Western Civilization - History Of European Society

The Culture of Old Regime Europe389

however, that democracy would only work with “a peo-
ple who were Gods.” He criticized democracy because
“it is contrary to the natural order” that a minority
should always be governed by a majority. Thus, he
introduced the concept of an abstract force, called “the
general will,” which would compel all members of soci-
ety to desire the common good. Paradoxically,
Rousseau’s ideas thus encouraged both a democratic-
egalitarian attack upon the Old Regime and a form of
absolutism, the very concept of which had led to the
initial Enlightened critiques of government.

The Spread of Rationalism

The Enlightenment had a tremendous impact on West-
ern civilization because it spread skepticism and ratio-
nalism to many fields of human activity. Even the study
of history felt the influence of these doctrines. Gibbon’s
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,for example,
showed the advantages of a reasoned study of the
sources. The Neapolitan Enlightenment offered similar
lessons in history. Giambattista Vico’s Principles of a New
Science(1725) urged scientific standards: Scholars
should seek “the universal and eternal principles (such
as every science must have).” Another Neapolitan his-
torian, Pietro Giannone, suggested that this meant his-
torians must write “histories of the kingdom” that
contained more than the “lives of the kings.” So Gian-
none began his masterwork with the words, “The his-
tory of the Kingdom of Naples which I am undertaking
will not deafen readers’ ears with the clash of arms and
the din of battle.... This is to be a civic history.”
Another leader of the Enlightenment in Italy, Ce-
sare Beccaria, applied the scientific standards of careful
observation and reasoning to another human activity,
the punishment of crimes. Beccaria, a wealthy Milanese
noble, studied prison conditions in Milan, and he was
horrified by the conditions he discovered: Criminal
charges were brought in secret, the accused had few
opportunities to offer a defense and produce evidence,
trials held before a jury were rare, torture was used both
to determine guilt and to punish it, barbarous physical
punishments such as branding and mutilation were
commonplace, and people were executed for minor
crimes. Beccaria’s Treatise on Crimes and Punishment(1764)
marked the beginning of modern criminology, and it
led to more humane standards in European civilization.
His argument was simple: “It is better to prevent crimes
than to punish them” (see document 20.5). Therefore,
he said, “Every punishment that does not arise from ab-
solute necessity is tyrannical.” Beccaria accepted pre-

ventive punishments—to stop a criminal from commit-

ting the same act again or to inhibit someone else from

committing that crime—but he argued forcefully

against any form of torture. However, he found it “a

cruelty consecrated by custom in most nations.”

DOCUMENT 20.5

Beccaria: Penal Reform

Cesare Beccaria (1738–1794) was a Milanese nobleman and

a leader of the Italian Enlightenment. His Tratto dei Delitti

e delle Pene (Treatise on Crime and Punishment,

1764), from which the following excerpt is taken, advocated

many fundamental reforms such as the abolition of both tor-

ture and capital punishment.

Of the Right to Punish:Every act of authority of

one man over another, for which there is not an

absolute necessity, is tyrannical. It is upon this that

the sovereign’s right to punish crimes is founded;

that is, upon the necessity of defending the public

liberty, entrusted to his care, from the usurpation

of individuals....

Of the Intent of Punishments:... [I]t is evident

that the intent of punishments is not to torment a

sensible being, nor to undo a crime already com-

mitted. Is it possible that torments and useless cru-

elty, the instrument of furious fanaticism or the

impotency of tyrants, can be authorized by a polit-

ical body? Can the groans of a tortured wretch re-

call the time past or reverse the crime he has

committed?

The end of punishment, therefore, is no other

than to prevent the criminal from doing further in-

jury to society and to prevent others from commit-

ting the same offense....

Of Torture:The torture of a criminal during his

trial is a cruelty consecrated by custom in most na-

tions. It is used with the intent of either making

him confess his crime, or explaining some contra-

dictions, or discovering his accomplices, or for

some kind of metaphysical and incomprehensive

purgation of infamy.... The very means em-

ployed to distinguish the innocent from the guilty

will most effectually destroy all difference between

them.

Beccaria, Cesare. An Essay on Crimes and Punishments. Lon-

don: J. Almon, 1785.