Great Throughts Treasury
This site is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Alan William Smolowe who gave birth to the creation of this database.
Cesare, Marquis of Beccaria-Bonesana
Italian Philosopher and Politician best known for his treatise On Crimes and Punishments which condemned torture and the death penalty, and was a founding work in the field of penology
"The ambitious man grasps at opinion as necessary to his designs; the vain man sure for it as a testimony to his merit; the honest man demands it as his due; and most men consider it as necessary to their existence."
"Painful and corporeal punishments should never be applied to fanaticism; for, being founded on pride, it glories in persecution."