Montesquieu is widely regarded as one of the founders ofmany of the social sciences. His broad erudition and deepconcentration led to his great work The Spirit of the Laws,published in 1748. Before that, he had written other notableworks including the Persian Letters, published in 1721. Byconsidering his life and his work in relation to each other,and all his works alongside each other, we can see insidethe mind of one of the greatest of modern thinkers. He wasthe first great global thinker who could base his work onsources from around the world.Alan Macfarlane, F.B.A., is an Emeritus Professor ofAnthropology at Cambridge University and a Life Fellowof King's College. His website is alanmacfarlane.com.