An Essay on Crimes and Punishments

Beccaria's magnum opus, perhaps the most important and influential work in the entire history of criminology, which singlehandedly transformed the Western world's penal system (from a cruel, arbitrary system to the equalitarian and humane approach of the Enlightenment). Beccaria argued that the gravity of the crime should be measured by its injury to society and that the penalties should relate to this. The English edition is translated by Voltaire from the French edition, which was translated from the original Italian (Dei delitti e delle pene); The English translation contains for the first time Voltaire's commentary. The success of Beccaria's book was immediate, six editions being published within eighteen months, and it was eventually translated into twenty-two languages. Its principles have been incorporated into the criminal practice of all civilized countries.