Penal laws, so considerable a part of every system of legislation, and of so great importance to the happiness, peace, and security of every member of society, are still so imperfect, and are attended with so many unnecessary circumstances of cruelty in all nations, that an attempt to reduce them to the standard of reason must be interesting to all mankind. Its is not surprising, then, that this little book hath engaged the attention of all ranks of people in every part of Europe.
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Language Notes
Text: English, Italian (translation)
About the Author
Jurist and economist, Cesare Beccaria wrote his international best seller, Essay On Crimes and Punishments, when he was about 26 years old. It was a best-seller in the American colonies, and owned and read by Washington, Jefferson, Adams, and many more. John Adams willed his copy to his son, and that edition is re-printed herewith. The back cover of the book contains a list of Beccarian principles that were incorporated in the US Constitution with its Bill of Rights. The US Bil on Proportioning Crimes and Punishments was shaped by Jefferson and taken directly from Beccaria.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A comforting read,
By A Customer
This review is from: An Essay on Crimes and Punishments (International Pocket Library) (International Pocket Library) (Paperback)
Reading Beccaria's masterpiece was truly comforting, in a sense in which more recent works are not. In a world where increasing numbers of people are in favor of the death penalty, and where the rights of the person under trial sometimes don't seem to matter, this rational, lucid and yet quietly compassionate book was a worthwhile read. Its enlightened, ingenious and sometimes colloquial way of presenting arguments is even more satisfying when you place the book in its historical context (Beccaria's ideas were truly revolutionary by the time's standards) and learn that, after it was published, many works were written in reply to it, defending and trying to morally justify the use of torture in judicial proceedings. You should read this essay in order to fully grasp this great leap in the history of juridical thought and philosophy.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Freedom and Democracy,
By Sean L. Green (Newport, Rhode Island) - See all my reviews
This review is from: An Essay on Crimes and Punishments (International Pocket Library) (International Pocket Library) (Paperback)
This is an excellent translation of Beccaria's masterwork. The phrasing is clear and unaffected; and the format is pleasant and well-disposed. An Essay on Crimes and Punishments is one of the greatest treatises in the democratic tradition, a testament to human freedom and social justice. For students of law or political theory (of which I am one) this is an excellent account of some of the fundamental principles of democratic society and jurisprudence. Anyone who holds public office should be forced to read this book at gunpoint.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Law with Human Faces,
By A Customer
This review is from: An Essay on Crimes and Punishments (International Pocket Library) (International Pocket Library) (Paperback)
Originally published in 1764 anonymously,this essay is a lucid sprit of laws by a young enlightened Italian.His rational argument is based on humanism with anti-clerical and anti-despotic tendencies,which is so convincing and has been proved influential on the reformist movements. Before reading this work, I was nearly ignorant of the ancien regime realities.Thanks to it,the situations and struggles of people in those days have been more clearly revealed to me.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
Laws are the conditions, under which men, naturally independent, united themselves in society. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Cesare Beccaria New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Laws are the conditions, under which men, naturally independent, united themselves in society. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Cesare Beccaria New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 9
books:
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67
books
cite this book:
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- On Crimes and Punishments by Cesare Beccaria in Front Matter (1), Front Matter (2), and Back Matter
- The Man Who Would Be King and Other Stories (Oxford World's Classics) by Rudyard Kipling in Back Matter
- Rudyard Kipling by Hilton Brown in Back Matter
- The Playboy of the Western World and Other Plays: Riders to the Sea; The Shadow of the Glen; The Tinker's Wedding; The Well of the Saints; The Playboy ... of the Sorrows (Oxford World's Classics) by J. M. Synge in Back Matter
- Philosophical Dictionary (Penguin Classics) by Francois Voltaire in Front Matter
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- A Right to Bear Arms: State and Federal Bills of Rights and Constitutional Guarantees (Contributions in Political Science) by Stephen P. Halbrook on 4 pages
- The Death Penalty: An American History by Stuart Banner on page 91, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- History of Torture Throughout the Ages by George Ryley Scott on page 91, page 135, and Back Matter
- The Mysterious Science of the Law: An Essay on Blackstone's Commentaries by Daniel J. Boorstin on page 158, and Back Matter
- Wordsworth's Reading 1770-1799 by Duncan Wu on page 12, and Back Matter
See all 67 books citing this book
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