Excerpt from The Aesthetic Doctrine of Montesquieu: Its Application in His Writings The present study was undertaken from a desire to acquire familiarity with the writings of a great Frenchman, and with the purpose of discovering his artistic ideas, of determining his strictly literary value. The desire has been satisfied, but the purpose remains only partly fulfilled. It was hoped that his Aesthetic Doctrine could be made the kernel of a treatment which would include a thorough study of Montesquieu's style, of his setting, of his precursors and influence. Especially was it hoped that there would be Opportunity to engage in the fecund criticism of his general ideas. The writer has not abandoned all hopes of completing this treatment, for which much material has been already collected. During two years, Montesquieu has been the thing most prominently before him; one does not quit a great thinker so easily. At present, however, in view of the specific demands of dissertation-writing and other circumstances, it has seemed best to submit only what may prove, it is trusted, a tolerably exhaustive and rounded presentation of the Doctrine. A final chapter on application has been added, to point, at least, along other paths. Thanks are due for courteous assistance to the officials of the Library of Congress, of the British Museum and of the Biblio theque Nationale. More especially would the writer speak in grateful acknowledgment of the encouragement given and the allowances made by his two very considerate referees. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.