Charles de Secondat, Baron De La Brede Et De Montesquieu Essay

     Charles de Secondat, Baron de la Brede et de Montesquieu was born in1689 to a French distinguished family. "His family tree could be traced 350years, which in his view made its name neither good nor bad." (TheEncyclopedia of Social Sciences, p. 68) Montesquieus views started tobe shaped at a very(prenominal) early age. A beggar was chosen to be his godfatherto remind him of his obligations to the poor.     Montesquieus education started at the age of 11 when he was sent toJuilly, a school kept up(p) by the Congregation of the Oratory. From1705 to 1709 he studied law in Bordeaux. "From 1705 to 1709 he was alegal apprentice in Paris. There he came to know nearly of the mostadvanced thinkers of his time Fredet, the Abbe Lama, andBoulainvilliers.(Ibid.). In 1716 Montesquieu got a seat of president amortier in the parlement of Guyenne from his deceased uncle. Eventhough he did not standardised his job he believed parliaments w ere necessary tocontrol the monarchs.      In 1721 Montesquieu published the Persian Letters, which he beganworking on while studying in Bordeaux. The book was a success. In thePersian Letters Montesquieu showed how relative all of the French valueswere. Even though the technique used in this witty book was antecedentlyused by other writers, Montesquieu did a great job making fun of theEuropean values. At that time he already believed in the misdeed ofEuropean practices such as religious prosecution. The book gave rootsfor Montesquieus later arguments and ideas.      When in 1728 Montesquieu, with the help of his Parisian connections hegot elected to the French Academy, he was happy to sell his office ofpresident a mortier. In the course of the next three years he traveledall over Europe, tour Germany, Hungary, England, Holland, Austria,and Italy. It is not surprising that out of his European tour thecountry which had the greatest impact on his later work (just like it did on Voltaires) was England. During his stay on that point he was elected afellow of the Royal Society.      After he returned to France the second portion of his carrier hadbegan. He became a full time writer, travelling between his La Bredeestate and Paris. It is during this period that the C... ...e world will always be remembered.     Montesquieu can easily be considered a model Enlightment figure. Hisideas produce a mild paradox. He wanted change for the better withoutcrushing the current government. He wanted to educate the people of acountry, but was not a radical, and therefore didnt include thepeasants. He respected reason, and used it to help the mankind bycreating an idle society. He critisised religion, and yet had faith inGod. As a whole he tried to improve things without turning the worldupside down. He was the model figure for the steady advancement of thehuman civilization. BIBLIOGRAPHY1. & nbsp   Hollier, Denis , A saucily History of French Literature, HarvardUniversity Press, Cambridge Massachusetts, 1989.2.     The Encyclopedia of Social Sciences, p. 467-476.3.     Loy, John Robert, Montesquieu, New York, Twayne Publishers, 1968.4.     A History of World Societies volume II, Houghton Mifflin Company,Boston, p. 669-679.5.     Robert Shedlock, Lessons on World History, 1980, p. 38a-38c.