Montesquieu's Considerations on the State of Europe

In 1748 Montesquieu simultaneously published his immense Spirit of the Laws and republished his brief Considerations on the Causes of the Greatness of the Romans and their Decline. Both the date of publication and the evidence of the texts themselves correct contemporary scholars' tendency to discount the status of the Considerations as the unique partner of the Laws. Reading the two works together illuminates Montesquieu's account of the state, his assessment of historical progress, and his predictions for the future of Europe.