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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.
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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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1. The Reason of the Use of Money.
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2. Of the Nature of Money.
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3. Of ideal Money.
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4. Of the Quantity of Gold and Silver.
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5. The same Subject continued.
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6. The Reason why Interest was lowered one-half after the Conquest of the Indies.
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7. How the Price of Things is fixed in the Variation of the Sign of Riches.
  
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Footnotes
 22.8. 
8. The same Subject continued.
 22.9. 
9. Of the relative Scarcity of Gold and Silver.
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10. Of Exchange.
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11. Of the Proceedings of the Romans with respect to Money.
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12. The Circumstances in which the Romans changed the Value of the Specie.
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13. Proceedings with respect to Money in the Time of the Emperors.
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14. How the Exchange is a Constraint on despotic Power.
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15. The Practice of some Countries in Italy.
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16. The Assistance a State may derive from Bankers.
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17. Of Public Debts.
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18. Of the Payment of Public Debts.
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19. Of lending upon Interest.
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20. Of Maritime Usury.
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21. Of Lending by Contract, and the State of Usury among the Romans.
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22. The same Subject continued.
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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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previous section21. Of the Commerce of the Nobility in a Monarchy. The Spirit of the Laws
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In a monarchical government, it is contrary to the spirit of commerce that any of the nobility should be merchants. "This," said the Emperors Honorius and Theodosius, [17] "would be pernicious to cities; and would remove the facility of buying and selling between the merchants and the plebeians."

It is contrary to the spirit of monarchy to admit the nobility into commerce. The custom of suffering the nobility of England to trade is one of those things which has there mostly contributed to weaken the monarchical government.

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