Montesquieu's Argument Analysis

On New Year’s Day, I’m waiting impatiently to gain entry to the halls of Madame Goodman’s chic Paris hotel where the dazzling and legendary gala soiree was already in full session. I had received the invitation to the soirée six months ago in the mailbox and was overjoyed for having this privilege. Sadly, I’m late to the party due to excruciating traffic on my way across Pont Notre-Dame that was still being rebuilt. After some time, I’m finally able to enter the hall which walls were hidden by Rococo style art that has gained large criticism from eccentric personalities like Voltaire and Blondel . I was dressed in a polonaise consisting of a white gown draped with a canary colored overskirt and trimmings of red silk. I’m swiftly ushered to
In his statement, he concludes that true Christian princes ruled effectively because the Bible advocated certain morals that made them better leaders. By stating this, Montesquieu also implies that Islam isn’t the best religion for a republic because it doesn’t support the same values as Christianity. Furthermore, I see that Montesquieu views the constant warfare between Islamic princes, as a sign of weakness of having Islam be the basis of a society. Montesquieu continues his argument and states, “How admirable the religion which, while it only seems to have in view the felicity of the other life, continues the happiness of this!” His words hold clear criticism toward Christianity as he is mocking it for giving false hope to people about a better life after death in an unknown place. I think it’s important for me to note that although he believes it to be the best option for a republic, he still sees flaws in it. During his speech, I saw that Thomas Jefferson had agreed with most of what Montesquieu said but gave a look of disagreement at the lawyer’s last
Jefferson explains how the freedom of the people can’t be assured if the religion that provides the reasoning behind that is removed or not present. I can also tell that Jefferson is a highly devoted Christian as he refers to liberty as a “gift of God.” On the other hand, when I listened to Montesquieu earlier, I could tell he doesn’t hold religion in such a high regard. I also read in his earlier works that he believes that religion is only useful to society for the moral structure and not the spiritual matters it provides the