reaching and profound. It was felt in the course of political thought; it was felt in the methods of political science. It is almost true that Montesquieu invented the theory of the British constitution. At all events he was the chief contributor to what may be called the authorized version of the British constitution, the version to which currency was given by Blackstone[1] and Delolme, which was used by the framers of constitutions on the continent of America and on the continent of Europe, and which held the field until it was displaced by the Cabinet theory of Walter Bagehot. The question has often been asked how far Montesquieu really knew and understood the institutions which he described[2]. On this there are two things to be said. In the first place the British constitution which grew up out of the Revolution of 1688 was, when Montesquieu wrote, still in the making. The lines on which it was developed were not yet fixed; whether it would give preponderance to the King or to Parliament was still uncertain. In the next place Montesquieu wrote with a purpose. England was to him what Germany
- ↑ M. Sorel goes too far in saying that Blackstone 'procède de' Montesquieu. But the Spirit of Laws is expressly quoted in ch. ii, book i of the Commentaries, and its influence is clearly apparent throughout that chapter.
- ↑ How much was known in France of English institutions when Montesquieu published his Esprit des lois? Rapin's History of England published at the Hague in 1724, was probably the principal available authority. 'No book did more to make Europe acquainted with Great Britain' (Texte, J.-J. Rousseau, &c. (trans. by J. W. Matthews), p. 21). Much knowledge was disseminated by Huguenot refugees in England, and much could have been learnt from English political refugees, like Bolingbroke, in France. But the amount of information available in a literary form for French readers was probably not great. Voltaire's Lettres anglaises, based on his visit of 1726–9, were published in France in 1734.
