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2 volumes
SortEditorial Year Title
Subject·Political corruption✕clear
Nonfiction · Poltical theory

Spirit of the Laws

Montesquieu
1748 · 757 pages

Montesquieu sorts governments into republics that run on virtue, monarchies on honor, and despotisms on fear, then argues that liberty survives only where power is divided. The American framers read him closely.

★ 7.5