Synopsis
A historical essay finding the causes of Rome's rise and fall in its institutions, civic spirit, and the corrupting effects of empire.
Core passage idea
Paraphrase · Public domainRome grew great through its republican virtue and citizen-soldiers, and decayed as conquest, wealth, and overextension destroyed the very spirit that built it.
It treats political fortunes as products of general causes in institutions and morals rather than chance or great men.
To avoid a bubble
Pair with Polybius, Histories.
Reading note
Read it as analytic history, watching Montesquieu hunt for the underlying causes beneath the narrative of events.
Best paired with
Polybius, Histories