Chapter I: Beccaria’s Life and Character

State of Lombardy under Count Firmian—The state of criminal
law—Torture still in use—The abolition of torture before
Beccaria—Beccaria not a lawyer by profession—Autobiographical
letter of Beccaria to the Abbé Morellet—Influence on
Beccaria of Montesquieu and Helvetius—His philosophy of life
and truth—His friends, the Verri—Connection with Pietro
Verri—The Caffé periodical—Reception of the ‘Dei Delitti’ in
Paris—Translation of it by Morellet—Commentary by Voltaire—The
Swiss medal—Beccaria’s fear of ecclesiastical persecution a
motive for occasional obscurity—Feeling in Venice against
the author—Facchinei’s criticism—Protection of Count
Firmian—Adverse criticism by contemporary lawyers—Ramsay’s
letter to Diderot, illustrative of the despair of
reform—Beccaria’s journey to Paris—His speedy return—Enmity
and jealousy of Pietro Verri—Beccaria’s invitation to St.
Petersburg—His lectures on political economy, and later life 1

CHAPTER II.

THE GENERAL INFLUENCE OF BECCARIA ON LEGISLATION.

Present inconceivability of torture due to Beccaria—How far
he was the first to write against it—Torture first abolished
in England—Beccaria’s influence in Russia—Quotations
from his treatise in Catharine’s instruction for the new
code—Beccaria’s influence in France; Tuscany; Austria;
Pennsylvania—Beccaria the first advocate of the abolition
of capital punishment—Relative severity of death and other
penalties—Slight relation of crime to punishment—Reasons
why capital punishment is always more uncertain than other
penalties—Cases accounting for its uncertainty—The efficiency
of a punishment its real test—Futility of discussing the
general right of punishment—Instances of the abolition of
capital punishment in ancient and modern times—The argument for
its abolition the same as that for the abolition of torture 29