A list of the main sources referenced by Montesquieu

, par Stewart

It will be noted that it is normal for Montesquieu to refer to Greek texts in their Latin translations.

Agathias Scholasticus (Greek, 530–593 CE), On the life and actions of Justinian[De imperio et rebus gestis Justiani libri quinque, 1594 (Catalogue, no. 2808).]

Annals of Metz (Annales Metenses) [Monumenta Germaniae historica, Scriptores 1].

Appian of Alexandria (Greek,2nd century CE), Civil Wars ; The Wars with Mithridates (Catalogue no.2810).

Aristotle, Politics ; Œconomica ; “On marvelous things heard” (Catalogue nos. 1399, 2364, 2365)

Aulus Gellius (Roman, 2nd century CE), Noctes atticae (‘Attic nights’) (Catalogue no. 1822)

Baluze, Étienne (1630–1718), Regum francorum capitularia (‘Capitularies of the French kings’), 1677

Barbeyrac, Jean (1674–1744), Histoire des anciens traités (‘History of ancient treatises’), 1739 (Supplément, Catalogue no. 2366)

Beaumanoir, Philippe de (French, 13th century), Coutumes de Beauvaisis (‘Customs of the Beauvaisis’), 1283, first published in 1690

Bernard, Jean Frédéric (d. 1744), Recueil de voyages au nord (‘Collection of northern voyages’) 10 vols., 1715–1738 (Catalogue, no. 2751)

Bernier, François (1620–1688), Voyage dans les États du Grand Mogol (‘Voyage to the Mogul Empire’), 1671 (Catalogue no. 2735)

Boutillier, Jean (d. 1395), Somme rural ou grand coutumier civil et canon enrichi d’ordonnances et d’arrêts par Louis Charondas (‘The rural Summa or customs and practice civil and canon [...]’)), first printed in 1479 (edition of 1603 : Catalogue no. 885)

Burnet, Gilbert (1643–1715), History of the Reformation of the Church of England, 1679

Capitularies, see Baluze.

Chardin, Jean (1643–1713), Voyages en Perse et autre lieux de l’Orient (‘Travels to Persia and other places in the Orient’), 1711 (Catalogue no. 2739 ; also available as .pdf on line)

Cicero : Pro Cluentio (‘In defense of Cluentius’ ; In Verrem (‘Against Verres’) ; Philippicæ ; De inventione (‘On the composition of arguments’) ; De legibus (‘On laws’) ; De officiis (‘On duties’) ; De oratore ; De finibus bonorum et malorum (‘On the ends of good and evil’) ; Brutus ; Epistolæ ad familiares (‘Letters to friends’) ; Epistolæ ad Atticum (‘Letters to Atticus’)

Codex legum antiquarum in quo continentur leges Wisigothorum, edictum Theodorici regis, lex Burgundiorum, lex salica, lex Allemannorum, lex Baivrasiorum, decretum Tassilionis ducis, lex Ripuariorum, lex Saxonum, Anglorum et Verinorum, Siriorum, Longobardorum, constitutiones Siculæ sive Neapolitanæ, capitulare Caroli et Hludovici imp. formulæ solemnes et glossarium vocum obscuriorum ex bibl. Frid. Lindembrogi, Frankfurt : Johannem & Andream Marnios et al., 1613 (Catalogue no. 820 ; see also nos. 823, 824, 825) :
Leges Alamannorum (‘Laws of the Alemanni’), 8th–12th centuries ;
Leges Burgundionum (‘Burgundian laws’), circa 500 CE ;
Leges Langobardorum (‘Laws of the Lombards’), 7th–8th centuries ;
Leges Saxonum (‘Laws of the Saxons’), laws promulgated by Charlemagne, 782–803 ;
Lex Frisionum (‘Law of the Frisians’), 12th–13th centuries
Lex ribuaria or Lois ripuaires (‘Law of the Ribuarian Franks’ or ‘Ribuarian laws’), 7th century ;
Lex salica (‘Salic law’), circa 500 CE ;
Lex Visigothorum (‘Law of the Visigoths’), 7th century

Codex Theodosianus (‘Theodosian code’), named for Roman emperor Theodosius II, 438 CE

Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (Byzantine emperor, 913–959), Polybii, Diodori Siculi, Nicolai Damasceni, Dionysii Halicar., Appiani Alexand., Dionis et Johannis Antiocheni exerpta ex collectaneis Constantini Augusti Porphyrogenetæ, Paris : Mathurin du Puis, 1634.

Dampier, William, Nouveau Voyage autour du monde (‘A new voyages around the world’), 1711 (Catalogue no. 2740)

Demosthenes (Greek, 4th century BCE), Orationes : De falsa legatione and orations against Timarcrates, Aristogeiton, and Mediam (Catalogue nos. 1858, 1859, 1860, 1860bis ; a Frankfort edition of 1604 is cited in VI.5 and XV.6)

Dio Cassius (155–235 CE), Historia romana, circa 200 CE (Catalogue nos. 2828, 2829)

Diodorus Siculus (Greek, 1st century BCE), Biblioteca historica (‘The Library of History’) (Catalogue nos. 2671, 2676, 2677, 2778). Montesquieu also refers once (II, 3) to the “Rhodoman” edition, which this could be L. Rhodoman, Diodori Siculi Bibliothecae historicae libri XV reliqui [...], Hanover : Typis Wechelianis, 1611.

Dionysius of Halicaranassus (Greek, 1st century BCE), Antiquitates romanae (‘Roman antiquities’). Montesquieu appears to cite only the Wechelius edition (Catalogue no.

2831

).

Charles de Fresne du Cange (1610–1688), Glossarium mediæ et infimæ latinitatis (‘A glossary of middle and late Latin’), 1678 (edition de 1710, Catalogue no. 2462)

Du Halde, Jean-Baptiste (1674–1743), Description géographique, historique, chronologique et physique de l’empire de la Chine et de la Tartarie chinoise (‘A geographical, historical, chronological and physical description of the Chinese empire and of Chinese Tartary’), 4 vols. 1735. The edition cited by Montesquieu has not been identified.

Établissements de saint Louis (‘Establishments of St. Louis’), 1226–1270

Eusebius of Caesarea (Greek, 3rd–4th century CE), Præparatio evangelicæ (‘Preparation for the Gospel’, Catalogue no. 331), Chronicon (‘Chronicle’)

Florus (1st–2nd century CE), Epitome rerum romanorum (‘Epitome of Roman history’) (Catalogue no. 2849)

Fontaines, Pierre de (13th century), Le Conseil que Pierre de Fontaines donna à son ami (‘Counsel given by Pierre de Fontaines to his friend’), first printed in 1668.

Fredegar (attribution), Chronicle of Fredegar, 7th century

Freinsheim, Johann, see Livy

Garcilaso de la Vega (1501–1536), Comentarios reales de los Incas’ (‘Royal commentaries of the Incas’ ; edition of 1633 : Catalogue no. 3174), 1609–1617 ; Histoire des guerres civiles des Espagnols dans les Indes, published in Paris in 1658 (Catalogue no. 3173).

Gregory of Tours (538–594), Historica Francorum (Catalogue no. 2955 [1610])

Hanno (called the Navigator, Carthaginian, 6th –5th century BCE, Periplus (attributed)

Herodotus (5th century BCE), Histories (Catalogue nos. 2781, 2782, 2783, 2783) ; Clio, Melpomene

Hyde, Thomas (1636–1703), Historia religionis veterum Persarum (‘Religious history of the ancient Persians’), 1700

Josephus, Flavius (37–c. 100 CE), Contra Apionem (‘Against Apion’) (Catalogue no. 3188)

Julius Caesar (100–44 BCE), De bello gallico (‘The Gallic Wars’), De bello civili (‘On Civil War’)

Justin(us), Marcus (2nd century), Epitoma historiarum Philippicarum (‘An abridgement of Philippic histories’)

Justinian I ( 6th century), Novellæ constitutiones (‘New constitutions’) ; Institutiones justiniani (‘Institutes of Justinian’) (Catalogue no. 710)

Kaempfer, Engelbert (German, 1651–1716), Historia imperii Japonici germanice scripta ab Engelberto Kaempfero Lemgoviensi (‘A History of the Japanese empire by Engelbert Kaempfer of Lemgo’), 1727 (Catalogue no. 3213).

Labat, Jean-Baptiste (1663–1738), Nouveaux Voyages aux îles de l’Amérique (‘A new voyage to the islands of America’), 1722 (Catalogue no. 2746)

La Loubère, Simon de (1642–1729), Du royaume de Siam (‘On the kingdom of Siam’), 1691 (Catalogue no. 2747)

Laugier de Tassy, Jacques Philippe, Histoire du royaume d’Alger, 1725 (Catalogue no. 3128)

Lettres édifiantes et curieuses écrites des missions étrangères par quelques missionnaires de la Compagnie de Jésus (‘Edifying and curious letters written from foreign missions by missionaries of the Society of Jesus’), 1702–1743, edited by Du Halde from 1711.

Libanius (314–ca. 392) : Declamationes (Catalogue no. 1902)

Lisias (5th–4th century BCE), Against Agoratus, 395 BCE

Livy (Titus Livius), Ab urba condita (‘History of Rome’) ; Les Décades de Tite-Live, avec les Supplémens de J. Freinshemius, [...] de la Traduction de P. Du Ryer, 1653 (Catalogue no. 2852).

Marculfus (7th century), Marculfi monarchi formulae (‘The formulas of Marculfus’) (Catalogue no. 967)

Montesquieu, Considérations sur les causes de la grandeur des Romains et de la décadence (‘Considerations on the causes of the greatness of the Romans and of their decline’, 1734 (Catalogue no. 2857)

Perry, John (1670–1732), The State of Russia under the Present Czar, 1716. Montesquieu cites a Paris edition of 1717.

Philostratus, Lucius Flavius (Greek, 2nd–3rd century CE), Vitae sophistarum (‘Lives of the Sophists’) (Catalogue no. 2888)

Plato, Critias, Laws, The Republic

Pliny the elder (Roman, 23 BCE– 79 CE), Naturalis historia (‘Natural History’)

Plutarch (Greek, c. 46–120 CE), Moralia ; Parallel Lives. There are many editions in the Catalogue.

Polybius (Greek, 2nd century BCE), Historiæ (at La Brède : Les cinq premiers livres des Histoires de Polybe […] traduits par Louis Maigret [Catalogue no. 2635) ; Excerpta de virtutibus et vitiis (‘Extracts of virtues and vices’), in Constantine Porphyrogenitus anthology, p. 1–211 ; On Embassies (Polybii selecta De legationibus, Antwerp, 1582, or Du Ryer, Les Histoires de Polybe avec les fragments du même auteur, contenant la plupart des ambassades (Paris : Augustin Courbe, 1655).

Pomponius Mela (Roman, 1st century CE), De orbis situ (‘Description of the Earth’), 1471 (Catalogue no. 2629)

Prideaux, Humphrey (1648–1724), Histoire des juifs et des peuples voisins (‘History of the Jews and neighboring peoples’), 1728 (Catalogue no. 3189) ; Life of Mahomet, 1697

Procopius (Greek, c. 500–ca. 554 CE), The Persian Wars ; The Vandalic Wars ; The Gothic Wars (Catalogue no. 2863)

Pyrard, François (French, ca. 1578–ca. 1623), Voyages, 1611

René Auguste de Renneville, Recueil des voyages qui ont servi à l’établissement de la Compagnie des Indes (‘Collection of travels which contributed to the establishment of the Company of the Indies’), 1702–1706 (Catalogue no. 2755)

Richelieu, cardinal de (1585–1642), Testament politique (‘Political testament), 1680 (edition of 1688 : Catalogue no. 2430)

Salluste (Roman, 1st century BCE), Jugurtha (Catalogue no. 2872)

Scylax of Caryanda (5th century BCE, attribution), Periplus Scylacis Caryandensis (‘The Periplus of the Erythræan Sea’)

Seneca (Roman, 1st century CE), De beneficiis (‘On benefits’)

Strabo (Roman, 1st century BCE/CE), Rerum geographicarum (Catalogue no. 2646)

Suetonius (Roman, 1st–2nd century CE), Vitæ duodecim cæsarum (‘The lives of the twelve, caesars’). There are many editions in the Catalogue.

Tacitus (Roman, 1st–2nd century CE), Annals ; De moribus Germanorum (‘On the ways of the Germans’) (Catalogue no. 3109)

Tavernier, Jean-Baptiste (1605–1689) : Voyages en Turquie, en Perse, et aux Indes (‘Travels to Turkey, Persia, and India’), 1675 (edition of 1713 : Catalogue, no. 2762)

Tournefort, Joseph de (1656–1708) : Relation d’un voyage du Levant (‘Relation of a voyage to the Levant’), 1717 (Catalogue no. 2764)

Ulpian(us) (Roman, d. 223 CE) : Domitii Ulpiani fragmenta (‘Remnants of Ulpian’), first published 1549

Xenophon (Greek, 4th century BCE) :The Athenium Republic (attributed) ; Constitution of the Lacedaemonians ; Helenica ; Hiero ; Œconomica ; Memorabilia ; Symposium ; On Revenues. (Catalogue no. 2805)