SPIRIT OF LAWS, VOL. 1 (THE WORLD'S GREAT CLASSICS)

THIS 1899 VOLUME, WITH AN ANALYSIS OF THE WORK BY D'ALEMBERT, AND MANY ILLUSTRATIONS AS WELL AS A FULL-LENGTH PORTRAIT OF MONTESQUIEU, DEALS WITH "THE AUTHOR'S ATTEMPT TO FIND THOSE COMMON PRINCIPLES AND EMOTIONS WHICH, OPERATING UPON MEN OF EVERY CLIMATE AND DEGREE OF CIVILIZATION, PRODUCE CERTAIN RESULTS, AMONG WHICH ARE THE VARIETIES OF MANY DIFFERENT LAWS AND CUSTOMS." ABOVE ALL, DESPITE BEING A MAN OF HIS TIME, BELIEVING IN AND ADHERING TO THE EXISTING LAW UNDER WHICH HE LIVED, HE TENDED TOWARD RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE. HE WAS THEREFORE AHEAD OF HIS TIME, BUT HIS CONSERVATISM SO DOMINATED HIS THEORIES OF REFORM THAT EVENTUALLY OTHERS OUTSTRIPPED HIM IN THE AREA OF SOCIAL PROGRESS.