MONTESQUIEU, Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de [1689-1755]. De L'Esprit Des Loix. Avec des remarques philosophiques & politiques d'un anonyme, qui n'ont point encore été publiées. Amsterdam & Leipzig: chez Arkstee & Merkus, 1759. Nouvelle edition; revised, corrected and considerably enlarged by the author. Four volumes complete. Small 8vo. (175mmx95mm); 311, [1] + 375, [1] + 368 + 375, [1] pp. Full tan leather, with titles printed in red and black; and with woodcuts on all title pages; vignettes throughout, marbled end papers. Two engraved folding maps (of the world in Volume 1 and of Europe in Volume 4). Little signs of wear, slight rubbing. Pretty ornamental spines with title labels. Interior crisp and clean. A handsome set of a later edition of this landmark treatise. Montesquieu came from a noble family in southwest France and studied law at Bordeaux. He travelled extensively in his lifetime and spent three years in England. His masterpiece The Spirit of Laws was profoundly influenced by his study of English institutions. Although the book had many substantial defects (loose and vague definitions, unmethodical and uncritical treatment, inaccurate statements of facts, guesses rather than conclusions), it nevertheless had an enormous influence on the development of law and legislation. Apart from the highly readable style in which the book was written, it contained for the first time the idea of the separation of powers, i.e. legislative, executive and judicative, an almost revolutionary proposition at the time. Printing and the Mind of Man, 197 (1748 Edition).