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Front Page  Titles (by Subject) LETTER XXXVII.: Usbek to Ibben, at Smyrna. - Complete Works, vol. 3 (Grandeur and Declension of the Roman Empire; A Dialogue between Sylla and Eucrates; Persian Letters)
LETTER XXXVII.: Usbek to Ibben, at Smyrna. - Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu, Complete Works, vol. 3 (Grandeur and Declension of the Roman Empire; A Dialogue between Sylla and Eucrates; Persian Letters) [1721]Edition used:The Complete Works of M. de Montesquieu (London: T. Evans, 1777), 4 vols. Vol. 3.
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- Considerations On the Causes of the Grandeur and Declension of the Roman Empire.
- Chap. I.: The Infancy of Rome. the Wars It Sustained.
- Chap. II.: Of the Science of War, As Practised By the Romans.
- Chap. III.: The Methods By Which the Romans Raised Themselves to Empire.
- Chap. IV.: Of the Gauls. of Pyrrhus. Parallel Between Carthage and Rome. the War of Hannibal.
- Chap. V.: The State of Greece, of Macedonia, of Syria, and of Egypt, After the Depression of Carthage.
- Chap. VI.: The Conduct Which the Romans Observed, In Order to Subdue All Nations.
- Chap. VII.: How It Was Possible For Mithridates to Resist the Romans.
- Chap. VIII.: Of the Divisions Which Always Subsisted In the City.
- Chap. IX.: Two Causes Which Destroyed Rome.
- Chap. X.: Of the Corruption of the Romans.
- Chap. XI.: Of Sylla, Pompey, and Cæsar.
- Chap. XII.: Observations On the State of Rome After the Death of Cæsar.
- Chap. XIII.: Augustus.
- Chap. XIV.: Tiberius.
- Chap. XV.: Remarks On the Emperors, From Caius Calicula to Antoninus.
- Chap. XVI.: Considerations On the State of the Empire From Antoninus to Probus.
- Chap. XVII.: Changes In the State.
- Chap. XVIII.: An Account of Some New Maxims Received By the Romans.
- Chap. XIX.: Some Particulars of the Grandeur of Attila. the Establishment of the Barbarians Accounted For. Reasons Why the Western Empire Was Overturned Before That In the East.
- Chap. XX.: The Conquests of Justinian. Some Account of His Government.
- Chap. XXI.: Disorders In the Eastern Empire.
- Chap. XXII.: The Weakness of the Eastern Empire.
- Chap. XXIII.: The Duration of the Eastern Empire Accounted For. Its Destruction.
- A Dialogue Between Sylla and Eucrates.
- Persian Letters. By M. De Montesquieu.
- Preliminary Reflections On the Persian Letters, By M. De Montesquieu. Prefixed to the Quarto Edition.
- Introduction to the First French Edition.
- Letter I.: Usbëk to His Friend Rustan At Ispahan.
- Letter II.: Usbek to the First Black Eunuch, At His Seraglio In Ispahan.
- Letter III.: Zachi to Usbek, At Tauris.
- Letter IV.: Zephis to Usbek At Erzeron.
- Letter V.: Rustan to Usbek, At Erzeron.
- Letter VI.: Usbek to His Friend Nessir, At Ispahan.
- Letter VII.: Fatme to Usbek, At Erzeron.
- Letter VIII.: Usbek to His Friend Rustan, At Ispahan.
- Letter IX.: The Chief Eunuch to Ibbi, At Erzeron.
- Letter X.: Mirza to His Friend Usbek, At Erzeron.
- Letter XI.: Usbek to Mirza, At Ispahan.
- Letter XII.: Ushek to the Same, At Ispahan.
- Letter XIII.: Usbek to the Same.
- Letter. XIV.: Usbek to the Same.
- Letter XV.: The First Eunuch, to Jaron, the Black Eunuch, At Erzeron.
- Letter XVI.: Usbek to Mollak Mehemet Ali, Guardian of the Three Tombs, At Com.
- Letter XVII.: Usbek to the Same.
- Letter XVIII.: Mollak Mehemet Ali to Usbek, At Erzeron.
- Letter XIX.: Usbek to His Friend Rustan, At Ispahan.
- Letter XX.: Usbek to Zachi, His Wife, At the Seraglio At Ispahan.
- Letter XXI.: Usbek, to the Chief White Eunuch.
- Letter XXII.: Jaron to the First Eunuch.
- Letter XXIII.: Usbek to His Friend Ibben, At Smyrna.
- Letter XXIV.: Rica to Ibben, At Smyrna.
- Letter XXV.: Usbek to Ibben, At Smyrna.
- Letter XXVI.: Usbek to Roxana, At the Seraglio At Ispahan.
- Letter XXVII.: Usbek to Nessir, At Ispahan.
- Letter XXVIII.: Rica to * * *.
- Letter XXIX.: Rica to Ibben At Smyrna.
- Letter XXX.: Rica to the Same, At Smyrna.
- Letter XXXI.: Rhedi to Usbek, At Paris.
- Letter XXXII.: Rica to * * *.
- Letter XXXIII.: Usbek to Rhedi, At Venice.
- Letter XXXIV.: Usbek to Ibben, At Smyrna.
- Letter XXXV.: Usbek to Gimchid, His Cousin, Dervise of the Shining Monastery of Tauris.
- Letter XXXVI.: Usbek to Rhedi, At Venice.
- Letter XXXVII.: Usbek to Ibben, At Smyrna.
- Letter XXXVIII.: Rica to Ibben, At Smyrna.
- Letter XXXIX.: Hagi * Ibbi to the Jew Ben-joshua, a Mahometan Proselyte, At Smyrna.
- Letter Xl.: Usbek to Ibben, At Smyrna.
- Letter Xli.: the Chief Black Eunuch to Usbek.
- Letter Xlii.: Pharan to Usbek, His Sovereign Lord.
- Letter Xliii.: Usbek to Pharan, At the Gardens of Fatme.
- Letter Xliv.: Usbek to Rhedi, At Venice.
- Letter Xlv.: Rica to Usbek, At * * *.
- Letter Xlvi.: Usbek to Rhedi, At Venice.
- Letter Xlvii.: Zachi to Usbek, At Paris.
- Letter Xlviii.: Usbek * to Rhedi, At Venice.
- Letter Xlix.: Rica to Usbek, At * * *.
- Letter L.: Rica to * * *.
- Letter Li.: Nargum the Persian Envoy Residing At Muscovy, to Usbek At Paris.
- Letter Lii.: Rica to Usbek, At * * *.
- Letter Liii.: Zelis to Usbek, At Paris.
- Letter Liv.: Rica, Usbek At * * *.
- Letter Lv.: Rica to Ibben At Smyrna.
- Letter Lvi.: Usbek to Ibbin, At Smyrna.
- Letter Lvii.: Usbek, to Rhedi, At Venice.
- Letter Lviii.: Rica to Rhedi, At Venice.
- Letter Lix.: Rica to Usbek, At a * * *.
- Letter Lx.: Usbek to Ibben, At Smyrna.
- Letter Lxi.: Usbek to Rhedi, At Venice.
- Letter Lxii.: Zelis to Usbek, At Paris.
- Letter Lxiii.: Rica to Usbek, At * * *.
- Letter Lxiv.: the Chief of the Black Eunuchs to Usbek At Paris.
- Letter Lxv.: Usbek to His Wives, At the Seraglio At Ispahan.
- Letter Lxvi.: Rica to * * *.
- Letter Lxvii.: Ibben to Usbek, At Paris.
- Letter Lxviii.: Rica to Usbek, At * * *.
- Letter Lxix.: Usbek to Rhedi, At Venice.
- Letter Lxx.: Zelis to Usbek, At Paris.
- Letter Lxxi.: Usbek to Zelis.
- Letter Lxxii.: Rica to Ibben, At * * *.
- Letter Lxxiii.: Rica to * * *.
- Letter Lxxiv.: Usbek to Rica, At * * *.
- Letter Lxxv.: Uskek to Rhedi, At Venice.
- Letter Lxxvi.: Usbek to His Friend Ibben, At Smyrna.
- Letter Lxxvii. *: Ibben to Usbek, At Paris.
- Letter Lxxviii.: Rica to Usbek, At ***.
- Letter Lxxix.: the Chief Black Eunuch to Usbek, At Paris.
- Letter Lxxx.: Usbek to Rhedi, At Venice.
- Letter Lxxxi.: Nargum, Envoy From Persia In Muscovy, to Usbek At Paris.
- Letter Lxxxii.: Rica to Ibben, At Smyrna.
- Letter Lxxxiii.: Usbek to Rhedi, At Venice.
- Letter Lxxxiv.: Rica to * * *.
- Letter Lxxxv.: Usbek to Mirza, At Ispahan.
- Letter Lxxxvi.: Rica to * * *.
- Letter Lxxxvii.: Rica to * * *.
- Letter Lxxxviii.: Usbek to Rhedi, At Venice.
- Letter Lxxxix.: Usbek to Ibben, At Smyrna.
- Letter XC.: Usbek to the Same, At Smyrna.
- Letter XCI.: Usbek to Rustan, At Ispahan.
- Letter XCII.: Usbek to Rhedi, At Venice.
- Letter XCIII.: Usbek to His Brother, Santon * In the Monastery of Casbin.
- Letter XCIV.: Usbek to Rhedi, At Venice.
- Letter XCV.: Usbek to the Same.
- Letter XCVI.: The Chief Eunuch to Usbek At Paris.
- Letter XCVII.: Usbek to Hassein, Dervise of the Mountain of Jaron.
- Letter XCVIII.: Usbek to Ibben, At Smyrna.
- Letter XCIX.: Rica to Rhedi, At Venice.
- Letter C.: Rica to the Same.
- Letter CI.: Usbek to * * *.
- Letter CII.: Usbek to Ibben, At Smyrna.
- Letter CIII.: Usbek to the Same.
- Letter CIV.: Usbek to the Same.
- Letter CV.: Redi to Usbek, At Paris.
- Letter CVI.: Usbek to Redi, At Venice.
- Letter CVII.: Rica to Ibben At Smyrna.
- Letter CVIII.: Usbek to * * *.
- Letter CIX.: Rica to * * *.
- Letter CX.: Rica to * * *.
- Letter CXI.: Usbek to * * *.
- Letter CXII.: Rhedi to Esbek, At Paris.
- Letter CXIII.: Usbek to Rhedi, At Venice.
- Letter CXIV.: Usbek to the Same.
- Letter CXV.: Usbek to the Same.
- Letter CXVI.: Usbek to the Same.
- Letter CXVII.: Usbek to the Same.
- Letter CXVIII.: Usbek to the Same.
- Letter CXIX.: Usbek to the Same.
- Letter CXX.: Usbek to the Same.
- Letter CXXI.: Usbek to the Same.
- Letter CXXII.: Usbek to the Same.
- Letter CXXIII.: Usbek to Mollak Mahomet Ali, Keeper of the Three Sepulchres, At Com.
- Letter CXXIV.: Usbek to Rhedi, At Venice.
- Letter CXXV.: Rica to * * *.
- Letter CXXVI.: Rica to Usbek, At * * *.
- Letter CXXVII.: Rica to Ibben, At Smyrna.
- Letter CXXVIII.: Rica to Usbek, At * * *.
- Letter CXXIX.: Usbek to Rhedi, At Venice.
- Letter CXXX.: Rica to * * *.
- Letter CXXXI.: Rhedi to Rica, At Paris.
- Letter CXXXII.: Rica to * * *.
- Letter CXXXIII.: Rica to * * *.
- Letter CXXXIV.: Rica to the Same.
- Letter CXXXV.: Rica to the Same.
- Letter CXXXVI.: Rica to the Same.
- Letter CXXXVII.: Rica to the Same.
- Letter CXXXVIII.: Rica to Ibben At Smyrna.
- Letter CXXXIX.: Rica to the Same.
- Letter Cxl.: Rica to Usbek, At * * *.
- Letter Cxli.: Rica to the Same.
- Letter Cxlii.: Rica to Usbek, At * * *.
- Letter Cxliii.: Rica to Nathaniel Levi, a Jewish Physician At Leghorn.
- Letter Cxliv.: Usbek to Rica.
- Letter Cxlv.: Usbek to * * *.
- Letter Cxlvi.: Usbek to Rhedi, At Venice.
- Letter Cxlvii.: the Chief Eunuch to Usbek At Paris.
- Letter Cxlix.: Narsit to Usbek, At Paris.
- Letter Cl.: Usbek to Narsit, At the Seraglio of Ispahan.
- Letter Cli.: Solin to Usbek, At Paris.
- Letter Clii.: Narsit to Usbek, At Paris:
- Letter Cliii.: Usbek to Solin, At the Seraglio of Ispahan.
- Letter Cliv.: Usbek to His Wives, At the Seraglio of Ispahan.
- Letter Clv.: Usbek to Nessir, At Ispahan.
- Letter Clvi.: Roxana to Usbek, At Paris.
- Letter Clvii.: Zachi to Usbek, At Paris.
- Letter Clviii.: Zelis to Usbek, At Paris.
- Letter Clix.: Solin to Usbek, At Paris.
- Letter Clx.: Solin to Usbek, At Paris.
- Letter Clxi.: Roxana to Usbek, At Paris.
- Three Letters of M. De Montesquieu to M. Le Chevalier De Bruant.
- Letter I.
- Letter II.
- Letter III.
LETTER XXXVII.
Usbek to Ibben, at Smyrna.
THE king of France is old; we have not one instance in our history, of a monarch who reigned so long. He is said to possess to a very great degree the art of making himself obeyed; he governs with the same spirit, his family, his court, and his kingdom; he hath often been heard to say, that of all the governments in the world, that of the Turks, or of our august Sultan, pleased him best; so highly does he esteem the politics of the East! I have studied his character, and have discovered in it contradictions impossible for me to solve: for example, he hath a minister who is not above eighteen years old, and a mistress turned of fourscore; he loves his religion, and yet cannot bear those who say it ought to be rigorously observed; though he avoids the tumult of cities, and is little communicative, yet he is busy from morning to evening, what he may do to be talked of; he is very fond of trophies and victories, but he fears as much to see a good general at the head of his troops as he would have cause to do one at the head of his enemies troops. It never happened, I believe, but to himself, to be at the same time loaded with more riches than a prince could wish to be, and to be oppressed with a poverty that a private person could not be able to sustain. He loves to reward those who serve him; but he rewards as liberally the assiduity, or rather the idleness of his courtiers, as the laborious campaigns of his generals. He oftentimes prefers a man who undresses him, or gives him a napkin when he sits down to table, preferable to another who takes cities, or gains battles for him; he does not think that the grandeur of a sovereign ought to be restrained in the distribution of favours, and without examining whether the man he loads with his favours hath real merit, he thinks his choice capable of rendering him such; accordingly he hath been known to bestow a small pension on a man who run away two leagues from the enemy, and a good government to another who run twice that length. He is magnificent above all in his buildings; he has more statues in his palace-gardens than there are inhabitants in a great city. His guard is as strong as that of the prince before whom all other thrones are debased; his armies are equally numerous, his resources as many, and his finances as inexhaustible.
Paris, the 7th of the moon Maharan, 1713.
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