Page 83 - 《社会》2021年第6期

社会·2021·6

Considerations on the Causes of the Grandeur and Declension of the Roman Empire，
Montesquieu described how the spiritual habits of the individual and the nation were
shaped by political principles and social customs. Moral nature consisted of universal
and rational moral requirements that included natural law， equitable relations and
moral norms. Moral nature defined moral norms for human actions， however， in life，
physical nature and social nature often distorted or even destroyed moral nature.
Montesquieu pointed out that slavery deviated from moral nature in all aspects， but
agreed that the extremely hot climate might offer rationality for forced labor. For him，
this was not an acknowledgement of the legitimacy of slavery， instead， an example that
illustrated the violation of moral nature by physical nature. Montesquieu put the polities
in history into three categories of republic， monarchy and despotism， each representing
principles of virtue， honor and fear respectively. In a democratic republic， virtue was
embodied in the love for motherland and equality. It requires citizens to suppress or
even sacrifice their natural feelings and interests for the benefit of the motherland. In an
aristocratic republic， order was obtained by disciplines of the nobility， which required
very violent means to maintain. Honor as the principle of monarchy was nothing but a
product of vanity and pride， often mixed with moral defects and vices. Fear in despotism
was a degrading force trampling on human nature. Therefore， the principles of these
three polities more or less deviated from moral nature. However， Montesquieu did not
deny the rationality of the existence of these three types of regimes. With detailed
analyses of various political systems and laws， particularly the history of politics and
commerce， he argued that the modern commercial republic represented by England was
most conducive to the realization of moral nature. Commerce promoted peace and
gentleness of the people， and to a large extent， satisfied people’s natural interests and
emotions. Constitutionalism that guaranteed human rights provided liberty and security
for individuals. Although commerce and constitutionalism were not without defects，
Montesquieu considered the modern liberal commercial republic based on both as a
good political system favorable to moral nature. Nevertheless， he did not suggest that
every nation should proceed to imitate England. Instead， Montesquieu stressed that
lawmakers of each nation should choose its own form of government according to its
social and moral nature， and should consider the relationship and tension among the
three dimensions of nature in order to carry out moderate and prudent enlightenment
and reform.
Keywords：Montesquieu， nature， society， commerce， enlightenment

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