MONTE SINO, AMBROSIO. - Franciscan, orator, and writer, born in Huete (date unknown), died probably in Madrid on 29 January 1514. The scant biographical data known about him derive from his works. He is in Cifuentes in July and in Huete in November 1499, in Granada in 1501, at the convent of S. Giovanni de los Reyes (Toledo) in May 1512; on 30 July of the same year he is appointed titular bishop of Sarda; he dies as auxiliary bishop to Cardinal Cisneros and is buried in Huete.
His first work belongs to the religious poetry of the people: *Coplas sobre diversas devoções y mysterios de nuestra santa fe católica* (Toledo, ca. 1485; the only known copy is in the British Museum and was reproduced in facsimile by H. Thomas, London 1936). From 1499 to 1501 M. was commissioned by the Catholic Monarchs to translate Landolfo of Saxony’s *Vita Christi* (4 vols., 1502–1503); this work, one of the finest in Castilian at the time, greatly influenced Spanish religious literature in the 16th and 17th centuries. It served, among other things, as spiritual nourishment for St Teresa and Bl. John of Ávila and was highly esteemed by preachers. For the latter, M. prepared a revised version of an older translation of the liturgical epistles: *Epístolas y evangelios, por todo el año, con sus doctrinas y sermones* (Toledo 1512), which was reprinted many times.
M.’s poetic output is largely documented in the *Cancionero* (Toledo 1508, 1510, 1512; 1530, 1531, 1532, 1533, 1534, 1535, 1536, 1537, 1538, 1539, 1540, 1541, 1542, 1543, 1544, 1545, 1546, 1547, 1548, 1549, 1550, 1551, 1552, 1553, 1554, 1555, 1556, 1557, 1558, 1559, 1560, 1561, 1562, 1563, 1564, 1565, 1566, 1567, 1568, 1569, 1570, 1571, 1572, 1573, 1574, 1575, 1576, 1577, 1578, 1579, 1580, 1581, 1582, 1583, 1584, 1585, 1586, 1587, 1588, 1589, 1590, 1591, 1592, 1593, 1594, 1595, 1596, 1597, 1598, 1599, 1600, 1601, 1602, 1603, 1604, 1605, 1606, 1607, 1608, 1609, 1610, 1611, 1612, 1613, 1614, 1615, 1616, 1617, 1618, 1619, 1620, 1621, 1622, 1623, 1624, 1625, 1626, 1627, 1628, 1629, 1630, 1631, 1632, 1633, 1634, 1635, 1636, 1637, 1638, 1639, 1640, 1641, 1642, 1643, 1644, 1645, 1646, 1647, 1648, 1649, 1650, 1651, 1652, 1653, 1654, 1655, 1656, 1657, 1658, 1659, 1660, 1661, 1662, 1663, 1664, 1665, 1666, 1667, 1668, 1669, 1670, 1671, 1672, 1673, 1674, 1675, 1676, 1677, 1678, 1679, 1680, 1681, 1682, 1683, 1684, 1685, 1686, 1687, 1688, 1689, 1690, 1691, 1692, 1693, 1694, 1695, 1696, 1697, 1698, 1699, 1700, 1701, 1702, 1703, 1704, 1705, 1706, 1707, 1708, 1709, 1710, 1711, 1712, 1713, 1714, 1715, 1716, 1717, 1718, 1719, 1720, 1721, 1722, 1723, 1724, 1725, 1726, 1727, 1728, 1729, 1730, 1731, 1732, 1733, 1734, 1735, 1736, 1737, 1738, 1739, 1740, 1741, 1742, 1743, 1744, 1745, 1746, 1747, 1748, 1749, 1750, 1751, 1752, 1753, 1754, 1755, 1756, 1757, 1758, 1759, 1760, 1761, 1762, 1763, 1764, 1765, 1766, 1767, 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, 1773, 1774, 1775, 1776, 1777, 1778, 1779, 1780, 1781, 1782, 1783, 1784,in 2015, in 2016, in 2017, in 2018, in 2019, in 2020, in 2021, in 2022, in 2023, in 2024, in 2025, in 2026, in 2027, in 2028, in 2029, in 2030, in 2031, in 2032, in 2033, in 2034, in 2035, in 2036, in 2037, in 2038, in 2039, in 2040, in 2041, in 2042, in 2043, in 2044, in 2045, in 2046, in 2047, in 2048, in 2049, in 2050, in 2051, in 2052, in 2053, in 2054, in 2055, in 2056, in 2057, in 2058, in 2059, in 2060, in 2061, in 2062, in 2063, in 2064, in 2065, in 2066, in 2067, in 2068, in 2069, in 2070, in 2071, in 2072, in 2073, in 2074, in 2075, in 2076, in 2077, in 2078, in 2079, in 2080, in 2081, in 2082, in 2083, in 2084, in 2085, in 2086, in 2087, in 2088, in 2089, in 2090, in 2091, in 2092, in 2093, in 2094, in 2095, in 2096, in 2097, in 2098, in 2099, in 2100, in 2101, in 2102, in 2103, in 2104, in 2105, in 2106, in 2107, in 2108, in 2109, in 2110, in 2111, in 2112, in 2113, in 2114, in 2115, in 2116, in 2117, in 2118, in 2119, in 2120, in 2121, in 2122, in 2123, in 2124, in 2125, in 2126, in 2127, in 2128, in 2129, in 2130, in 2131, in 2132, in 2133, in 2134, in 2135, in 2136, in 2137, in 2138, in 2139, in 2140, in 2141, in 2142, in 2143, in 2144, in 2145, in 2146, in 2147, in 2148, in 2149, in 2150, in 2151, in 2152, in 2153, in 2154, in 2155, in 2156, in 2157, in 2158, in 2159, in 2160, in 2061, in 2162, in 2163, in 2164, in 2165, in 2166, in 2167, in 2168, in 2169, in 2170, in 2171, in 2172, in 2173, in 2174, in 2175, in 2176, in 2177, in 2178, in 2179, in 2180, in 2181, in 2182, in 2183, in 2184, in 2185, in 2186, in 2187, in 2188, in 2189, in 2190, in 2191, in 2192, in 2193, in 2194, in 2195, in 2196, in 2197, in 2198, in 2199, in 2200, in 2201, in 2202, in 2203, in 2204, in 2205, in 2206, in 2207, in 2208, in 2209, in 2210, in 2211, in 2212, in 2213, in 2214, in 2215, in 2216, in 2217, in 2218, in 2219, in 2220, in 2221, in 2222, in 2223, in 2224, in 2225, in 2226, in 2227, in 2228, in 2229, in 2230, in 2231, in 2232, in 2233, in 2034, in 2235, in 2236, in 2237, in 2238, in 2239, in 2240, in 2241, in 2242, in 2243, in 2244, in 2245, in 2246, in 2247, in 2248, in 2249, in 2250, in 2251, in 2252, in 2253, in 2254, in 2255, in 2256, in 2257, in 2258, in 2259, in 2260nel 2306, nel 2307, nel 2308, nel 2309, nel 2310, nel 2311, nel 2312, nel 2313, nel 2314, nel 2315, nel 2316, nel 2317, nel 2318, nel 2319, nel 2320, nel 2321, nel 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MONTESINO, AMBROSIO
Little is known of this Spanish Franciscan preacher of the late 15th century. He is credited with compiling a Breviarium Immaculatae Conceptionis for the use of the Conceptionist nuns, who began to flourish in Spain toward the end of the 15th century.
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MONTESQUIEU, CHARLES-LOUIS DE SECOND, baron de la Brède
Born at La Brède on 18 January 1689, died in Paris on 10 February 1755. Of a noble family of magistrates, he completed his studies at Juilly with the Oratorians (1700–1705). He then studied law at Bordeaux, where he became an advocate in 1708, and completed his legal training in Paris (1709–1713). In 1714 he became a councillor at the Parliament of Bordeaux; in 1716 he inherited from an uncle the name and barony of M. as well as the office of president à mortier at the Parliament of Bordeaux. However, he devoted more attention to historical and scientific problems than to law. In 1716 he became a member of the Académie des sciences of Bordeaux.
He presented numerous papers to the Academy on a variety of subjects, among which the Observations sur la politique des Romains dans la religion (1717) is important; in this work, anticipating the Considérations, he evaluated religion as a social fact. He also wrote several scientific works, such as Sur la cause de l'écho; Sur l'usage des glandes rénales (1718); Sur la pesanteur des corps (1720), etc., though these were of little value, they left an indelible impression on M., accustoming him to patient analysis of facts. However, he achieved fame with the publication of the Lettres Persanes (1721), which were received with great acclaim. Against an Oriental backdrop, often in a mannered style, M. describes, through the voices of two Persian travelers, the society of the regency, with the eye of a moralist attentive to the licentiousness of manners, spiritual and political anarchy. Beneath the moralist’s irony, the passion of the scholar is keenly felt: hostility to despotism, love of tolerance, and the search for a general law of human development founded on balance and freedom—principles that inform the Lettres and anticipate the profound analysis of the Esprit.
The success of the work opened to M. the most notable salons of Paris, those of Mme de Lambert and Mme de Tencin, where he associated with Fontenelle, Maupertuis, D’Alembert, and Helvétius. Returning to his studies, he read a Dialogue de Sylla et d’Ecurate (1724) at the Entresol, planned a Traité général des devoirs de l’homme, and wrote a picturesque novel, Le temple de Gnide (1725). At the same time, he devoted himself to his major work: the interpretation of the general laws governing social life. To this end, after selling his office in 1726 and being elected to the Académie Française in 1728, he embarked on a long journey to gather firsthand experience of institutions and customs. From 1729 to 1731 he traveled through Europe. His stay in England was particularly important, as it allowed him to view the problem of political liberty in a new light. In 1734, the Considérations sur la grandeur et la décadence des Romains appeared in Amsterdam, a true philosophical interpretation of Roman history, in which he considers patriotism, liberty, labor, and the balance between institutions and national greatness as the surest guarantees of a state’s prosperity. In 1748, the Esprit des lois was published anonymously in Geneva and met with widespread acclaim. The work, in 31 books, aims to provide a scientific systematization of social institutions and is divided into three parts: the first (Books I–XIII) examines the various forms of government with their animating principles, to which all institutions are traced. Book XI, devoted to the English Constitution, sets forth the theory of the separation of powers. This is followed (Books XIV–XIX) by an examination of the influence of physical and moral factors on laws, the first example of a positive sociological inquiry. M. then examines the economic, demographic, and religious aspects of the life of peoples (Books XXI–XXV); followed by detailed studies on the evolution of Roman, French, and feudal law. The political ideal that emerges from the Esprit is one of liberty, not however determined in a rationalistic manner, but derived from careful study of historical and environmental conditions. For this reason, he studied feudal forms closely, finding in them the historical conditions for the development of French liberty, as consecrated by the participation of privileged estates in power. For this reason, though animated by a strong desire for reform, M. is the champion of conservative liberalism, and thus his work would be set aside by democratic currents. In 1750, to counter accusations of Spinozism and deism, he wrote the Défense de l'Esprit des lois to avoid condemnation by Rome. As a sign of his submission, he requested a priest at his deathbed.