous44, like young ones.”
We should take great care how general propositions escape us. No one has ever been able to make a Laplander or an Esquimaux warlike, while the Arabs in fourscore years conquered a territory which exceeded that of the whole Roman Empire. This maxim31 of M. Montesquieu is equally erroneous with all the rest on the subject of climate.
“Louis XIII. was extremely averse45 to passing a law which made the negroes of the French colonies slaves; but when he was given to understand that it was the most certain way of converting them, he consented.”
Where did the author pick up this anecdote46? The first arrangement for the treatment of the negroes was made in 1673, thirty years after the death of Louis XIII. This resembles the refusal of Francis I. to listen to the project of Christopher Columbus, who had discovered the Antilles before Francis I. was born.
“The Romans never exhibited any jealousy47 on the score of commerce. It was as a rival, not as a commercial nation, that they attacked Carthage.”
It was both as a warlike and as a commercial nation, as the learned Huet proves in his “Commerce of the Ancients,” when he shows that the Romans were addicted48 to commerce a long time before the first Punic war.
“The sterility49 of the territory of Athens established a popular government there, and the fertility of that of Laced?mon an aristocratic one.”
Whence this chimera50? From enslaved Athens we still derive51 cotton, silk, rice, corn, oil, and skins; and from the country of Laced?mon nothing. Athens was twenty times richer than Laced?mon. With respect to the comparative fertility of the soil, it is necessary to visit those countries to appreciate it; but the form of a government is never attributed to the greater or less fertility. Venice had very little corn when her nobles governed. Genoa is assuredly not fertile, and yet is an aristocracy. Geneva is a more popular state, and has not the means of existing a fortnight upon its own productions. Sweden, which is equally poor, has for a long time submitted to the yoke52 of a monarchy; while fertile Poland is aristocratic. I cannot conceive how general rules can be established, which may be falsified upon the slightest appeal to experience.
“In Europe, empires have never been able to exist.” Yet the Roman Empire existed for five hundred years, and that of the Turks has maintained itself since the year 1453.
“The duration of the great empires of Asia is principally owing to the prevalence of vast plains.” M. Montesquieu forgets the mountains which cross Natolia and Syria, Caucasus, Taurus, Ararat, Imaus, and others, the ramifications53 of which extend throughout Asia.
After thus convincing ourselves that errors abound54 in the “Spirit of Laws”; after everybody is satisfied that this work wants method, and possesses neither plan nor order, it is proper to inquire into that which really forms its merit, and which has led to its great reputation.
In the first place, it is written with great wit, while the authors of all the other books on this subject are tedious. It was on this account that a lady, who possessed as much wit as Montesquieu, observed, that his book was “l’esprit sur les lois.” It can never be more correctly defined.
A still stronger reason is that the book exhibits grand views, attacks tyranny, superstition55, and grinding taxation56 — three things which mankind detest57. The author consoles slaves in lamenting58 their fetters59, and the slaves in return applaud him.
One of the most bitter and absurd of his enemies, who contributed most by his rage to exalt60 the name of Montesquieu throughout Europe, was the journalist of the Convulsionaries. He called him a Spinozist and deist; that is to say, he accused him at the same time of not believing in God and of believing in God alone.
He reproaches him with his esteem61 for Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, and the Stoics62; and for not loving Jansenists — the Abbé de St. Cyran and Father Quesnel. He asserts that he has committed an unpardonable crime in calling Bayle a great man.
He pretends that the “Spirit of Laws” is one of those monstrous works with which France has been inundated63 since the Bull Unigenitus, which has corrupted64 the consciences of all people.
This tatterdemalion from his garret, deriving65 at least three hundred per cent. from his ecclesiastical gazette, declaimed like a fool against interest upon money at the legal rate. He was seconded by some pedants66 of his own sort; and the whole concluded in their resembling the slaves placed at the foot of the statue of Louis XIV.; they are crushed, and gnaw67 their own flesh in revenge.
Montesquieu was almost always in error with the learned, because he was not learned; but he was always right against the fanatics68 and promoters of slavery. Europe owes him eternal gratitude69.
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1
citations
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| n.引用( citation的名词复数 )；引证；引文；表扬 | |
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diffusive
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| adj.散布性的，扩及的，普及的 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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jurisdictions
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| 司法权( jurisdiction的名词复数 )； 裁判权； 管辖区域； 管辖范围 | |
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judicious
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| adj.明智的，明断的，能作出明智决定的 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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monarchical
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| adj. 国王的，帝王的，君主的，拥护君主制的 =monarchic | |
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monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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disinterested
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| adj.不关心的，不感兴趣的 | |
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motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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odious
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| adj.可憎的，讨厌的 | |
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vices
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| 缺陷( vice的名词复数 )； 恶习； 不道德行为； 台钳 | |
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deranged
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| adj.疯狂的 | |
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monarchy
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| n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国 | |
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magistrate
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| n.地方行政官，地方法官，治安官 | |
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infamy
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| n.声名狼藉，出丑，恶行 | |
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opprobrium
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| n.耻辱，责难 | |
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monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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prodigality
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| n.浪费，挥霍 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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reimbursement
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| n.偿还，退还 | |
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paradoxes
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| n.似非而是的隽语，看似矛盾而实际却可能正确的说法( paradox的名词复数 )；用于语言文学中的上述隽语；有矛盾特点的人[事物，情况] | |
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provincial
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| adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人 | |
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industriously
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militia
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| n.民兵，民兵组织 | |
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functionaries
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| n.公职人员，官员( functionary的名词复数 ) | |
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treasury
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| n.宝库；国库，金库；文库 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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maxims
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| n.格言，座右铭( maxim的名词复数 ) | |
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maxim
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| n.格言，箴言 | |
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avaricious
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| adj.贪婪的，贪心的 | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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quackery
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| n.庸医的医术，骗子的行为 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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suffrages
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| （政治性选举的）选举权，投票权( suffrage的名词复数 ) | |
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equity
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| n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票 | |
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pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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monarchies
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| n. 君主政体, 君主国, 君主政治 | |
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41
extinction
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| n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种 | |
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amasses
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| v.积累，积聚( amass的第三人称单数 ) | |
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hereditary
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| adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的 | |
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courageous
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| adj.勇敢的，有胆量的 | |
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averse
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| adj.厌恶的；反对的，不乐意的 | |
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anecdote
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| n.轶事，趣闻，短故事 | |
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47
jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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48
addicted
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| adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的 | |
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49
sterility
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| n.不生育，不结果，贫瘠，消毒，无菌 | |
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50
chimera
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| n.神话怪物；梦幻 | |
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51
derive
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| v.取得；导出；引申；来自；源自；出自 | |
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yoke
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| n.轭；支配；v.给...上轭，连接，使成配偶 | |
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ramifications
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| n.结果，后果( ramification的名词复数 ) | |
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54
abound
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| vi.大量存在；(in，with)充满，富于 | |
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superstition
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| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
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56
taxation
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| n.征税，税收，税金 | |
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detest
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| vt.痛恨，憎恶 | |
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lamenting
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| adj.悲伤的，悲哀的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的现在分词 ) | |
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fetters
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| n.脚镣( fetter的名词复数 )；束缚v.给…上脚镣，束缚( fetter的第三人称单数 ) | |
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exalt
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| v.赞扬，歌颂，晋升，提升 | |
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esteem
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| n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作 | |
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stoics
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| 禁欲主义者，恬淡寡欲的人，不以苦乐为意的人( stoic的名词复数 ) | |
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inundated
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| v.淹没( inundate的过去式和过去分词 )；（洪水般地）涌来；充满；给予或交予（太多事物）使难以应付 | |
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corrupted
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| （使）败坏( corrupt的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）腐化； 引起（计算机文件等的）错误； 破坏 | |
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deriving
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| v.得到( derive的现在分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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pedants
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| n.卖弄学问的人，学究，书呆子( pedant的名词复数 ) | |
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gnaw
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| v.不断地啃、咬；使苦恼，折磨 | |
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fanatics
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| 狂热者，入迷者( fanatic的名词复数 ) | |
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gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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