![]() | 1. Of the Nature of the three different Governments. The Spirit of the Laws | ![]() |
2.1. 1. Of the Nature of the three different Governments.
There are three species of government: republican, monarchical, and despotic. In order to discover their nature, it is sufficient to recollect the common notion, which supposes three definitions, or rather three facts: that a republican government is that in which the body, or only a part of the people, is possessed of the supreme power; monarchy, that in which a single person governs by fixed and established laws; a despotic government, that in which a single person directs everything by his own will and caprice.
This is what I call the nature of each government; we must now inquire into those laws which directly conform to this nature, and consequently are the fundamental institutions.
![]() | 1. Of the Nature of the three different Governments. The Spirit of the Laws | ![]() |