mporary follies. This production of
Montesquieu became the suggestive example to Goldsmith for his "Citizen
of the World; or, Letters of a Chinese Philosopher." We shall have here
no room for illustrative citations from Montesquieu's "Persian
Letters."

The second work, that on the "Greatness and the Decline of the Romans,"
is less a history than a series of essays on the history of Rome. It is
brilliant, striking, suggestive. It aims to be philosophical rather than
historical. It deals in bold generalizations. The spirit of it is,
perhaps, too constantly and too profoundly hostile to the Romans.
Something of the ancient Gallic enmity--as if a derivation from that
last and noblest of the Gauls, Vercingetorix--seems to animate the
Frenchman in discussing the character and the career of the great
conquering nation of antiquity. The critical element is the element
chiefly wanting to make Montesquieu's work equal to the demands of
modern historical scholarship. Montesquieu was, however, a full worthy
forerunner of the philosophical historians of to-day. We give a single
extract in illustration,--an extract condensed from the chapter in which
the author analyzes and expounds the foreign policy of the Romans. The
generalizations are bold and brilliant,--too bold, probably, for strict
critical truth. (We use, for our extract, the recent translation by Mr.
Jehu Baker, who enriches his volume with original notes of no little
interest and value.) Montesquieu:--

This body [the Roman Senate] erected itself into a tribunal for the
judgment of all peoples, and at the end of every war it decided
upon the punishments and the recompenses which it conceived each to
be entitled to. It took away parts of the lands of the conquered
states, in order to bestow them upon the allies of Rome, thus
accomplishing two objects at once,--attaching to Rome those kings
of whom she had little to fear and much to hope, and weakening
those of whom she had little to hope and all to fear.

Allies were employed to make war upon an enemy, but the destroyers
were at once destroyed in their turn. Philip was beaten with the
half of the AEtolians, who were immediately afterwards annihilated
for having joined themselves to Antiochus. Antiochus was beaten
with the help of the Rhodians, who, after having received signal
rewards, were humiliated forever, under the pretext that they had
req