If the same punishment is prescribed for two crimes that injure society in different degrees, then men will face no stronger deterrent from committing the greater crime if they find it in their advantage to do so.
Cesare BeccariaRead
The laws receive their force and authority from an oath of fidelity, either tacit or expressed, which living subjects have sworn to their sovereign, in order to restrain the intestine fermentation of the private interest of individuals.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Laws gain their power from the loyalty of individuals to their leaders, aimed at preventing chaos from personal interests.
Cesare Beccaria's quote emphasizes the fundamental relationship between laws and the allegiance of the governed. It suggests that laws are not inherently powerful; rather, their enforcement and legitimacy stem from the implicit or explicit oaths individuals take to uphold their commitments to a sovereign authority. This social contract aims to mitigate the potential conflicts and disruptions that arise from self-serving behaviors and interests, promoting a more harmonious society.
Themes
LawsAuthorityOathSovereignSocietyInterest
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture on social contracts, you might use this quote to illustrate the importance of collective agreement in governance.
More from Cesare Beccaria
All quotes →Easy, simple and great laws, which await nothing but a sign from the lawgiver to spread prosperity and vigour throughout the nation, laws which would earn him immortal hymns of gratitude down the generations, are those which are least considered or least wanted.
Cesare BeccariaRead
In order that punishment should not be an act of violence perpetrated by one or many upon a private citizen, it is essential that it should be public, speedy, necessary, the minimum possible in the given circumstances, proportionate to the crime, and determined by the law.
Cesare BeccariaRead
No man ever freely surrendered a portion of his own liberty for the sake of the public good; such a chimera appears only in fiction. If it were possible, we would each prefer that the pacts binding others did not bind us; every man sees himself as the centre of all the world's affairs.
Cesare BeccariaRead
I myself owe everything to French books. They developed in my soul the sentiments of humanity which had been stifled by eight years of fanatical and servile education.
Cesare BeccariaRead
The lawgiver ought to be gentle, lenient and humane. The lawgiver ought to be a skilled architect who raises his building on the foundation of self-love, and the interest of all ought to be the product of the interests of each.
Cesare BeccariaRead
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