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The Spirit of the Laws

  
[title page]
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The Translator to the Reader
  
CONTENTS
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PREFACE
  
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Book I. Of Laws in General.
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Book II. Of Laws Directly Derived from the Nature of Government.
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Book III. Of the Principles of the Three Kinds of Government.
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Book IV. That the Laws of Education Ought to Be in Relation to the Principles of Government.
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Book V. That the Laws Given by the Legislator Ought to Be in Relation to the Principle of Government.
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Book VI. Consequences of the Principles of Different Governments with Respect to the Simplicity of Civil and Criminal Laws, the Form of Judgments, and the Inflicting of Punishments.
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Book VII. Consequences of the Different Principles of the Three Governments with Respect to Sumptuary Laws, Luxury, and the Condition of Women.
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Book VIII. Of the Corruption of the Principles of the Three Governments.
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Book IX., Of Laws in the Relation They Bear to a Defensive Force.
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Book X. Of Laws in the Relation They Bear to Offensive Force.
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Book XI. Of the Laws Which Establish Political Liberty, with Regard to the Consti- tution.
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Book XII. Of the Laws That Form Political Liberty, in Relation to the Subject.
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Book XIII. Of the Relation Which the Levying of Taxes and the Greatness of the Public Revenues Bear to Liberty.
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Book XIV. Of Laws in Relation to the Nature of the Climate.
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Book XV. In What Manner the Laws of Civil Slavery Relate to the Nature of the Climate.
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Book XVI. How the Laws of Domestic Slavery Bear a Relation to the Nature of the Climate.
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Book XVII., How the Laws of Political Servitude Bear a Relation to the Nature of the Climate.
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Book XVIII. Of Laws in the Relation They Bear to the Nature of the Soil.
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Book XIX. Of Laws in Relation to the Principles Which Form the General Spirit, Morals, and Customs of a Nation.
 19.2. 
1. Of the Subject of this Book.
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2. That it is necessary People's Minds should be prepared for the Reception of the best Laws.
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3. Of Tyranny.
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4. Of the general Spirit of Mankind.
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5. How far we should be attentive lest the general Spirit of a Nation be changed.
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6. That Everything ought not to be corrected.
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7. Of the Athenians and Lacedmonians.
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8. Effects of a sociable Temper.
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9. Of the Vanity and Pride of Nations. Vanity is as advantageous to a government as pride is dangerous.
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10. Of the Character of the Spaniards and Chinese.
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11. A Reflection.
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12. Of Customs and Manners in a despotic State.
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13. Of the Behaviour of the Chinese.
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14. What are the natural Means of changing the Manners and Customs of a Nation.
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15. The Influence of domestic Government on the political.
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16. How some Legislators have confounded the Principles which govern Mankind.
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17. Of the peculiar Quality of the Chinese Government.
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18. A Consequence drawn from the preceding Chapter.
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19. How this Union of Religion, Laws, Manners, and Customs among the Chinese was effected.
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20. Explanation of a Paradox relating to the Chinese.
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21. How the Laws ought to have a Relation to Manners and Customs.
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22. The same Subject continued.
  
[section]
  
Footnotes
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23. How the Laws are founded on the Manners of a People.
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24. The same Subject continued.
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25. The same Subject continued.
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26. The same Subject continued.
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27. How the Laws contribute to form the Manners, Customs, and Character of a Nation.
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Book XX. Of Laws in Relation to Commerce, Considered in its Nature and Distinctions.
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Book XXI. Of Laws in relation to Commerce, considered in the Revolutions it has met with in the World.
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Book XXII. Of Laws in Relation to the Use of Money.
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Book XXIII. Of Laws in the Relation They Bear to the Number of Inhabitants.
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Book XXIV. Of Laws in relation to Religion Considered in Itself, and in its Doctrines.
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Book XXV. Of Laws in Relation to the Establishment of Religion and its External Polity.
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Book XXVI. Of Laws in Relation to the Order of Things Which They Determine.
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Book XXVII. Of the Origin and Revolutions of the Roman Laws on Successions.
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Book XXVIII. Of the Origin and Revolutions of the Civil Laws among the French.
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Book XXIX. Of the Manner of Composing Laws.
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Book XXX. Theory of the Feudal Laws among the Franks in the Relation They Bear to the Establishment of the Monarchy.
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Book XXXI. Theory of the Feudal Laws among the Franks, in the Relation They Bear to the Revolutions of their Monarchy.

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19.22. 22. The same Subject continued.

When a people have pure and regular manners, their laws become simple and natural. Plato [25] says that Rhadamanthus, who governed a nation extremely religious, finished every process with extraordinary despatch, administering only the oath on each accusation. "But," says the same Plato, [26] "when a people are not religious we should never have recourse to an oath, except he who swears is entirely disinterested, as in the case of a judge and a witness."

Footnotes

[25]

"Laws," lib. xii.

[26]

Ibid., xii.

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