ABSTRACT
In the Gazette Nationale for 11 March 1790, eight months after the storming of the Bastille, an anonymous correspondent from England reported to the editor on the imminent appearance of a study of Charles de Secondat, Baron of La Brède and of Montesquieu’s Spirit of the Laws (1748) by Adam Smith. The full notice read:
It is claimed that the celebrated Mr. Smith, so favorably known through his treatise on the causes of the wealth of nations, is preparing and is going to publish a critical examination of The Spirit of the Laws. It is the result of many years of meditation, and what we have a right to expect from a head such as that of Mr. Smith is well-enough known. This book will be epoch-making in the history of politics and of philosophy; such, at least, is the judgment of well-informed men who are familiar with the fragments – which they speak of with enthusiasm for the most auspicious prospects.
