For the interpretive virtuoso, the Baron de Montesquieu's Persian Letters is a godsend. The work that Montesquieu originally published, in 1721, was comprised of 150 letters. The total grew to 161 in the 1758 edition. What do these additions, and their being interspersed among the originals, mean?
The letters purport to be a selection copied and translated from a larger group of originals. Which ones does the nameless translator omit? The letters are presented as having been written by 19 different authors and received by 25 individuals or groups, one of whom is nameless. Why are there different authors, and how do they choose their recipients and themes? A few letters contain long inserts. Why?
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