Œuvres complètes de Montesquieu , vol. iii: Œuvres et écrits divers I ed. by Pierre Rétat (review)

Abstract

MLRy 99.3, 2004 777 (Euvres completes de Montesquieu, vol. viii: (Euvres et ecrits divers I, ed. by Pierre Retat. Oxford: Voltaire Foundation; Naples: Istituto italiano per gli studi filosofici. 2003. xlvi + 644pp. ?110. ISBN 0-7294-0775-6. Pierre Retat, in his introduction to this volume, sets out the various changes in editions ofthe (Euvres diversesof Montesquieu since the firstcollection ofhis (Euvres completes by Lefevre in 1816. These changes have occurred usually because individual items have been edited separately or joined with another item in a separate edition. The collection of various pieces by Montesquieu in this edition of the (Euvres completes is constructed, so faras possible, on chronological lines of composition. The present vo? lume goesup to 1727. It uses much the same material as is included in volume 111 ofthe edition of the (Euvres completes by A. Masson (Paris: Nagel, 1950-55), though some items are included which were previously found elsewhere, e.g. the Dialogue de Sylla et d'Eucrate which was almost always previously printed after the Considerations sur les Romains, while some items are excluded and will now be found attached to another work, e.g. the Notes sur I'Angleterre, which will now be grouped with the Voyages. It is not surprising, in the case of such a major author, that very little that is really new has emerged recently, in spite of the wealth of documents transferred from the library of La Brede to the Bibliotheque municipale of Bordeaux. One new find printed here for the firsttime, in an edition by Alberto Postigliola and Maurizio Mamiani, is a Memoire sur I'extraitde I'optiquede Newton. According to the manuscript, Montesquieu began to read this study to the Academie de Bordeaux. The date of composition is probably about 1720. It is fairlyshort and obviously unfinished, but of interest as furtherevi? dence ofthe President's interest in and competency to discuss scientific subjects. All the pieces included have been expertly edited and annotated. The individual editors have contributed a preface to each piece, setting out the history of the manuscript(s) and of previous editions, with an assessment of the relevance of the piece to the de? velopment of Montesquieu's thought and to his major works. It is a real pleasure to find all this erudition so easily available and produced in such a clear format. It is not possible in a short review to do justice to all the editors concerned. It seems fitting,however, to call special attention to the editing by Cecil Courtney ofLe Temple de Gnide. As he tells us, this poetic treatment of love, both erotic and delicate, has been out of fashion forabout two hundred years, regarded as unworthy of a great phi? losopher and satirist. Yet it once enjoyed extraordinary popularity and more editions and translations of Le Temple de Gnide have appeared than of any of Montesquieu's other works. Although there is no obvious link with L'Esprit des lois, it is possible to see a link with the Lettres persanes, if only as a correction or balance to the erotic descriptions of doomed love and death in the last chapters of the Lettres. Perhaps this edition will attract some new readers. All students of Montesquieu must be indebted to the work ofthe editors of this volume. This edition will surely maintain its standing as the most up-to-date and valuable source of reference formany years to come. Kingston-on-Thames Iris Cox The Complete Worksof Voltaire/(Euvres completesde Voltaire. Ed. by Nicholas Cronk and others. Vol. xxb: Le Fanatisme, ou Mahomet leprophete, ed. by Christopher Todd; De VAlcoran et de Mahomet, ed. by Ahmad Gunny. Oxford: Voltaire Foundation. 2003. xxv + 353 pp. 2002. ?70. ISBN 0-7294-0754-3. Unsurprisingly, Voltaire's most polemical tragedy had a chequered production his? tory: a try-out in Lille, followed by three performances by the Comedie Francaise before being forcibly withdrawn and then having to wait a furthernine years before being given a reasonable, sans plus, run of eight. Its publication history was even ...