Quotes by Cesare Beccaria

“It is a considerable point in all good legislation to determine exactly the credibility of witnesses and the proofs of a crime. Every reasonable man, everyone, that is, whose ideas have a certain interconnection and whose feelings accord with those of other men, may be a witness. The true measure of his credibility is nothing other than his interest in telling or not telling the truth; for this reason it is frivolous to insist that women are too weak [to be good witnesses], childish to insist that civil death in a condemned man has the same effects as a real death, and meaningless to insist on the infamy of the infamous, when they have no interest in lying.””

“When a fixed code of laws, which must be observed to the letter, leaves no further care to the judge than to examine the acts of citizens and to decide whether or not they conform to the law as written; then the standard of the just or the unjust, which is to be the norm of conduct for the ignorant as well as for the philosophic citizen, is not a matter of controversy but of fact; then only are citizens not subject to the petty tyrannies of the many which are the more cruel as the distance between the oppressed and the oppressor is less, and which are far more fatal than those of a single man, for the despotism of many can only be corrected by the despotism of one; the cruelty of a single despot is proportioned, not to his might, but to the obstacles he encounters.””

“If every individual be bound to society, society is equally bound to him, by a contract which from its nature equally binds both parties. This obligation, which descends from the throne to the cottage, and equally binds the highest and lowest of mankind, signifies nothing more than that it is the interest of all, that conventions, which are useful to the greatest number, should be punctually observed. The violation of this compact by any individual is an introduction to anarchy.””

“À medida que as penas forem mais brandas, quando as prisões já não forem a horrível mansão do desespero e da fome, quando a piedade e a humanidade penetrarem nas masmorras, quando enfim os executores impiedosos dos rigores da justiça abrirem os corações à compaixão, as leis poderão contentar-se com indícios mais fracos para ordenar a prisão.””

“Com efeito, no caso de um delito, há duas partes: o soberano, que afirma que o contrato social foi violado, e o acusado, que nega essa violação. É preciso, pois, que haja entre ambos um terceiro que decida a contestação. Esse terceiro é o magistrado, cujas sentenças devem ser sem apelo e que deve simplesmente pronunciar se há um delito ou se não há.””

“Perché ogni pena non sia una violenza di uno o di molti contro un privato cittadino, dev'essere essenzialmente pubblica, pronta, necessaria, la minima delle possibili nelle date circostanze, proporzionata a' delitti, dettata dalle leggi.””

“Parmi un assurdo che le leggi, che sono l'espressione della pubblica volontà, che detestano e puniscono l'omicidio, ne commettono uno esse medesime, e, per allontanare i cittadini dall'assassinio, ordinino un pubblico assassinio.””

“Or je dis qu’il n’y a point d’homme, qui avec un peu de réflexion puisse balancer entre le crime, quelque avantage qu’il s’en promette, & la perte entière & perpétuelle de sa liberté. Donc l’intensité de la peine d’un esclavage perpétuel a tout ce qu’il faut pour détourner du crime l’esprit le plus déterminé, aussi bien que la peine de mort. J’ajoute qu’elle produira cet effet encore plus sûrement. Beaucoup d’hommes envisagent la mort d’un œil ferme & tranquille, les uns par fanatisme, d’autres par cette vanité qui nous accompagne au-delà même du tombeau ; d’autres par un dernier désespoir qui les pousse à sortir de la misère, ou à cesser de vivre. Mais le fanatisme & la vanité abandonnent le criminel dans les chaînes, sous les coups, dans une cage de fer ; & le désespoir ne termine pas ses maux, mais les commence.””

“In order that punishment should not be an act of violence perpetrated by one or many upon a private citizen, it is essential that it should be public, speedy, necessary, the minimum possible in the given circumstances, and determined by the law.””

“Quanto maggiore sarà il numero di quelli che intenderanno e avranno fralle mani il sacro codice delle leggi, tanto meno frequenti saranno i delitti, perché non v’ha dubbio che l’ignoranza e l’incertezza delle pene aiutino l’eloquenza delle passioni.””

“C'est le malheur de l'esprit humain que les choses les plus lointaines et les moins importantes, telles que les révolutions des corps célestes, lui soient les plus présentes et les mieux connues, alors que les notions morales, toutes proches et de la plus haute importance, restent toujours flottantes et confuses, au gré du souffle des passions qui les pousse, ou de l'ignorance dirigée qui les reçoit et les transmet.””

“Eğer toplum düzenini aynı derecede sarsmayan/ihlal etmeyen iki suça aynı ceza verilirse, insanlar en ağır suçu işlemekte bir sakınca görmeyecekler ve bu konuda çok zor bir engelle de karşılaşmayacaklardır.””