A 1777 edition, printed in French, of Baron de Montesquieu's "De L'esprit des Lois" (The Spirit of Laws"). The book has wear, though the title is still readable on the spine. There is some staining on the cover pages, and the title page appears to have been defaced. There are two fold out maps (world and Europe), bot h present. The European map, toward the back. has some damage. Both maps have some staining. Originally published in 1748, Montesquieu's work was supremely influential on government from Imperial Russia to the United States, where his arguments for a constitutional republic based on a separation of powers was a cornerstone to the United States Constitution.