Open AccessTHE SPIRIT OF FEAR: ROME AND ABSOLUTISM
Author(s) -
Adilton Luís Martins
Publication year - 1969
Publication title -
heródoto
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2448-2609
DOI - 10.31669/herodoto.v1i1.40
Subject(s) - virtue , enlightenment , absolute monarchy , politics , empire , roman empire , the republic , philosophy , focus (optics) , language change , early modern europe , classics , law , ancient history , history , epistemology , political science , linguistics , physics , optics
This article affirms that Enlightenment philosopher Montesquieu produced a historical and political theory based on the history of Rome. The main focus of this text is the association contained in the idea of a similarity between the Roman Empire and Oriental Despotism. For Montesquieu, corruption destroyed the spirit of freedom and virtue of the Roman Republic and founded an empire based on fear, which is the principle of despotism. The main source of analysis here is the book The spirit of the laws.