In 1721, when he was 32 years of age, he published his first work, intituled, Persian Letters [Lettres Persannes.] In these he exposes, with great sprightliness and energy, the custom of the French, to treat the most trifling things with seriousness, and turn the most important into ridicule; their conversation so noisy and frivolous; their languor, even in the lap of pleasure; their prejudices and their actions in continual contradiction to their understanding; their ardent love of glory joined to the most profound homage to the idol of court-favour; their courtiers so servile, and yet so vain; their outward politeness to, and their innate contempt of foreigners, or affected partiality towards them; the extravagance of their taste, than which nothing can be more contemptible, except the eagerness of all Europe to adopt it; their barbarous disdain of the most respectable occupations of a citizen, namely, commerce and the administration of justice; their literary disputes, so warm and yet so useless; their rage of writing without thought, and judging without knowledge. To this lively portrait he opposes, in the apologue of the Troglodites, a representation of England, which he calls a virtuous nation made wise by misfortunes.
Though this piece had the greatest success, it was not owned by the author. There were several free expressions in it, relating not to the essentials of Christianity, but to things that many people study to confound with Christianity; concerning the spirit of persecution, with which so many Christians have been animated: the temporal usurpations made by the clergy; and the excessive multiplication of monasteries, which lessens the number of subjects in the state, without increasing the sincere worshippers of God. These are some other points being misrepresented to the ministry, when M. de Montesquieu stood candidate for a place in the French academy, vacant by the death of M. de Sacy, it was signified to the members, that the king would not approve of the election of the author of the Lettres Persannes. M. de Montesquieu saw the consequence of this blow, to his person, his family, and the tranquillity of his life. He considered perpetual exclusion from the academy, especially from such motives, as an injury. He waited on the minister; represented that for private reasons he did not acknowledge himself to be the author of the Lettres Persannes; but that there was nothing in them he was ashamed of; and that he ought to have been judged not upon the representation of an informer, but upon a candid perusal of his work[1].
The ministers did what they ought to have done at first: they read the book, and liked the author, and learned where to place their confidence. France retained a subject whom superstition and calumny
- ↑ Voltaire says (Siecle de Louis XIV. edit. 1756) that Montesquieu caused a new edition of his book to be printed off in a few days; in which he either omitted or softened whatever could give offence to Cardinal Fleury, and carried the book to him himself. The Cardinal, who scarce ever read, cursorily looked into some parts of it, and the air of confidence Montesquieu assumed, joined to the solicitations of some persons of high rank, made him drop his opposition.
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