Books

4½ (204x150 mm). 104 pages. Lacking the final leaf with the errata. Woodcut headpiece on fol. A2r. Contemporary vellum, over pasteboards. A very good, wide-margined copy. Minor, and sporadic foxing to the first and last leaves. The first edition of one of the most important works of the Italian Enlightenment. A manifesto on legal reform, and one of the best interpretations of the ideas circulating around France in the second half of the eighteenth century. The young Milanese nobleman Cesare Beccaria Bonesana composed this work between March 1763 and January 1764, while he was an active member of the intellectual circle known as the Accademia dei pugni, founded in Milan in 1762 by the brothers Alessandro and Pietro Verri, and Beccaria himself, among others. The central theme of the work is the reform of criminal justice, in a context in which punishment was still both brutal and arbitrary. Beccaria advocates an egalitarian justice system, and traces a new metric for punishment and laws rooted in the concept of public happiness. "One of the most influential books in the whole history of criminology [.] Beccaria maintained that the gravity of the crime should be measured by its injury to society and that the penalties should be related to this. The prevention of the crime he held to be of greater importance than its punishment [.] his ideas have now become so commonplace that it is difficult to appreciate their revolutionary impact at the time" (PMM). The work enjoyed wide and immediate success, and its influence was enormous. Voltaire, d'Alembert, Helvétius, Holbach, Hume and Hegel all counted among its enthusiastic readers; Beccaria's ideas also inspired justice reforms introduced by Grand Duke Leopold of Tuscany, Emperor Joseph II, and Catherine II of Russia, and its influence on constitutionalism broadly, especially the Declarations des droits de l'homme of 1789, is likewise evident. The Dei delitti e delle pene was published in Livorno (Tuscany) – then one of the most advanced cities in Italy – on 12 April 1764, anonymous and without indication of place, for fear of repercussions owing to its strong egalitarianism. The printer Coltellini had already published, in 1763, the Meditazioni sulla felicità by Pietro Verri, Beccaria's closest friend. The 'innovative' feature of the reform proposed by Beccaria was, however, perceived by the Roman censorship, and in 1766 Dei delitti e delle pene was included in the Index of Forbidden Books. A good sign, as Beccaria admonishes: if a government needs censorship, it comes from the weakness of its constitution. The work was translated into English in 1767, and On Crimes and Punishments "significantly shaped the views of American revolutionaries and lawmakers. The first four U.S. Presidents – George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison – were inspired by Beccaria's treatise and, in some cases, read it in the original Italian. On Crimes and Punishments helped to catalyze the American Revolution, and Beccaria's anti-death penalty views materially shaped American thought on capital punishment, torture and cruelty." (J. D. Bessler, "The Italian Enlightenment and the American Revolution", p. 1). The first edition also appeared with an errata leaf containing twenty-one corrections, likely printed as a separate sheet, and thus now scarcely found; as with most copies, the errata leaf is missing in the present copy. Einaudi 3362; PMM 209; B. E. Harcourt, Beccaria's 'On Crimes and Punishments': A Mirror on the History of the Foundations of Modern Criminal Law, Chicago 2013; M. Palumbo – E. Sidoli (eds.), The Books that Made Europe, Bruxelles 2016, pp. 248-249; J. D. Bessler, "The Italian Enlightenment and the American Revolution: Cesare Beccaria's Forgotten Influence on American Law", Hamline Journal of Public Law and Policy, 37.1 (2017; accessed January 2018); Philobiblon, One Thousand Years of Bibliophily, no. 241.

Cesare Beccaria's seminal work, "Dei delitti e delle pene," translated into English as "On Crimes and Punishments," marks a monumental shift in the landscape of criminal justice and criminology. Published in 1764, this groundbreaking treatise laid the foundations for the modern criminal justice system, advocating for the reform of the legal and penal system in a manner that was radically ahead of its time. Beccaria's ideas not only influenced the development of criminal law in Western Europe but also had a profound impact on the Enlightenment philosophers of his era. This essay delves into the core themes, arguments, and enduring legacy of "On Crimes and Punishments," highlighting its significance in the annals of legal and philosophical thought. At the core of Beccaria's argument is the assertion that the system of punishment should be guided by rationality, humanity, and the principle of justice rather than by the severity of torture or the arbitrariness of the judges. Beccaria challenges the traditional practices of the criminal justice system of his time, which often involved torture and capital punishment, arguing that the purpose of punishment should be to deter crime and reform the offender, rather than to exact revenge. This represented a radical departure from the prevailing judicial practices, rooted in a belief in the innate rights of individuals and the importance of a proportional response to crime. Beccaria posits that the certainty of punishment, rather than its severity, is more effective in deterring crime. He advocates for a system where laws are clear and widely known, ensuring that individuals can understand the consequences of their actions. This principle underscores the importance of a legal system that is transparent, predictable, and fair, in which punishments are not only just but also necessary and logically connected to the crimes they are meant to deter. One of the most revolutionary aspects of Beccaria's work is his staunch opposition to the death penalty and the use of torture. He argues that the state does not have the right to take lives and that capital punishment is neither a useful deterrent nor morally justifiable. Beccaria's arguments against torture are similarly grounded in logic and humanity, emphasizing the unreliability of confessions obtained under duress and the fundamental rights of individuals to be treated with dignity and fairness. The impact of "Dei delitti e delle pene" on the development of legal thought cannot be overstated. Beccaria's ideas were instrumental in shaping the reforms of the criminal justice systems in various European countries, including the abolition of torture and the death penalty in many jurisdictions. His work also influenced prominent figures of the Enlightenment, such as Voltaire and Montesquieu, and contributed to the development of classical criminology and the modern principles of human rights. Beyond its immediate impact, Beccaria's treatise continues to resonate in contemporary debates on criminal justice reform, the ethics of punishment, and the abolition of the death penalty. His advocacy for proportionality, deterrence, and the humane treatment of offenders remains relevant, reflecting enduring principles of justice and humanity.