 However, Montesquieu kept meticulous notes and corrections right after the publication, which were used in an edition revised by Montesquieu himself and published in France in 1748.In its 1734 edition, a copy of which resides in the National Library of France, the book consists of a leatherbound cover including 277 pages organized into 23 chapters, plus 2 pages of errata.Initially, Montesquieu only intended on writing a few pages on the topic.