Considerations on the Causes of the Greatness of the Romans and their Decline (French: Considérations sur les causes de la grandeur des Romains et de leur décadence) is an 18th-century book written by French political philosopher Montesquieu. First published in 1734, it is widely considered by scholars to be among Montesquieu's best known works and was an inspiration to Edward Gibbon's more extensive The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Source: Wikipedia (en)