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• Familiar Letters. By President De Montesquieu.
• Letter I.: To Father Cerati * of the Congregation of the Orators of Saint Philip At Rome.
• Letter II.: To the Same.
• Letter III.: To Monsieur L’abbé Venuti * , At Clerac.
• Letter IV.: To the Abbé Nicolini * , At Florence.
• Letter V.: To Mr. Cerati, At Pisa.
• Letter VI.: To Abbé Venuti At Clerac.
• Letter VII.: To Abbé De Guasco, At Turin.
• Letter VIII.: To the Count of Guasco, Colonel of Foot.
• Letter IX.: To the Abbé De Guasco.
• Letter X.: To the Same.
• Letter XI.: To the Same.
• Letter XII.: To the Countess De Pontac.
• Letter XIII.: To Mr. Cerati.
• Letter XIV.: To Abbé De Guasco At Clerac.
• Letter XV.: To the Same.
• Letter XVI.: To the Same.
• Letter XVII.: To the Same.
• Letter XVIII.: To the Same.
• Letter XIX.: To the Same Abbé De Guasco.
• Letter XX.: To the Same.
• Letter XXI.: To Mr. Cerati.
• Letter XXII.: To Abbé De Guasco, At Aix.
• Letter XXIII.
• Letter XXIV.: To the Same.
• Letter XXV.: To the Same.
• Letter XXVI.: To the Same.
• Letter XXVII.: To Mr. Cerati.
• Letter XXVIII.: To Prince Charles Edward.
• Letter XXIX.: To the Grand Prior Solar, Ambassador From Malta, At Rome.
• Letter XXX.: To the Abbé and Count De Guasco, At Paris.
• Letter XXXI.: To Mr. Cerati.
• Letter XXXII.: To Abbé Venuti.
• Letter XXXIII.: To the Abbé Count De Guasco.
• Letter XXXIV.: To the Abbé Venuti, At Bourdeaux.
• Letter XXXV.: To Mr. Cerati.
• Letter XXXVI.: To Abbé Venuti.
• Letter XXXVII.: To Abbé Venuti.
• Letter XXXVIII: To the Abbé Count De Guasco.
• Letter XXXIX.: To Abbé De Guasco.
• Letter Xl.: to the Same.
• Letter Xli.: to the Same.
• Letter Xlii.: to the Same, At Bourdeaux.
• Letter Xliii.: to the Same.
• Letter Xliv.: to the Same Abbé De Guasco.
• Letter Xlv.: to the Same At Vienna.
• Letter Xlvi.: to the Same Abbé De Guasco At Vienna.
• Letter Xlvii.: to the Same, At Verona.
• Letter Xlviii.: to the Same.
• Letter Xlix.: to the Same, At Naples.
• Letter L.: to the Same.
• Letter Li.: to Mr. Cerati.
• Letter Lii.: to the Abbé Marquis Nicolini.
• Letter Liii.: to Abbé Count De Guasco.
• Letter Liv.: to the Same.
• Letter Lv.: to the Auditor Bertolini, At Florence.
• Letter Lvi.: to Abbé Count De Guasco.
• Letter Lvii.: a Billet to the Same.
• Letter Lviii.: to the Grand Prior Solar, At Turin.
• Letter Lix.: the Fragment of a Letter From M. De Montesquieu, to the King of Poland, Duke of Lorraine, to Solicit His Majesty For a Place In the Academy of Nantz.
• Letter Lx.: Fragment of the King of Poland’s Answer, to the Foregoing Letter.
• Letter Lxi.: to M. De Solignac, Secretary to the Literary Society At Nantz.
• Letter Lxii.: From M. De Montesquieu. to the Author of a Short View of the Philosophical Works of Lord Bolingbroke.
• Letter Lxiii.: to the Dutchess of Aiguillon.
• Letter Lxiv.: From the Dutchess of Aiguillon, to Abbé De Guasco.
• Letter Lxv.: an Article Taken From a Letter of Baron Secondat De Montesquieu, to the Abbé Count De Guasco.
• Letter Lxvi.: Article of a Letter to the Same.
• Miscellaneous Pieces of M. De Secondat, Baron De Montesquieu.
• An Oration Pronounced the 24th of January, 1728. By President Montesquieu: When He Was Received Into the French Academy, In the Room of the Late M. De Sacy.
• An Essay Upon Taste, In Subjects of Nature, and of Art.
• Of the Pleasures of the Soul.
• Of the Mental Faculties * .
• Of Curiosity.
• Of the Pleasures of Order.
• Of the Pleasures of Variety.
• Of the Pleasures of Symmetry.
• Of Contrasts.
• Of the Pleasures of Surprize.
• Of Different Causes That Produce Sensation.
• Of Sensibility.
• Of Delicacy.
• Of the Je Ne Scais Quoi.
• The Progression of Surprize.
• Of Beauties Which Result From an Embarrassment of the Soul.
• The Temple of Gnidus.
• The Preface.
• Canto I.
• Canto II.
• Canto III.
• Canto IV.
• Canto V.
• Canto VI.
• Canto VII.
• Cupid Distressed.
• Lysimachus.
• The Analysis of the Spirit of Laws. By M. D’alembert.
• A Defence of the Spirit of Laws. to Which Are Added, Some Explanations.
• Part I.
• Part II.
• The General Idea.
• Of the Counsels of Religion.
• Of Polygamy.
• On Climate.
• Of Toleration.
• Of Celibacy.
• A Particular Error Committed By the Critic.
• Of Marriage.
• Of Usury.
• “of Maritime Usury.
• Part III.: Some Explanations of the Spirit of Laws.

LETTER XXVI.

To the Same.

ALL I can tell you is, that I intend to set out as soon as possible for Bourdeaux, and that I hope to have the pleasure of seeing you there. I own that I owe you my thanks for the two little dogs of Bengal, of the same race with those of Don Philip, which you are to bring me. But as my thanks ought to be proportioned to the beauty of the dogs, I must wait to have seen them before I can appreciate the words of my compliment. It is not however for blind fellows like you and me to suit them properly, I leave that to my huntsman, who in such subjects is a very intelligent mortal, as you well know, and consequently a better judge than either of us can pretend to be.

I have sent my romance* to M. le Nain, and I think it is not a little extraordinary to have a theologist to be the chief panegyrist of so frivolous a work. I am about sending a copy of the new edition of the Rise and Fall of the Romans to Prince Edward, who on sending his manifesto to me, observed it was proper a correspondence should be kept up among authors, and that therefore he requested my works.

I am rendering you all the service I can here.—I have spoken of you to the Countess de Sennectere, who declares herself to be greatly your friend; I did not design to speak of you to the mother, for mothers are with you musty articles, and that have but very little place in your affections. Pray present a number of compliments for me to the Countess de Pontac: whatever you may say in behalf of the daughter, I hold still for the mother. I am not so falsely delicate in this article as you are.

Inform Abbé Venuti that I have spoken to the Abbé de St. Cyr, who says he will attempt another effort with the Bishop of Mirèpoix. I never knew a man who held in higher estimation those who administer only the offices of religion, or in less those who prove it* .

Mr. Lomellini has told me, that during your stay in Languedoc, you were become a citizen of St. Marino† , and one of the most illustrious senators of that republic. I laughed heartily at the news. It could not truly be that qualification which inspired M. de Belleisle with so violent a desire of having you along with him on the banks of the Var, because he knew very well that you were the native of another country; and I think you did very wisely in not accepting of his invitation: Heaven knows what various interpretation would be started upon such a voyage into your own country.

I ardently wish I may find you at Bourdeaux on my return thither, and the more so as I want to have your friendly opinion in an affair that concerns me personally. My son will not take upon him the charge of President de Mortier, which I had long destined to be his lot in life.—I therefore must either sell, or resume the place myself. It is upon this alternative that we must have some conference, before I come to a final determination. I expect from you your sincere opinion after that I shall have candidly displayed to you, the reasons for, or against either side of the question: contrive matters so, as that you may not be long waited for.—Adieu.

Paris, March 28th, 1748.

[* ]The Temple of Gnidus.

[* ]This glances at an Italian translation of the poem on religion, by the Abbé Venuti.

[† ]What gave rise to this joke, was a traveller’s arriving in Languedoe precisely at the time when the Austrian and Piedmontese troops had passed the Var. He was asked of what part in Italy he was a native, to which question he jestingly replied, “Of the Republic of St. Marino,” a place that has nothing to do with belligerent powers?