Alphonse de LAMARTINE / Signed Letter / Persian Letters / Montesquieu / 1842

  

Letter signed "Lamartine" to M. Meyer Paris, May 21 [1842], 1 p. Small octavo on bifolium, embossed letterhead with his initials Postal stamps.

Lamartine requests from his correspondent a study that he had promised him on the Persian Letters by Montesquieu. The letter is written by Lamartine's secretary and signed by him. "I hasten to respond, sir, to the letter that you have honored me by writing, offering you my congratulations on your new position.

I have not received the comments on the Persian Letters by Montesquieu that you kindly mentioned. I would not have failed to send you all my thanks otherwise. Please, sir, accept them in advance and receive the assurance of my distinguished consideration." An epistolary novel published in 1721 that brings together the fictional correspondence exchanged between two Persian travelers, Montesquieu does not confess to being its author, out of prudence. According to him, the collection is anonymous, and he presents himself as a mere editor, which allows him to criticize French society of the time without risking censorship. To our knowledge, there are no other occurrences of this celebrated work by Montesquieu in Lamartine's correspondence.