A French Enlightenment thinker. Born on January 18th at the Château de La Brede near Bordeaux. He studied at the Academy of Juy, run by the Oratorio Society, and then studied law at the University of Bordeaux, becoming a lawyer. In 1709 he went to Paris, where he associated with scholars and writers such as Fortner, but after his father's death he succeeded him as a councillor at the Bordeaux High Court. At the age of seven, he inherited Baron La Brede from his mother, and in 1716 he inherited Baron Montesquieu from his uncle and the position of President of the Bordeaux High Court. However, the estate was not very large, and in 1726 he had to rent his official position as president. Around this time, as a member of the Bordeaux Academy, he also published several reports on natural sciences, especially natural history. In 1721, he anonymously published a satirical epistolary novel, The Persian Letter, which criticized the society and politics of France at the time through the eyes of an Oriental man. The story of the Troglodytes (Letters 11-14) in the novel is famous for depicting his own utopia that combines virtue and freedom. Other literary works by Montesquieu include The Temple of Gunis (1725) and Alsace and Ismene (1783). The Persian Letter made him an instant favorite of Parisian society, and in 1727 he was accepted as a member of the Académie Française. However, in April 1728, he set off on a European trip to prepare for his life's masterpiece, The Spirit of the Laws, and he made detailed observations of the social conditions of each country until May 1731. He was particularly interested in the political system of England, and in The Spirit of the Laws he praised it for "making political freedom the direct objective of its state structure." However, at the same time, he was not ignorant of the reality of the money politics under the Walpole government at that time. After returning to Japan, he first published An Essay on the Causes of the Rise and Fall of the Roman People (1734), in which he boldly declared that "it is not fate that governs history." In other words, he applied the causal laws of natural science to historical phenomena, and argued that historical facts could be explained in a unified manner based on the diverse combinations of general and specific causes. In this way, Montesquieu was the first to free history from providence. After that, he commuted constantly between the salons in Paris and the Château de La Brede, working to complete his major work. The Spirit of the Laws (1748), which he himself described as "the labor of twenty years," was a great success, going through 21 editions in the 18 months since its publication. However, it also received strong criticism, which he countered with the Vindication of the Spirit of the Laws (1750), which was added to the Papal Index in 1751. The Spirit of the Laws is especially famous for its theory of the three ideal forms of government (republic, monarchy, and despotism) in Books 2 and 3, and the theory of the separation of powers in Book 11, Chapter 6. With regard to the latter, it is thought that Montesquieu's true intention was to balance the powers of the three power structures: executive power = monarch, legislative power = lower house (people), and judicial power = upper house (aristocracy). In his later years, despite his failing eyesight, he attempted new works and wrote "De quattro est hort" for the Encyclopedia, but this was left unfinished. He died in Paris on February 10, 1755. [Akihiro Sakai June 17, 2015] "34 World Masterpieces: Montesquieu, edited by Koji Inoue (1980, Chuokoron-Shinsha)" ▽ "Politics and History, by L. Althusser, translated by Nagao Nishikawa and Takashi Sakagami (1974/revised edition, 2004, Kinokuniya Shoten)" ▽ "Montesquieu, by Tadatoshi Fukukama, all 3 volumes (1975, Sakai Shoten)" ▽ "Montesquieu and Rousseau, by E. Durkheim, translated by Toichiro Koseki and Takashi Kawakita (1975, Hosei University Press)" [References] | |Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend |
フランスの啓蒙(けいもう)思想家。1月18日ボルドー近郊のラ・ブレードの城に生まれる。オラトリオ会経営のジュイーの学院に学び、ついでボルドー大学で法律を修めて、弁護士となる。1709年パリに出て、フォルトネルをはじめ学者、文人と交わったが、父の死後その跡を継いでボルドー高等法院評定官となる。さらに7歳のとき母の遺産として相続したラ・ブレード男爵領に加えて、1716年叔父の遺産モンテスキュー男爵領とボルドー高等法院院長の地位を継承する。しかし領地はそれほど大きなものではなく、1726年には院長の官職を賃貸しなければならなかったという。またこのころボルドー・アカデミーの会員として自然科学とくに博物学に関するいくつかの報告を行っている。 1721年、東洋人の目を借りて当時のフランスの社会と政治とを批判した書簡体の風刺小説『ペルシア人の手紙』を匿名で出版する。そのなかのトログロディト人の物語(第11~14書簡)は、美徳と自由の結合した彼自身のユートピアを描いたものとして有名である。ほかにモンテスキューの文学作品としては『グニードの神殿』(1725)、『アルザスとイスメニー』(1783)などがある。『ペルシア人の手紙』によって彼は一躍パリ社交界の寵児(ちょうじ)となり、1727年アカデミー・フランセーズの会員に迎えられた。しかし彼は生涯の大作『法の精神』の準備のため、1728年4月ヨーロッパ旅行に出発し、1731年5月まで各国の社会事情を詳細に視察する。とくにイギリスの政治制度に深い関心を寄せ、『法の精神』では「政治的自由をその国家構造の直接の目的とする」として、これを礼賛している。しかし同時に、彼は当時のウォルポール内閣のもとでの金権政治の実態に無知だったのではない。帰国後まず『ローマ人盛衰原因論』(1734)を発表。そこで彼は大胆に「歴史を支配するのは運命ではない」と宣言する。つまり、自然科学的因果法則を歴史現象に適用し、一般的原因と特殊原因との多彩な組合せに基づいて、歴史的事実を統一的に説明することができるとした。これによって、モンテスキューは初めて歴史を摂理から解放したのである。 その後、絶えずパリのサロンとラ・ブレードの城とを往復しながら主著の完成に努める。彼自身「20年にわたる労作」といった『法の精神』(1748)は、刊行18か月で21版を重ねるほどの大成功を収めた。しかし批判も激しく、彼は『法の精神の擁護』(1750)によって反論したが、この著作は1751年法王庁の「禁書目録」に加えられた。『法の精神』は、とくに第2、3編における理念型としての三政体論(共和制、君主制、専制)および第11編第6章のいわゆる三権分立論によって有名であるが、後者についていえば、モンテスキューの真に意図するところは、執行権=君主、立法権=下院(人民)、司法権=上院(貴族)の三権力機構の勢力均衡にあったと考えられる。晩年は視力の減退にもかかわらず新しい著作を企て、また『百科全書』のため「趣味論」を執筆したが、これは未完に終わった。1755年2月10日パリで死去した。 [坂井昭宏 2015年6月17日] 『井上幸治編『世界の名著34 モンテスキュー』(1980・中央公論社)』▽『L・アルチュセール著、西川長夫・阪上孝訳『政治と歴史』(1974/新訂版・2004・紀伊國屋書店)』▽『福鎌忠恕著『モンテスキュー』全3巻(1975・酒井書店)』▽『E・デュルケーム著、小関藤一郎・川喜多喬訳『モンテスキューとルソー』(1975・法政大学出版局)』 [参照項目] | |出典 小学館 日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について 情報 | 凡例 |
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