positive school of criminology

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The Positive School of Criminology

Three Lectures Given at the University of Naples, Italy onApril 22, 2 an! 2", #$%#

Enrico Ferri

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Title The Positive School of CriminologyThree &ectures Given at the (niversity of )a$les, *taly on +$ril , - an! ., /01/

+uthor Enrico Ferri

2elease 3ate 4anuary , 11. 5EBook 6/17819

&anguage English

Character set enco!ing +SC**

::: ST+2T ;F T


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TE SC


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retreate! before the reme!ies hich enlightene! science a$$lie! by means

of the eD$erimental metho!, removing their concrete causes, e see on

the other han! that insanity, suici!e an! crime, that $ainful trinity,are groing a$ace" +n! this makes it very evi!ent that the science hich

is $rinci$ally, if not eDclusively, engage! in stu!ying these $henomena

of social !isease, shoul! feel the necessity of fin!ing a more eDact

!iagnosis of these moral !iseases of society, in or!er to arrive at some

effective an! more humane reme!y, hich shoul! more victoriously combatthis somber trinity of insanity, suici!e an! crime"

The science of $ositive criminology arose in the last uarter of the

/0th century, as a result of this strange contrast, hich oul! be

ineD$licable, if e coul! not !iscover historical an! scientific reasons

for its eDistence" +n! it is in!ee! a strange contrast that *taly shoul!have arrive! at a $erfect theoretical !evelo$ment of a classical school

of criminology, hile there $ersists, on the other han!, the !isgraceful

con!ition that criminality assumes !imensions never before observe! inthis country, so that the science of criminology cannot stem the ti!e of

crime in high an! lo circles" *t is for this reason, that the $ositive

school of criminology arises out of the very nature of things, the sameas every other line of science" *t is base! on the con!itions of our

!aily life" *t oul! in!ee! be conceite! on our $art to claim that e,

ho are the originators of this ne science an! its ne conclusions,!eserve alone the cre!it for its eDistence" The brain of the scientist

is rather a sort of electrical accumulator, hich feels an! assimilates

the vibrations an! heart%beats of life, its s$len!or an! its shame, an!

!erives therefrom the conviction that it must of necessity $rovi!e for

!efinite social ants" +n! on the other han!, it oul! be an evi!ence ofintellectual short%sighte!ness on the $art of the $ositivist man of

science, if he !i! not recognie the historical accom$lishments, hich

his $re!ecessors on the fiel! of science have left behin! as in!elible

traces of their struggle against the unknon in that brilliant an!irksome !omain" For this reason, the a!herents of the $ositive school of

criminology feel the most sincere reverence for the classic school ofcriminology" +n! * am gla! to!ay, in acce$ting the invitation of the

stu!ents of )a$les, to say, that this is another reason hy their

invitation as elcome to me" *t is no / years since * gave in thissame hall a lecture on $ositive criminology, hich as then in its

initial stages" *t as in /887, hen * ha! the o$$ortunity to outline

the first $rinci$les of the $ositive school of criminology, at the

invitation of other stu!ents, ho $rece!e! you on the $erio!ic aves of

the intellectual generations" +n! the reneal of this o$$ortunity gave

me so much moral satisfaction that, * coul! not un!er any circumstances

!ecline your invitation" Then too, the )ea$olitan +theneum has

maintaine! the re$utation of the *talian min! in the /0th century, also

in that science hich even foreign scientists a!mit to be our s$ecialty,

namely the science of criminology" *n fact, asi!e from the to terrible

books of the 3igest, an! from the $ractical criminologists of the ?i!!le+ges ho continue! the stu!y of criminality, the mo!ern orl! o$ene! a

glorious $age in the $rogress of criminal science ith the mo!est little

book of Cesare Beccaria" This $rogress lea!s from Cesare Beccaria, byay of Francesco Carrara, to Enrico Pessina"

Enrico Pessina alone remains of the to giants ho conclu!e! the cycle

of classic school of criminology" *n a luci! moment of his scientific

consciousness, hich soon reverte! to the ol! abstract an! meta$hysical

theories, he announce! in an intro!uctory statement in /80, that

criminal justice oul! have to rejuvenate itself in the $ure bath of the

natural sciences an! substitute in $lace of abstraction the living an!


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concrete stu!y of facts" )aturally every scientist has his function an!

historical significance an! e cannot eD$ect that a brain hich has

arrive! at the en! of its career shoul! turn toar!s a ne !irection" +tany rate, it is a significant fact that this most renone!

re$resentative of the classic school of criminology shoul! have $ointe!

out this nee! of his s$ecial science in this same university of )a$les,

one year after the inauguration of the $ositive school of criminology,

that he shoul! have looke! forar! to a time hen the stu!y of naturalan! $ositive facts oul! set to rights the ol! juri!ical abstractions"

+n! there is still another $rece!ent in the history of this university,

hich makes scientific $ro$agan!a at this $lace very agreeable for a

$ositivist" *t is that siD years before that intro!uctory statement by

Pessina, Giovanni Bovio gave lectures at this university, hich he

$ublishe! later on un!er the title of H+ Critical Stu!y of Criminal&a"H Giovanni Bovio $erforme! in this monogra$h the function of a

critic, but the historical time of his thought, $revente! him from

taking $art in the construction of a ne science"


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hom you kno" )evertheless * feel that this faculty of juris$ru!ence

still lacks oDygen in the stu!y of criminal la, because its thought is

still influence! by the overhelming authority of the name of EnricoPessina" +n! it is easy to un!erstan! that there, here the majestic

tree s$rea!s out its branches toar!s the blue vault, the young $lant

feels !e$rive! of light an! air, hile it might have gron strong an!

beautiful in another $lace"

The $ositive school of criminology, then, as born in our on *taly

through the singular attraction of the *talian min! toar! the stu!y of

criminology an! its birth is also !ue to the $eculiar con!ition our

country ith its great an! strange contrast beteen the theoretical

!octrines an! the $ainful fact of an ever increasing criminality"

The $ositive school of criminology as inaugurate by the ork of Cesare

&ombroso, in /8" From /8 to /8 he o$ene! a ne ay for the stu!y

of criminality by !emonstrating in his on $erson that e must firstun!erstan! the criminal ho offen!s, before e can stu!y an! un!erstan!

his crime" &ombroso stu!ie! the $risoners in the various $enitentiaries

of *taly from the $oint of vie of anthro$ology" +n! he com$ile! hisstu!ies in the re$orts of the &ombar!ian *nstitute of Science an!

&iterature, an! $ublishe! them later together in his ork HCriminal

?an"H The first e!ition of this ork K/8L remaine! almost unnotice!,either because its scientific material as meager, or because Cesare

&ombroso ha! not yet !ran any general scientific conclusions, hich

coul! have attracte! the attention of the orl! of science an! la" But

simultaneously ith its secon! e!ition K/88L there a$$eare! to

monogra$hs, hich constitute! the embryo of the ne school,su$$lementing the anthro$ological stu!ies of &ombroso ith conclusions

an! systematiations from the $oint of vie of sociology an! la"

2affaele Garofalo $ublishe! in the )ea$olitan 4ournal of Philoso$hy an!

&iterature an essay on criminality, in hich he !eclare! that the!angerousness of the criminal as the criterion by hich society shoul!

measure the function of its !efense against the !isease of crime" +n! inthe same year, /88, * took occasion to $ublish a monogra$h on the

!enial of free ill an! $ersonal res$onsibility, in hich * !eclare!

frankly that from no on the science of crime an! $unishment must lookfor the fun!amental facts of a science of social !efense against crime

in the human an! social life itself" The simultaneous $ublication of

these three monogra$hs cause! a stir" The teachers of classic

criminology, ho ha! taken kin!ly to the recommen!ations of Pessina an!

Ellero, urging them to stu!y the natural sources of crime, met the ne

i!eas ith contem$t, hen the ne metho!s ma!e a !etermine! an! ra!ical

!e$arture, an! became not only the critics, but the ealous o$$onents of

the ne theories" +n! this is easy to un!erstan!" For the struggle for

eDistence is an irresistible la of nature, as ell for the thousan!s of

germs scattere! to the in!s by the oak, as for the i!eas hich gro in

the brain of man" But $ersecutions, calumnies, criticisms, an!o$$osition are $oerless against an i!ea, if it carries ithin itself

the germ of truth" ?oreover, e shoul! look u$on this $henomenon of a

re$ugnance in the average intellect Khether of the or!inary man or thescientistL for all ne i!eas as a natural function" For hen the brain

of some man has felt the light of a ne i!ea, a sneering criticism

serves us a touchstone for it" *f the i!ea is rong, it ill fall by the

aysi!e if it is right, then criticisms, o$$osition an! $ersecution

ill cull the gol!en kernel from the unsightly shell, an! the i!ea ill

march victoriously over everything an! everybo!y" *t is so in all alks

of life%%in art, in $olitics, in science" Every ne i!ea ill rouse

against itself naturally an! inevitably the o$$osition of the accustome!


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thoughts" This is so true, that hen Cesare Beccaria o$ene! the great

historic cycle of the classic school of criminology, he as assaulte! by

the critics of his time ith the same in!ictments hich ere broughtagainst us a century later"

Ahen Cesare Beccaria $rinte! his book on crime an! $enalties in /.

un!er a false !ate an! $lace of $ublication, reflecting the as$irations

hich gave rise to the im$en!ing hurricane of the French revolutionhen he hurle! himself against all that as barbarian in the me!iaeval

las an! set loose a storm of enthusiasm among the encyclo$e!ists, an!

even some of the members of government, in France, he as met by a ave

of o$$osition, calumny an! accusation on the $art of the majority of

jurists, ju!ges an! lights of $hiloso$hy" The abbe 4achinci $ublishe!

four volumes against Beccaria, calling him the !estroyer of justice an!morality, sim$ly because he ha! combatte! the tortures an! the !eath

$enalty"

The tortures, hich e incorrectly ascribe to the mental brutality of

the ju!ges of those times, ere but a logical conseuence of the

contem$oraneous theories" *t as felt that in or!er to con!emn a man,one must have the certainty of his guilty, an! it as sai! that the best

means of obtaining tins certainty, the ueen of $roofs, as the

confession of the criminal" +n! if the criminal !enie! his guilt, it asnecessary to have recourse to torture, in or!er to force him to a

confession hich he ithhel! from fear of the $enalty" The torture

soothe!, so to say, the conscience of the ju!ge, ho as free to con!emn

as soon as he ha! obtaine! a confession" Cesare Beccaria rose ith

others against the torture" Thereu$on the ju!ges an! jurists $roteste!that $enal justice oul! be im$ossible, because it coul! not get any

information, since a man sus$ecte! of a crime oul! not confess his

guilt voluntarily"


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!estruction" This great revolution of Pinel, Chiarugi, an! others,

change! the attitu!e of the $ublic min! toar! the insane" Ahile

formerly insanity ha! been regar!e! as a moral sin, the $ublicconscience, thanks to the enlightening ork of science, henceforth ha!

to a!a$t itself to the truth that insanity is a !isease like all

others, that a man !oes not become insane because he ants to, but that

he becomes insane through here!itary transmission an! the influence of

the environment in hich he lives, being $re!is$ose! toar! insanity an!becoming insane un!er the $ressure of circumstances"

The $ositive school of criminology accom$lishe! the same revolution in

the vies concerning the treatment of criminals that the above name! men

of science accom$lishe! for the treatment of the insane" The general

o$inion of classic criminalists an! of the $eo$le at large is that crimeinvolves a moral guilt, because it is !ue to the free ill of the

in!ivi!ual ho leaves the $ath of virtue an! chooses the $ath of crime,

an! therefore it must be su$$resse! by meeting it ith a $ro$ortionateuantity of $unishment" This is to this !ay the current conce$tion of

crime" +n! the illusion of a free human ill Kthe only miraculous factor

in the eternal ocean of cause an! effectL lea!s to the assum$tion thatone can choose freely beteen virtue an! vice"


8/46

that the ?i!!le +ge !i! HAhoever commits mur!er or theft, is alone the

absolute arbiter to !eci!e hether he ants to commit the crime or not"H

This remains the foun!ation of the classic school of criminology" ThiseD$lains hy it coul! travel on its ay more ra$i!ly than the $ositive

school of criminology" +n! yet, it took half a century from the time of

Beccaria, before the $enal co!es shoe! signs of the reformatory

influence of the classic school of criminology" So that it has also

taken uite a long time to establish it so ell that it became acce$te!by general consent, as it is to!ay" The $ositive school of criminology

as born in /88, an! although it !oes not stan! for a mere reform of

the metho!s of criminal justice, but for a com$lete an! fun!amental

transformation of criminal justice itself, it has alrea!y gone uite a

!istance an! ma!e consi!erable conuests hich begin to sho in our

country" *t is a fact that the $enal co!e no in force in this countryre$resents a com$romise, so far as the theory of $ersonal res$onsibility

is concerne!, beteen the ol! theory of free ill an! the conclusions of

the $ositive school hich !enies this free ill"

#ou can fin! an illustration of this in the elouent contortions of

$hantastic logic in the essays on the criminal co!e ritten by a greata!vocate of the classic school of criminology, ?ario Pagano, this

a!mirable ty$e of a scientist an! $atriot, ho !oes not lock himself u$

in the uiet egoism of his stu!y, but feels the i!eal of his timestirring ithin him an! gives u$ his life to it"


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because he ha! to ork inhumanly long hours of ork, hich eDhauste! all

his nervous elasticity, or for other reasons, the sitchman forgets to

set the sitch an! causes a railroa! acci!ent, in hich $eo$le arekille! an! oun!e!" Can it be sai! that he inten!e! the first actI

+ssure!ly not, for he !i! not inten! anything an! !i! not !o anything"

The hunter ho fires a shot has at least ha! the intention of shooting"

But the sitchman !i! not ant to forget Kfor in that case he oul! be

in!irectly to blameL he has sim$ly forgotten from sheer fatigue to !ohis !uty he has ha! no intention hatever, an! yet you hol! him

res$onsible in s$ite of all thatM The fun!amental logic of your

reasoning in this case corres$on!s to the logic of the things" 3oes it

not ha$$en every !ay in the a!ministration of justice that the ju!ges

forget about the neutral eD$e!ient of the legislator ho !evise! this

relative $rogress of the $enal co!e, hich $reten!s to base theres$onsibility of a man on the neutral an! naive criterion of a ill

ithout free!om of illI 3o they not follo their ol! mental habits in

the a!ministration of justice an! a$$ly the obsolete criterion of thefree ill, hich the legislator thought fit to aban!onI Ae see, then,

as a result of this im$erfect an! insincere innovation in $enal

legislation this flagrant contra!iction, that the magistrates assume theeDistence of a free ill, hile the legislator has !eci!e! that it shall

not be assume!" )o, in science as ell as in legislation, e shoul!

follo a !irect an! logical line, such as that of the classic school orthe $ositive school of criminology" But hoever thinks he has solve! a

$roblem hen he gives us a solution hich is neither fish nor fol,

comes to the most absur! an! iniuitous conclusions" #ou see hat

ha$$ens every !ay" *f to%morro some beastly an! incom$rehensible crime

is committe!, the conscience of the ju!ge is trouble! by this uestionAas the $erson ho committe! this crime morally free to act or notI


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eliminating it entirely, the $enalty fiDe! u$on the crime committe! is

re!uce! accor!ing to the folloing rules

H*" *n $lace of $enitentiary, im$risonment for not less than siD years"

H**" *n $lace of the $ermanent loss of civic rights, a loss of these

rights for a sti$ulate! time"

H***" Ahenever it is a uestion of a $enalty of more than telve years,

it is re!uce! to from three to ten years if of more than siD years, but

not more than telve, it is re!uce! to from one to five years in other

cases, the re!uction is to be one%half of the or!inary $enalty"

H*>" + fine is re!uce! to one%half"

H>" *f the $enalty oul! be a restriction of $ersonal liberty, the ju!ge

may or!er the $risoner to a orkhouse, until the $ro$er authoritiesobject, hen the remain!er of the sentence is carrie! out in the usual

manner"H

*t is true that there is no an! then in those halls of justice, hich

remain all too freuently close! to the living ave of $ublic sentiment,

some more intelligent an! serene ju!ge ho is touche! by this $ainfulun!erstan!ing of the actual human life" Then he may, un!er the illogical

con!itions of $enal justice, ith its com$romise beteen the eDactness

of the classic an! that of the $ositive school of criminology, seek for

some eD$e!ient hich may restore him to euanimity"

*n /8-, France intro!uce! a $enal innovation, hich seeme! to re$resent

an a!vance on the fiel! of justice, but hich is in reality a !enial of

justice The eD$e!ient of NeDtenuating circumstancesN" The ju!ge !oes

not ask for the a!vice of the court $hysician in the case of someforlorn criminal, but con!emns him ithout a or! of rebuke to society

for its com$licity" But in or!er to assuage his on conscience he grantshim eDtenuating circumstances, hich seem a concession of justice, but

are, in reality, a !enial of justice" For you either believe that a man

is res$onsible for his crime, an! in that case the concession ofeDtenuating circumstances is a hy$ocrisy or you grant them in goo!

faith, an! then you a!mit that the man as in circumstances hich

re!uce! his moral res$onsibility, an! thereby the eDtenuating

circumstances become a !enial of justice" For if your conviction

concerning such circumstances ere sincere, you oul! go to the bottom

of them an! eDamine ith the light of your un!erstan!ing all those

innumerable con!itions hich contribute toar! those eDtenuating

circumstances" But hat are those eDtenuating circumstancesI Family

con!itionsI Take it that a chil! is left alone by its $arents, ho are

salloe! u$ in the hirl of mo!ern in!ustry, hich overthros the las

of nature an! forbi!s the necessary rest, because steam engines !o notget tire! an! !ay ork must be folloe! by night ork, so that the

setting of the sun is no longer the signal for the laborer to rest, but

to begin a ne shift of ork" Take it that this a$$lies not alone toa!ults, but also to human beings in the groing stage, hose muscular

$oer may yiel! some $rofit for the ca$italists" Take it that even the

mother, !uring the $erio! of sacre! maternity, becomes a cog in the

machinery of in!ustry" +n! you ill un!erstan! that the chil! must gro

u$, left to its on resources, in the filth of life, an! that its

history ill be inscribe! in criminal statistics, hich are the shame of

our so%calle! civiliation"


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;f course, in this first lecture * cannot give you even a glim$se of the

$ositive results of that mo!ern science hich has stu!ie! the criminal

an! his environment instea! of his crimes" +n! * must, therefore, limitmyself to a fe hints concerning the historical origin of the $ositive

school of criminology" * ought to tell you something concerning the

uestion of free ill" But you ill un!erstan! that such a momentous

uestion, hich is orthy of a !ee$ stu!y of the many%si!e! $hysical,

moral, intellectual life, cannot be summe! u$ in a fe short or!s" *can only say that the ten!ency of mo!ern natural sciences, in $hysiology

as ell as $sychology, has overrule! the illusions of those ho oul!

fain $ersist in atching $sychological $henomena merely ithin

themselves an! think that they can un!erstan! them ithout any other

means" ;n the contrary, $ositive science, backe! by the testimony of

anthro$ology an! of the stu!y of the environment, has arrive! at thefolloing conclusions The a!mission of a free ill is out of the

uestion" For if the free ill is but an illusion of our internal being,

it is not a real faculty $ossesse! by the human min!" Free ill oul!im$ly that the human ill, confronte! by the choice of making

voluntarily a certain !etermination, has the last !ecisive or! un!er

the $ressure of circumstances conten!ing for an! against this !ecisionthat it is free to !eci!e for or against a certain course in!e$en!ently

of internal an! eDternal circumstances, hich $lay u$on it, accor!ing to

the las of cause an! effect"

Take it that a man has insulte! me" * leave the $lace in hich * have

been insulte!, an! ith me goes the suggestion of forgiveness or of

mur!er an! vengeance" +n! then it is assume! that a man has his com$lete

free ill, unless he is influence! by circumstances eD$licitlyenumerate! by the la, such as minority, congenital !eaf%muteness,

insanity, habitual !runkenness an!, to a certain eDtent, violent

$assion" *f a man is not in a con!ition mentione! in this list, he is

consi!ere! in $ossession of his free ill, an! if he mur!ers he is hel!morally res$onsible an! therefore $unishe!"

This illusion of a free ill has its source in our inner consciousness,

an! is !ue solely to the ignorance in hich e fin! ourselves concerning

the various motives an! !ifferent eDternal an! internal con!itions hich$ress u$on our min! at the moment of !ecision"

*f a man knos the $rinci$al causes hich !etermine a certain

$henomenon, he says that this $henomenon is inevitable" *f he !oes not

kno them, he consi!ers it as an acci!ent, an! this corres$on!s in the

$hysical fiel! to the arbitrary $henomenon of the human ill hich !oes

not kno hether it shall !eci!e this ay or that" For instance, some of

us ere of the o$inion, an! many still are, that the coming an! going of

meteorological $henomena as acci!ental an! coul! not he foreseen" But

in the meantime, science has !emonstrate! that they are likeise subject

to the la of causality, because it !iscovere! the causes hich enableus to foresee their course" Thus eather $rognosis has ma!e on!erful

$rogress by the hel$ of a netork of telegra$hically connecte!

meteorological stations, hich succee!e! in !emonstrating the connectionbeteen cause an! effect in the case of hurricanes, as ell as of any

other $hysical $henomenon" *t is evi!ent that the i!ea of acci!ent,

a$$lie! to $hysical nature, is unscientific" Every $hysical $henomenon

is the necessary effect of the causes that !etermine! it beforehan!" *f

those causes are knon to us, e have the conviction that that

$henomenon is necessary, is fate, an!, if e !o not kno them, e think

it is acci!ental" The same is true of human $henomena" But since e !o

not kno the internal an! eDternal causes in the majority of cases, e


12/46

$reten! that they are free $henomena, that is to say, that they are not

!etermine! necessarily by their causes"


13/46

to the las hich e observe in force an! matter, an! to the la of

causality" *f mo!ern science has !iscovere! the universal link hich

connects all $henomena through cause an! effect, hich shos that every$henomenon is the result of causes hich have $rece!e! it if this is

the la of causality, hich is at the very bottom of mo!ern scientific

thought, then it is evi!ent that the a!mission of free thought is

euivalent to an overthro of this la, accor!ing to hich every effect

is $ro$ortionate to its cause" *n that case, this la, hich reignssu$reme in the entire universe, oul! !issolve itself into naught at

the feet of the human being, ho oul! create effects ith his free ill

not corres$on!ing to their causesM *t as all right to think so at a

time hen $eo$le ha! an entirely !ifferent i!ea of human beings" But the

ork of mo!ern science, an! its effect on $ractical life, has resulte!

in tracing the relations of each one of us ith the orl! an! ith ourfello beings" +n! the influence of science may be seen in the

elimination of great illusions hich in former centuries saye! this or

that $art of civilie! humanity" The scientific thought of Co$ernicusan! Galilei !i! aay ith the illusions hich le! $eo$le to believe that

the earth as the center of the universe an! of creation"

Take Cicero's book N!e ;fficiisN, or the N3ivina Comme!iaN of 3ante, an!

you ill fin! that to them the earth is the center of creation, that the

infinite stars circle aroun! it, an! that man is the king of animals ageocentric an! anthro$ocentric illusion ins$ire! by immeasurable

conceit" But Co$ernicus an! Galilei came an! !emonstrate! that the earth

!oes not stan! still, but that it is a grain of cosmic matter hurle!

into blue infinity an! rotating since time unknon aroun! its central

bo!y, the sun, hich originate! from an immense $rimitive nebula"Galilei as subjecte! to tortures by those ho realie! that this ne

theory struck !on many a religious legen! an! many a moral cree!" But

Galilei ha! s$oken the truth, an! noa!ays humanity no longer in!ulges

in the illusion that the earth is the center of creation"

But men live on illusions an! give ay but reluctantly to the $rogressof science, in or!er to !evote themselves ar!uously to the i!eal of the

ne truths hich rise out of the essence of things of hich mankin! is a

$art" +fter the geocentric illusion ha! been !estroye!, theanthro$ocentric illusion still remaine!" ;n earth, man as still

su$$ose! to be king of creation, the center of terrestrial life" +ll

S$ecies of animals, $lants an! minerals ere su$$ose! to be create!

eD$ressly for him, an! to have ha! from time immemorial the forms hich

e see no, so that the fauna an! flora living on our $lanet have alays

been hat they are to!ay" +n! Cicero, for instance, sai! that the

heavens ere $lace! aroun! the earth an! man in or!er that he might

a!mire the beauty of the starry firmament at night, an! that animals

an! $lants ere create! for his use an! $leasure" But in /87 Charles

3arin came an!, summariing the results of stu!ies that ha! been

carrie! on for a century, !estroye! in the name of science the su$erbillusion that man is the king an! center of creation"


14/46

$ro$agating the 3arinian theory at the university of 4ena" *t as


15/46

crime has been committe!, ith the shame of an eDecution or the

absur!ity of solitary confinement"

;n the one han!, human life !e$en!s on the or! of a ju!ge, ho may err

in the case of ca$ital $unishment an! society cannot en! the life of a

man, unless the necessity of legitimate self%!efense !eman!s it" ;n the

other han!, solitary confinement came in ith the secon! current of the

classic school of criminology, hen at the same time, in hich Beccaria$romulgate! his i!eas, 4ohn


16/46

themselves felt in the $ublic conscience" ;ne of them, $erva!ing the

overhelming majority of in!ivi!ual consciences, asks


17/46

$ur$ose, for you ill not fin! an anser to these uestions in than" )o

one, from Beccaria to Carrara, has ever thought of this $roblem, an!

they coul! not have aske! it, consi!ering their $oint of !e$arture an!their metho!" *n fact, the classic criminologists acce$t the $henomenon

of criminality as an accom$lishe! fact" They analye it from the $oint

of vie of the technical jurist, ithout asking ho this criminal fact

may have been $ro!uce!, an! hy it re$eats itself in greater or smaller

numbers from year to year, in every country" The theory of a free ill,hich is their foun!ation, eDclu!es the $ossibility of this scientific

uestion, for accor!ing to it the crime is the $ro!uct of the fiat of

the human ill" +n! if that is a!mitte! as a fact, there is nothing left

to account for" The manslaughter as committe!, because the criminal

ante! to commit it an! that is all there is to it" ;nce the theory of

a free ill is acce$te! as a fact, the !ee! !e$en!s on the fiat, thevoluntary !etermination, of the criminal, an! all is sai!"

But if, on the other han!, the $ositive school of criminology !enies, onthe groun! of researches in scientific $hysiological $sychology, that

the human ill is free an! !oes not a!mit that one is a criminal because

he ants to be, but !eclares that a man commits this or that crime onlyhen he lives in !efinitely !etermine! con!itions of $ersonality an!

environment hich in!uce him necessarily to act in a certain ay, then

alone !oes the $roblem of the origin of criminality begin to besubmitte! to a $reliminary analysis, an! then alone !oes criminal la

ste$ out of the narro an! ari! limits of technical juris$ru!ence an!

become a true social an! human science in the highest an! noblest

meaning of the or!" *t is vain to insist ith such stubbornness as that

of the classic school of criminology on juristic formulas by hich the!istinction beteen illegal a$$ro$riation an! theft, beteen frau! an!

other forms of crime against $ro$erty, an! so forth, is !etermine!, hen

this metho! !oes not give to society one single or! hich oul! thro

light u$on the reasons that make a man a criminal an! u$on theefficacious reme!y by hich society coul! $rotect itself against

criminality"

*t is true that the classic school of criminology has likeise its

reme!y against crime%%namely, $unishment" But this is the only reme!y ofthat school, an! in all the legislation ins$ire! by the theories of that

school in all the countries of the civilie! orl! there is no other

reme!y against crime but re$ression"

But Bentham has sai! Every time that $unishment is inflicte! it $roves

its inefficacy, for it !i! not $revent the committal of that crime"

Therefore, this reme!y is orthless" +n! a !ee$er stu!y of the cause of

crime !emonstrates that if a man !oes not commit a certain crime, this

is !ue to entirely !ifferent reasons, than a fear of the $enalty, very

strong an! fun!amental reasons hich are not to be foun! in the threats

of legislators" These threats, if nevertheless carrie! out by $olice an!$rison kee$ers, run counter to those con!itions" + man ho inten!s to

commit a crime, or ho is carrie! aay by a violent $assion, by a

$sychological hurricane hich !rons his moral sense, is not checke! bythreats of $unishment, because the volcanic eru$tion of $assion $revents

him from reflecting" ;r he may !eci!e to commit a crime after !ue

$reme!itation an! $re$aration, an! in that case the $enalty is

$oerless to check him, because he ho$es to esca$e ith im$unity" +ll

criminals ill tell you unanimously that the only thing hich im$elle!

them hen they ere !eliberating a crime as the eD$ectation that they

oul! go scot free" *f they ha! but the least sus$icion that they might

be !etecte! an! $unishe! they oul! not have committe! the crime" The


18/46

only eDce$tion is the case in hich a crime is the result of a mental

eD$losion cause! by a violent outburst of $assion" +n! if you ish to

have a very convincing illustration of the $sychological inefficacy oflegal threats, you have but to think of that curious crime hich has no

assume! a freuency never knon to former centuries, namely the making

of counterfeit money" For since $a$er money%%from ant or for reasons of

eD$e!iency%%has become a substitute of metal coin in the civilie!

countries, the making of counterfeit $a$er money has become veryfreuent in the nineteenth century" )o a counterfeiter, in committing

his crime, must com$el his min! to imitate closely the inscri$tion of

the bill, letter for letter, inclu!ing that threatening $assage, hich

says NHThe la $unishes counterfeitingN """H etc" Can you see before

your min!'s eye a counterfeiter, in the act of engraving on the stone or

the others may ignore the $enalty that aaits them, but he cannot" Thisillustration is convincing, for in cases of other crimes one may alays

assume that the criminal acte! ithout thinking of the future, even hen

he as not in a trans$ort of $assion" But in the case of thecounterfeiter the very act of committing the crime remin!s him of the

threat of the la, an! yet he is im$erturbable hile $er$etrating it"

Crime has its natural causes, hich lie outsi!e of that mathematical

$oint calle! the free ill of the criminal" +si!e from being a juri!ical

$henomenon, hich it oul! be ell to eDamine by itself, every crime isabove all a natural an! social $henomenon, an! shoul! be stu!ie!

$rimarily as such" Ae nee! not go through so har! a course of stu!y

merely for the $ur$ose of alking over the raor e!ge of juristic

!efinitions an! to fin! out, for instance, that from the time 2omagnosi

ma!e a !istinction beteen incom$lete! an! attem$te! crime rivers of inkhave been s$ille! in the attem$t to fin! the !istinguishing elements of

these to !egrees of crime" +n! finally, hen the German legislator

conclu!e! to make no !istinction beteen incom$lete! an! attem$te! crime

an! to recognie only the com$lete! crime in his co!e of /8/, eitnesse! the s$ectacle of Carrara $raising that legislator for leaving

that subtile !istinction out of his co!e" + strange conclusion on the$art of a science, hich cu!gels its brains for a century to fin! the

marks of !istinction beteen attem$te! an! incom$lete! crime, an! then

$raises the legislator for ignoring it" +n! another classic jurist,Buccellati, $ro$ose! to !o aay ith the theory of attem$te! crime by

sim$ly !efining it as a crime by itself, or as%%a violation of $olice

lasM + science hich comes to such conclusions is a science hich moves

in meta$hysical abstractions, an! e shall see that all these fines$un

uestions hich aboun! in classical science lose all $ractical value

before the necessity of saving society from the $lague of crime"

The metho! hich e, on the other han!, have inaugurate! is the

folloing Before e stu!y crime from the $oint of vie of a juristic

$henomenon, e must stu!y the causes to hich the annual recurrence of

crimes in all countries is !ue" These are natural causes, hich * haveclassifie! un!er the three hea!s of anthro$ological, telluric an!

social" Every crime, from the smallest to the most atrocious, is the

result of the interaction of these three causes, the anthro$ologicalcon!ition of the criminal, the telluric environment in hich he is

living, an! the social environment in hich he is born, living an!

o$erating" *t is a vain beginning to se$arate the meshes of this net of

criminality" There are still those ho oul! maintain the one%si!e!

stan!$oint that the origin of crime may be trace! to only one of these

elements, for instance, to the social element alone" So far as * am

concerne!, * have combatte! this o$inion from the very inauguration of

the $ositive school of criminology, an! * combat it to!ay" *t is


19/46

certainly easy enough to think that the entire origin of all crime is

!ue to the unfavorable social con!itions in hich the criminal lives"

But an objective, metho!ical, observation !emonstrates that socialcon!itions alone !o not suffice to eD$lain the origin of criminality,

although it is true that the $revalence of the influence of social

con!itions is an incontestable fact in the case of the greater number

of crimes, es$ecially of the lesser ones" But there are crimes hich

cannot be eD$laine! by the influence of social con!itions alone" *f youregar! the general con!ition of misery as the sole source of

criminality, then you cannot get aroun! the !ifficulty that out of one

thousan! in!ivi!uals living in misery from the !ay of their birth to

that of their !eath only one hun!re! or to hun!re! become criminals,

hile the other nine hun!re! or eight hun!re! either sink into

biological eakness, or become harmless maniacs, or commit suici!eithout $er$etrating any crime" *f $overty ere the sole !etermining

cause, one thousan! out of one thousan! $oor ought to become criminals"

*f only to hun!re! become criminals, hile one hun!re! commit suici!e,one hun!re! en! as maniacs, an! the other siD hun!re! remain honest in

their social con!ition, then $overty alone is not sufficient to eD$lain

criminality" Ae must a!! the anthro$ological an! telluric factor" ;nlyby means of these three elements of natural influence can criminality be

eD$laine!" ;f course, the influence of either the anthro$ological or

telluric or social element varies from case to case" *f you have a caseof sim$le theft, you may have a far greater influence of the social

factor than of the anthro$ological factor" ;n the other han!, if you

have a case of mur!er, the anthro$ological element ill have a far

greater influence than the social" +n! so on in every case of crime, an!

every in!ivi!ual that you ill have to ju!ge on the bench of thecriminal"

The anthro$ological factor" *t is $recisely here that the genius of

Cesare &ombroso establishe! a ne science, because in his search afterthe causes of crime he stu!ie! the anthro$ological con!ition of the

criminal" This con!ition concerns not only the organic an! anatomicalconstitution, but also the $sychological, it re$resents the organic an!

$sychological $ersonality of the criminal" Every one of us inherits at

birth, an! $ersonifies in life, a certain organic an! $sychologicalcombination" This constitutes the in!ivi!ual factor of human activity,

hich either remains normal through life, or becomes criminal or insane"

The anthro$ological factor, then, must not be restricte!, as some laymen

oul! restrict it, to the stu!y of the form of the skull or the bones

of the criminal" &ombroso ha! to begin his stu!ies ith the anatomical

con!itions of the criminal, because the skulls may be stu!ie! most

easily in the museums" But he continue! by also stu!ying the brain an!

the other $hysiological con!itions of the in!ivi!ual, the state of

sensibility, an! the circulation of matter" +n! this entire series of

stu!ies is but a necessary scientific intro!uction to the stu!y of the

$sychology of the criminal, hich is $recisely the one $roblem that isof !irect an! imme!iate im$ortance" *t is this $roblem hich the layer

an! the $ublic $rosecutor shoul! solve before !iscussing the juri!ical

as$ect of any crime, for this reveals the causes hich in!uce! thecriminal to commit a crime" +t $resent there is no metho!ical stan!ar!

for a $sychological investigation, although such an investigation as

intro!uce! into the sco$e of classic $enal la" But for this reason the

results of the $ositive school $enetrate into the lecture rooms of the

universities of juris$ru!ence, henever a la is reuire! for the

ju!icial arraignment of the criminal as a living an! feeling human

being" +n! even though the $ositive school is not mentione!, all $rofess

to be stu!ying the material furnishe! by it, for instance, its analyses


20/46

of the sentiments of the criminal, his moral sense, his behavior before,

!uring an! after the criminal act, the $resence of remorse hich $eo$le,

ju!ging the criminal after their on feelings, alays su$$ose thecriminal to feel, hile, in fact, it is sel!om $resent" This is the

anthro$ological factor, hich may assume a $athological form, in hich

case articles . an! . of the $enal co!e remember that there is such a

thing as the $ersonality of the criminal" enice, the intensity increases

until it reaches its maDimum in the insular an! $eninsular eDtreme of

the south" But even there you ill fin! certain cases in hich

manslaughter shos a lesser intensity"

For instance, the $rovince of Benevent is surroun!e! by other $rovinces

hich sho a maDimum of crimes !ue to con!itions of bloo!, hile it

registers a smaller number" )a$les, again, shos a consi!erably smaller


21/46

number of such cases than the $rovinces surroun!ing it, but it has a

greater number of un$reme!itate! cases of manslaughter" ?essina, Catania

an! Syracuse have a remarkably smaller number of bloo! crimes thanTra$ani, Girgenti an! Palermo" *t has been attem$te! to claim that this

!ifference in criminality is !ue to social con!ition's, because the

agricultural con!itions in eastern Sicily are less !egra!ing than those

of Girgenti an! Tra$ani, here the sul$hur mines com$el the miners to

live miserably" But e shoul! like to ask the folloing uestion ino$$osition to this i!ea Ahy an! in hat res$ect are the agricultural

con!itions in some $rovinces better than in othersI This con!ition is

merely itself a result, not a cause of the first !egree"

Since the theory of historical materialism, hich * $refer to call

economic !eterminism, has !emonstrate! that $olitical, moral an!intellectual $henomena are reactions on the economic con!itions of any

time an! $lace, the attem$t has been ma!e to inter$ret this theory very

narroly an! to $reten! that the economic con!ition of a nation is a$rimary cause an! not !etermine! by any other" For my $art, ever since *

have !emonstrate! the $erfect accor! beteen the ?arDian an! the

3arinian theories, * have sai! >ery ell, the economic con!itions of anation eD$lain its $olitical, moral, intellectual con!itions, but the

economic con!ition is in its turn the result of other factors" For

instance, ho can the in!ustrialism of Englan! in the nineteenth centurybe eD$laine!I Take aay the coal mines Kthe telluric environmentL, an!

you coul! not have the economic con!itions of Englan! as they are" For

the economic con!itions are a result of favorable or unfavorable

telluric con!itions hich are acte! u$on by the intelligence an! energy

of a certain race" Catania, ?essina, Syracuse, are in a better economiccon!ition, because they have better geogra$hical con!itions an! a

!ifferent race Kof Grecian bloo!L than the other Sicilian $rovinces" So

it is in +$ulia an! )a$les, hich have likeise a consi!erable miDture

of Grecian bloo!" The northern tourists are still attracte! by our artan! visit the ruins of Taormina or Pesto, hich are the relics of the

Grecian race" +n! it is the Grecian bloo! hich eD$lains the lesserfreuency of bloo!y crimes in those $rovinces" This is therefore

evi!ently the influence of the race" +n! * maintain that the same fact

is !ue in the $rovince of Benevent to the a!miDture of &angobar!ianbloo!" For the 3uchy of Benevent has ha! an influD of &angobar!ian

elements since the seventh century" +n! as e kno that the German an!

+nglo%SaDon race has the smallest ten!ency toar!s bloo!y crimes, the

beneficial influence of this racial character in Benevent eD$lains

itself" ;n the other han!, there is much Saracen bloo! in the estern

an! southern $rovinces of Sicily, an! this eD$lains the greater number

of bloo!y crimes there" *t is evi!ent that the organic character of the

inhabitants of that islan!, here you may still see the brutal an!

barbarian features of the Saracen by the si!e of those of the blon!,

cool an! uiet )orman, contains a transfusion of the bloo! of !iverse

races" But it is also true that herever a certain race has been$re!ominant, there its influence is left behin! in the in!ivi!ual an!

collective life"

&et this be enough so far as the anthro$ological factor of criminality

is concerne!" There are, furthermore, the telluric factors, that is to

say, the $hysical environment in hich e live an! to hich e $ay no

attention" *t reuires much $hiloso$hy, sai! 2ousseau, to note the

things ith hich e are in !aily contact, because the habitual

influence of a thing makes it more !ifficult to be aare of it" This

a$$lies also to the imme!iate influence of the $hysical con!itions on

human morality, notithstan!ing the s$iritualist $reju!ices hich still


22/46

eigh u$on our !aily lives" For instance, if it is claime! in the name

of su$ernaturalism an! $sychism that a man is unha$$y because he is

vicious, it is euivalent to making a one%si!e! statement" For it isjust as true to say that a man becomes vicious because he is unha$$y"

Aant is the strongest $oison for the human bo!y an! soul" *t is the

fountain hea! of all inhuman an! antisocial feeling" Ahere ant s$rea!s

out its ings, there the sentiments of love, of affection, of

brotherhoo!, are im$ossible"

Take a look at the figures of the $easant in the far%off ari! Cam$agna,

the little government em$loyee, the laborer, the little sho$%kee$er"

Ahen ork is assure!, hen living is certain, though $oor, then ant,

cruel ant, is in the !istance, an! every goo! sentiment can germinate

an! !evelo$ in the human heart" The family then lives in a favorableenvironment, the $arents agree, the chil!ren are affectionate" +n! hen

the laborer, a brone! statue of humanity, returns from, his smoky sho$

an! meets his hite%haire! mother, the embo!iment of half a century ofimmaculate virtue an! heroic sacrifices, then he can, tire!, but assure!

of his !aily brea!, give room to feelings of affection, an! he ill

cor!ially invite his mother to share his frugal meal" But let the sameman, in the same environment, be haunte! by the s$ectre of ant an! lack

of em$loyment, an! you ill see the moral atmos$here in his family

changing as from !ay into night" There is no ork, an! the laborer comeshome ithout any ages" The ife, ho !oes not kno ho to fee! the

chil!ren, re$roaches her husban! ith the suffering of his family" The

man, having been turne! aay from the !oors of ten offices, feels his

!ignity as an honest laborer assaile! in the very bosom of his on

family, because he has vainly aske! society for honest em$loyment" +n!the bon!s of affection an! union are loosene! in that family" *ts

members no longer agree" There are too many chil!ren, an! hen the $oor

ol! mother a$$roaches her son, she rea!s in his !ark an! agitate! mien

the lack of ten!erness an! feels in her mother heart that her boy,$oisone! by the s$ectre of ant, is $erha$s casting evil looks at her

an! harboring the unfilial thought HBetter an o$en grave in thecemetery than one mouth more to fee! at homeMH

*t is true, that ant alone is not sufficient to $re$are the soil in theenvironment of that suffering family for the roots of real crime an! to

!evelo$ it" Aant ill eaken the love an! mutual res$ect among the

members of that family, but it ill not be strong enough alone to arm

the han!s of the man for a matrici!al !ee!, unless he shoul! get into a

$athological mental con!ition, hich is very eDce$tional an! rare" But

the conclusions of the $ositive school are confirme! in this case as in

any other" *n or!er that crime may !evelo$, it is necessary that

anthro$ological, social an! telluric factors shoul! act together"

Ae generally forget the con!itions of the $hysical environment in hich

e live, because su$ernatural $reju!ice tells us that the bo!y is abeast hich e must forget in or!er to elevate ourselves into a

s$iritual life" ?anoni coul! !esignate the ?i!!le +ges by the term

H!irty"H because they neglecte! the !eman!s of elementary hygiene, an!thus of human morality" For here the reuirements of our $hysical bo!y

are neglecte! or offen!e!, there no floer can bloom" The telluric

environment has a great influence on our $hysical activity, by ay of

our nervous system" Ae feel !ifferently !is$ose!, accor!ing to hether a

south or a north in! blos" Ahen Garibal!i as on the Pam$as, he

observe! that his com$anions ere irascible an! $rone to violent

uarrels, hen the Pam$ero ble, an! that their behavior change!, hen

this in! cease!" The great foun!ers of criminal statistics, Ouetelet


23/46

an! Guerry, observe! that the change of seasons carrie! ith it a change

in criminality" SeDual crimes are less freuent in inter than in s$ring

an! summer" +n! ith reference to this $oint * have maintaine!, an!still maintain, that it is !ue to the combine! effects of tem$erature

an! social con!itions, if crimes against $ro$erty increase in inter"

For lack of em$loyment, the ant of foo! an! shelter, intensify the

misery an! lea! to attacks on $ro$erty" ;n the other han!, the col! by

itself re!uces seDual crimes an! $ersonal assaults" +n! those ho claimthat the longer intercourse beteen $eo$le in summer time has also a

social influence, are also $artly in the right"

The most elouent fact in this res$ect as mentione! by ?urro, hen he

$ointe! out that this change in the freuency of bloo!y crimes, greater

in the arm months than in inter, a$$lie! also to $risoners" Statisticssho that breach of !isci$line is most freuent in hot seasons" The

social factor !oes not enter there, because the social life is there the

same in inter an! in summer" This is, therefore, a $ractical $roof ofthe influence of climate, an! it is re%enforce! by the fact that

!elirium an! e$ile$sy in insane asylums are also more freuent in hot

than in col! months" The influence of the telluric factors, then, cannotbe !enie!, an! the influence of the social factor intensifies it, as *

have alrea!y shon by its most !rastic an! characteristic eDam$le, that

of ant" ;ne can, therefore, un!erstan! that a man, hose morality hasbeen shaken by the $ressure of increasing ant, may be le! to commit a

crime against $ro$erty or $ersons"

*t is certainly uite evi!ent, that economic misery has an un!eniable

influence on criminality" +n! if you consi!er, that about -11,111criminals are sentence! in *taly every year, /81,111 of them for minor

crimes, an! /1,111 for crimes hich belong to the gravest class, you

can easily see that the greater $art of them !ue mainly to social

con!itions, for hich it shoul! not be so very !ifficult to fin! areme!y" The ork of the legislator may be slo, !ifficult, an!

ina!euate, so far as the telluric an! anthro$ological factors areconcerne!" But it coul! surely be ra$i!, efficacious an! $rom$t, so far

as the social factors influencing criminality are concerne!"

Ae have no !emonstrate! that crime has its natural source in the

combine! interaction of three classes of causes, the anthro$ological

Korganic an! $sychologicalL factor, the telluric factor, an! the social

factor" +n! by this last factor e must not only mean ant, but any

other con!ition of a!ministrative instability in $olitical, moral, an!

intellectual life" Every social con!ition hich makes the life of man in

society insincere an! im$erfect is a social factor contributing toar!s

criminality" The economic factor is in evi!ence in our civiliation

herever the la of free com$etition, hich is but a form of !isguise!

cannibalism, establishes the rule N#our !eath is my lifeN" The

com$etition of laborers for a limite! number of $laces is euivalent tosaying that those ho secure a living !o so at the eD$ense of those ho

!o not" +n! this is a !isguise! form of cannibalism" Ahile it !oes not

!evour the com$etitor as $rimitive mankin! !i!, it $aralyes him bycalumnies, recommen!ations, $rotection, money, hich, secure the $lace

for the best bargainer an! leave the most honest, talente!, an!

self%res$ecting to the $angs of starvation"

?oreover, the economic factor eDerts its crime%bree!ing influence also

un!er the form of a su$erabun!ance of ealth" *n!ee!, in our $resent

society, hich is in the !onar! stage of transition from glorious

bourgeois civiliation, hich constitute! a gol!en $age of human


24/46

history in the /0th century, ealth itself is a source of crime" For the

rich, ho !o not enjoy the a!vantage of manual or intellectual ork,

suffer from the corru$tion of leisure an! vice" Gambling thros theminto an unhealthy fever the struggle an! race for money $oison their

!aily lives" +n! although the rich may kee$ out of reach of the $enal

co!e, still they have con!emne! themselves to a life !evote! to

hy$ocritical ceremonies, hich are !evoi! of moral sentiment" +n! this

life lea!s them to a s$ortive form of criminality" To cheat at gamblingis the inevitable fate of these $arasites" *n or!er to kill time they

give themselves u$ to games of chance, an! those ho !o not care for

that !evote themselves to the s$ort of a!ultery, hich in that class is

a $astime even among the best frien!s, on account of sheer mental

$overty" +n! all because man's min! unoccu$ie! is the !evil's on forge,

as the English $oet says"

Ae have no surveye! briefly the natural genesis of crime, as a natural

social $henomenon, brought about by the interaction of anthro$ological,telluric, an! social influences, hich in any !etermine! moment act

u$on a $ersonality stan!ing on the cross roa! of vice an! virtue, crime

an! honesty" This scientific !e!uction gives rise to a series ofinvestigations hich satisfy the min! an! su$$ly it ith a real

un!erstan!ing of things, far better than the theory that a man is a

criminal because he ants to be" )o, a man commits crime because hefin!s himself in certain $hysical an! social con!itions, from hich the

evil $lant of crime takes life an! strength" Thus e obtain the origin

of that sa! human figure hich is the $ro!uct of the interaction of

those factors, an abnormal man, a man not a!a$te! to the con!itions of

the social environment in hich he is born, so that emigration becomesan ever more $ermanent $henomenon for the greater $ortion of men, for

hom the acci!ent of birth ill less an! less !etermine the course of

their future life" +n! the abnormal man ho is belo the minimum of

a!a$tability to social life an! bears the marks of organic !egeneration,!evelo$s either a $assive or an aggressive form of abnormality an!

becomes a criminal"

+mong these abnormal human beings, to grou$s must be $articularly

!istinguishe!" &imiting our observations to those ho are trueaggressively antisocial abnormals, that is to say, ho are not a!a$te!

to a certain social or!er an! attack it by crimes, e must !istinguish

those ho for egoistic or ferocious reasons attack society by atavistic

forms of the struggle for eDistence by committing socalle! common crimes

in the sha$e of frau! or violence, thereby o$$osing or abolishing

con!itions in hich their fello beings may live" This is the atavistic

ty$e of criminals hich re$resents an involutionary, or retrogressive,

form of abnormality, !ue to an arreste! !evelo$ment or an atavistic

reversion to a savage an! $rimitive ty$e" These constitute the majority

in the orl! of criminals an! must be !istinguishe! from the minority,

ho are evolutionary, or $rogressive, abnormals, that may also commitcrime in a violent form, but must not be confoun!e! ith the others,

because they !o not act from egoistic motives, but rebel from altruistic

motives against the injustice of the $resent or!er" These altruisticcriminals feel the sufferings an! horrors !ue to the injustice

surroun!ing them an! may go so far as to commit mur!er, hich must

alays be con!emne!, but hich must not be confoun!e! ith atavistic or

egoistic mur!er" 2ecourse to $ersonal violence is alays objectionable

from the $oint of vie of higher manhoo!, hich !esires that human life

shoul! alays be hel! in res$ect" But the reasons for such a crime are

!ifferent, being egoistic in the one, an! altruistic in the other case"

The evolutionary abnormal is often an instrument of human $rogress, not


25/46

in the form of criminality, but in that of intellectual an! moral

rebellion against con!itions hich are sanctione! by las that

freuently $unish such an evolutionary rebellion har!er than atavisticcrime, as they !o in 2ussia, here ca$ital $unishment has been abolishe!

for common crimes, but retaine! for $olitical violations of the laM Ae

are living in an e$och of transition from the ol! to the ne, an!

contem$oraneous humanity has an uneasy moral conscience in this critical

time" The ruling classes are losing their clearness of vision, so thatthey $romise monuments to those $olitical mur!erers ho $romote! their

on historical victories, but oul! con!emn like any common criminal him

ho no !evotes his soul to a revolutionary i!eal, oul! thro into

$rison the $ioneer of ne human i!eals, just as 2ussia is

eDcommunicating the rebel Tolstoi" * mention &eo Tolstoi a!vise!ly for

the $ur$ose of giving a $recise illustration of my hetero!oD thought inreference to this uestion" Ae are o$$ose! to any form of $ersonal

violence Kith the sole eDce$tion of self%!efenseL, e cannot a$$rove of

any form of $ersonal assault, no matter hat may be its motive"Therefore e cannot have or!s of $raise or eDcuse for $olitical mur!er,

though it may be ins$ire! by altruistic motives" Ae can !eman! that the

legislator shoul! !istinguish beteen the $sychological sources of theseto forms of mur!er, the egoistic an! the altruistic form" But e

con!emn them both, because they are inhuman forms of violence" *!eas !o

not make victorious hea!ay by force of arms" *!eas must be combatte! byi!eas, an! it is only by the $ro$agan!a of the i!ea that e can $re$are

humanity for its future" >iolence is alays a means of $reventing the

sincere an! fruitful !iffusion of an i!ea" Ae !o not say this merely for

the abnormals of the loer classes" Ae refer ith scientific serenity

also to the u$$er classes, ho oul! su$$ress by violence everymanifestation of revolt against the social iniuities, every affirmation

of faith in a better future"

This is the conce$tion of our science, hich thus succee!s in!istinguishing traits of character even among the unlucky an! forlorn

$eo$le of the criminal orl!, hile the classic school of criminologyregar!s a criminal as a sort of abstract an! normal man, ith the

eDce$tion of cases of minors, !eaf mutes, inebriates, an! maniacs"

*n fact, the classic school of criminology regar!s all thieves as T


26/46

an! if he falls back into the $ath of thorns of his misery an! commits

another crime, the ju!ge sim$ly $astes another article over the other,

by a!!ing number 81 or 8/, hich refer to cases of rela$se, to number.1.M

*n this ay the classic school of criminology came to its unit of

$unishment, hich it heral!e! as its great $rogress" *n the ?i!!le

+ges, the !iversity of $unishment as greater" But in the /0th centurythe classic school of criminology combatte! !ishonoring $unishment,

cor$oreal $unishment, confiscation, $rofessional $unishment, ca$ital

$unishment, ith its i!eal of one sole $enalty, the only $anacea for

crime an! criminals, N$risonN"

Ae have, in!ee!, $rohibitory measures an! fines even to!ay" But insubstance the hole $unitive armory is re!uce! to im$risonment, since

fines are likeise convertible into so many !ays or months of

im$risonment" Solitary confinement is the i!eal of the classic school ofcriminology" But eD$erience $roves that this $enalty has as much effect

on the !isease of criminality, as the reme!y of a $hysician oul! have,

ho oul! sit in the !oor of a hos$ital an! tell every $atient seekingrelief HAhatever may be your !isease, * have only one me!icine an! that

is a !ecoction of rhubarb" #ou have heart troubleI Aell, then, the

$roblem for me is sim$ly%%ho big a !ose of rhubarb !ecoction shall *give youIH

+n! measuring !oses of $enalty is the foun!ation of the criminal co!e"

That is so true that this co!e is in its last analysis but a table of

criminal logarithms for figuring out $enalties" Aoe to the ju!ge homakes a mistake in sentencing a /0 year ol! offen!er ho as !runk hen

he sinne!, but ha! $reme!itate! his !ee!" Aoe to the ju!ge, if he misses

his calculation in a!!ing or subtracting the thir!, or siDth, or one

half, corres$on!ing to the $rescribe! eDtenuating or aggravatingcircumstancesM *f he makes a miscalculation, the court of a$$eals is

invoke! by the !efen!ant, an! the ineDorable court of a$$eals tells theju!ge HFigure this over again" #ou have been unjust"H The only uestion

for the ju!ge is this +!! your sums an! subtract your !e!uctions, an!

the $risoner is sentence! to one year, seven months, an! thirteen !ays")ot one !ay more or lessM But the human s$ectator asks H*f the criminal

shoul! ha$$en to be reforme! before the eD$iration of his term, shoul!

he be retaine! in $risonIH The ju!ge re$lies H* !on't care, he stays in

one year, seven months, an! thirteen !aysMH

Then the human s$ectator says HBut su$$ose the criminal shoul! not yet

be fit for human society at the eD$iration of his termIH The ju!ge

re$lies H+t the eD$iration of his term he leaves $rison, for hen he

has absolve! his last !ay, he has $ai! his !ebtMH

This is the same case as that of the imaginary $hysician ho says H#ouhave heart troubleI Then take a uart of rhubarb !ecoction an! stay

telve !ays in the hos$ital"H +nother $atient says H* have broken my

leg"H +n! the !octor H+ll right, take a $int of rhubarb !ecoction an!/ !ays in the hos$ital"H + thir! has inflammation of the lungs, an! the

!octor $rescribes three uarts of rhubarb !ecoction an! three months in

the hos$ital" HBut if my inflammation is cure! before that timeIH H)o

matter,H says the !octor, Hyou stay in three months"H HBut if * am not

cure! of my lung trouble after three monthsIH H)o matter,H says the

!octor, Hyou leave after three months"H

To such results have ise men been le! by a system of $enal justice,


27/46

hich is a !enial of all elementary common sense" They have forgotten

the $ersonality of the criminal an! occu$ie! themselves eDclusively ith

crime as an abstract juristic $henomenon" *n the same manner, the ol!style me!icine occu$ie! itself ith !isease as such, as an abstract

$athological $henomenon, ithout taking into account the $ersonality of

the $atient" The ancient $hysicians !i! not consi!er hether a $atient

as ell or ill nourishe!, young or ol!, strong or eak, nervous or

fullbloo!e!" They cure! fever as fever, $leurisy as $leurisy" ?o!ernme!icine, on the other han!, !eclares that !isease must be stu!ie! in

the living $erson of the $atient" +n! the same !isease may reuire

!ifferent treatment, if the con!ition of the $atient is !ifferent"

Criminal justice has taken the same historical course of !evelo$ment as

me!icine" The classic school of criminology is still in the same stage,in hich me!icine as before the mi!!le of the /0th century" *t !eals

ith theft, mur!er, frau!, as such" But that hich claims so much of the

attention of society has been forgotten by the classic school" For thatschool has forgotten to stu!y the mur!erer, the thief, the forger, an!

ithout that stu!y their crimes cannot be un!erstoo!"

Crime is one of the con!itions reuire! for the stu!y of the criminal"

But, the same crime may reuire the a$$lication of !ifferent reme!ies

to the $ersonalities of !ifferent criminals, accor!ing to the !ifferentanthro$ological an! social con!itions of the various criminals" There is

a fun!amental !istinction beteen the anthro$ological an! social ty$es

of criminals, hom * have !ivi!e! into five categories, hich are to!ay

unanimously acce$te! by criminalist anthro$ologists, since the Geneva

congress offere! an o$$ortunity to eD$lain the misa$$rehension hich le!some foreign scientists to believe that the *talian school regar!e! one

of these ty$es Kthe born criminalL merely as an organic anomaly"

4ust a or! concerning each one of these five ty$es"

The Nborn criminalN is a victim of that hich * ill call Kseeing thatscience has not yet solve! this $roblemL criminal neurosis, hich is

very analogous to e$ile$tic neurosis, but hich is not in itself

sufficient to make one a criminal" ;ur a!versaries ha! the i!ea that themere $ossession of a crooke! nose or a slanting skull stam$e! a man as

$re!is$ose! by birth to mur!er or theft" But a man may he a born

criminal, that is to say, he may have some congenital !egeneration hich

$re!is$oses him toar! crime, an! yet he may !ie at the age of 81

ithout having committe! any crime, because he as fortunate enough to

live in an environment hich !i! not offer him any tem$tation to commit

crime" +gain, are not many $re!is$ose! toar! insanity ithout ever

becoming insaneI *f the same in!ivi!ual ere to live un!er unfavorable

con!itions, ithout any e!ucation, if he ere to fin! himself in

unhealthy telluric surroun!ings, in a mine, a rice fiel!, or a miasmatic

sam$, he oul! become insane" But if instea! of living in con!itionsthat con!emn him to lunacy he ere to be un!er no necessity to struggle

for his !aily brea!, if he coul! live in affluence, he might eDhibit

some eccentricity of character, but oul! not cross the threshol! of aninsane asylum" The same ha$$ens in the case of criminality" ;ne may have

a congenital $re!is$osition toar! crime, but if he lives in favorable

surroun!ings, he ill live to the en! of his natural life ithout

violating any criminal or moral la" +t any rate e must !ro$ the

$reju!ice that only those are criminals on hose backs the ju!ge has

$aste! a number" For there are many scoun!rels at large ho commit crime

ith im$unity, or ho brush the e!ge of the criminal la in the most

re$ulsive immorality ithout violating it"


28/46

This misun!erstan!ing as eD$laine! at the congress of Geneva by the

statement that the interaction of the social an! telluric environment isreuire! also in the case of the born criminal" +n! no e may take it

for grante! that my classification of five ty$es is everyhere acce$te!"

These are the folloing The Nborn criminalN ho has a congenital

$re!is$osition for crime the Ninsane criminalN suffering from some

clinical form of mental alienation, an! hom even our eDisting $enalco!e ha! to recognie the Nhabitual criminalN, that is to say one ho

has acuire! the habit of crime mainly through the ineffective measures

em$loye! by society for the $revention an! re$ression of crime" + common

figure in our large in!ustrial centers is that of the aban!one! chil!

hich has to go begging from its earliest youth in or!er to collect an

income for the enter$rising boss or for its $oor family, ithout ano$$ortunity to e!ucate its moral sense in the filth of the streets" *t

is $unishe! for the first time by the la an! sent to $rison or to a

reformatory, here it is inevitably corru$te!" Then, hen such anin!ivi!ual comes out of $rison, he is stigmatie! as a thief or forger,

atche! by the $olice, an! if he secures ork in some sho$, the oner is

in!irectly in!uce! to !ischarge him, so that he must inevitably fallback u$on crime"

Thus one acuires crime as a habit, a $ro!uct of social rottenness, !ueto the ineffective measures for the $revention an! re$ression of crime"

There is furthermore the Noccasional criminalN, ho commits very

insignificant criminal acts, more because he is le! astray by his

con!itions of life than because the aggressive energy of a !egenerate

$ersonality im$els him" *f he is not ma!e orse by a $rison life, he mayfin! an o$$ortunity to return to a normal life in society" Finally there

is the N$assionate criminal,N ho, like the insane criminal, has

receive! attention from the $ositive school of criminology hich,

hoever, !i! not come to any !efinite conclusions regar!ing him, such asmay be gathere! by means of the eD$erimental metho! through stu!y in

$risons, insane asylums, or in free!om" The relations beteen $assionan! crime have so far been stu!ie! on a fiel! in hich no solution as

$ossible" For the classic school consi!ers such a crime accor!ing to

the greater or smaller intensity an! violence of $assion an! comes tothe conclusion that the !egree of res$onsibility !ecreases to the eDtent

that the intensity of a $assion increases, an! vice versa" The $roblem

cannot be solve! in this ay" There are $assions hich may rise to the

highest !egree of intensity ithout re!ucing the res$onsibility" For

instance, is one ho mur!ers from motives of revenge a $assionate

criminal ho must be eDcuse!I

The classic school of criminology says H)o,H an! for my $art * agree

ith them" Francesco Carrara says HThere are blin! $assions, an! others

hich are reasonable" Blin! $assions !e$rive one of free ill,

reasonable ones !o not" Blin! an! eDcusable $assions are fear, honor,love, reasonable an! ineDcusable ones are hatre! an! revenge"H But ho

soI * have stu!ie! mur!erers ho kille! for revenge an! ho tol! me that

the !esire for revenge took hol! of them like a fever, so that theyHforgot even to eat"H


29/46

aberrations of hich may be eDcuse! more or less accor!ing to in!ivi!ual

cases" ;n the other han!, e have ineDcusable $assions, because their

$sychological ten!ency is to antagonie the !evelo$ment of society" Theyare antisocial, an! cannot be eDcuse!, an! hate an! revenge are among

them"

The $ositive school therefore a!mits that a $assion is eDcusable, hen

the moral sense of a man is normal, hen his $ast recor! is clear, an!hen his crime is !ue to a social $assion, hich makes it eDcusable"

Ae shall see tomorro hat reme!ies the $ositive school of criminology

$ro$oses for each one of these categories of criminals, in !istinction

from the measuring of !oses of im$risonment a!vocate! by the classic

school"

Ae have thus eDhauste! in a short an! general revie the subject of the

natural origin of criminality"%%To sum u$, crime is a social$henomenon, !ue to the interaction of anthro$ological, telluric, an!

social factors" This la brings about hat * have calle! criminal

saturation, hich means that every society has the criminality hich it!eserves, an! hich $ro!uces by means of its geogra$hical an! social

con!itions such uantities an! ualities of crime as corres$on! to the

!evelo$ment of each collective human grou$"

Thus the ol! saying of *metelet is confirme! HThere is an annual

balance of crime, hich must be $ai! an! settle! ith greater regularity

than the accounts of the national revenue"H


30/46

!i! not $ro!uce as a counter%effect a beneficent ave of real

im$rovement in the !estinies of the human race"

Ahat, then, has the civilie! orl! to offer in the ay of reme!ies

against criminalityI The classic school of criminology, being unable to

locate in the course of its scientific an! historical mission the

natural causes of crime, as * have shon in the $rece!ing lectures, as

not in a $osition to !eal in a com$rehensive an! far%seeing manner iththis $roblem of the reme!y against criminality" Some of the classic

criminologists, such as Bentham, 2omagnosi, or Ellero, ith a more

$ositive bent of min! than others, may have given a little of their

scientific activity to the analysis of this $roblem, namely the

$revention of crime" But Ellero himself ha! to a!mit that Hthe classic

school of criminology has ritten volumes concerning the !eath $enaltyan! torture, but has $ro!uce! but a fe $ages on the $revention of

criminality"H The historical mission of that school consiste! in a

re!uction of $unishment" For being born on the eve of the Frenchrevolution in the name of in!ivi!ualism an! natural rights, it as a

$rotest against the barbarian $enalties of the ?i!!le +ges" +n! thus the

$ractical an! glorious result of the classic school as a $ro$agan!a forthe abolition of the most brutal $enalties of the ?i!!le +ges, such as

the !eath $enalty, torture, mutilation" Ae in our turn no follo u$ the

$ractical an! scientific mission of the classic school of criminologyith a still more noble an! fruitful mission by a!!ing to the $roblem of

the N!iminution of $enaltiesN the $roblem of the N!iminution of crimesN"

*t is orth more to humanity to re!uce the number of crimes than to

re!uce the !rea! sufferings of criminal $unishments, although even this

is a noble ork, after the evil $lant of crime has been $ermitte! togro in the realm of life" Take, for instance, the $hilanthro$ic

aakening !ue to the Congress of Geneva in the matter of the 2e! Cross

Society, for the care, treatment an! cure of the oun!e! in ar"


31/46

because either $reme!itation or $assion in the $erson of the criminal

!e$rive the criminal la of all $rohibitory $oer" The !ece$tive faith

in the efficacy of criminal la still lives in the $ublic min!, becauseevery normal man feels that the thought of im$risonment oul! stan! in

his ay, if he contem$late! tomorro committing a theft, a ra$e, or a

mur!er"


32/46

historical la that the ork of the legislator is alays behin! the

science of his time" But nevertheless the scientist has the urgent !uty

to s$rea! the conviction that hygiene is orth as much on the fiel! ofciviliation as it is in me!icine for the $ublic health"

This is the fun!amental conviction at hich the $ositive school arrives

That hich has ha$$ene! in me!icine ill ha$$en in criminology" The

great value of $ractical hygiene, es$ecially of social hygiene, hich isgreater than that of in!ivi!ual hygiene, has been recognie! after the

marvelous scientific !iscoveries concerning the origin an! $rimitive

causes of the most !angerous !iseases" So long as Pasteur an! his

!isci$les ha! not given to the orl! their !iscovery of the $athogenic

microbes of all infectious !iseases, such as ty$hoi! fever, cholera,

!i$htheria, tuberculosis, etc, more or less absur! reme!ies ere!eman!e! of the science of me!icine" * remember, for instance, that *

as com$elle! in my youth, !uring an e$i!emic of cholera, to stay in a

close! room, in hich fumigation as carrie! on ith substancesirritating the bronchial tubes an! lungs ithout killing the cholera

microbes, as as $rove! later on" *t as not until the real causes of

those infectious !iseases ere !iscovere!, that efficient reme!ies coul!be em$loye! against them" +n aue!uct given to a center of $o$ulation

like )a$les is a better $rotection against cholera than !rugs, even

after the !isease has taken root in the mi!st of the $eo$le of )a$les"This is the mo!ern lesson hich e ish to teach in the fiel! of

criminology, a fiel! hich ill alays retain its re$ressive functions

as an eDce$tional an! ultimate refuge, because e !o not believe that e

shall succee! in eliminating all forms of criminality"


33/46

*n the majority of cases com$ose! of minor crimes committe! by $eo$le

belonging to the most numerous an! least !angerous class of occasionalor $assionate criminals, the only form of civil re$ression ill be Nthe

com$ensation of the victim for his lossN" +ccor!ing to us, this shoul!

he the only form of $enalty im$ose! in the majority of minor crimes

committe! by $eo$le ho are not !angerous" *n the $resent $ractice of

justice the com$ensation of the victim for his loss has become alaughing stock, because this victim is systematically forgotten" The

hole attention of the classic school has been concentrate! on the

juri!ical entity of the crime" The victim of the crime has been

forgotten, although this victim !eserves $hilanthro$ic sym$athy more

than the criminal ho has !one the harm" *t is true, every, ju!ge a!!s

to the sentence the formula that the criminal is res$onsible for theinjury an! the costs to another authority" But the $rocess of la $uts

off this com$ensation to an in!efinite time, an! if the victim succee!s

a fe years after the $assing of the sentence in getting any action onthe matter, the criminal has in the meantime ha! a thousan! legal

subterfuges to get aay ith his s$oils" +n! thus the la itself becomes

the bree!ing groun! of $ersonal revenge, for Filangieri says a$tly thatan innocent man gras$s the !agger of the mur!erer, hen the sor! of

justice !oes not !efen! him"

&et us say at this $oint that the rigi! a$$lication of com$ensation for

!amages shoul! never be !is$lace! by im$risonment, because this oul! be

euivalent to sanctioning a real class !istinction, for the rich can

laugh at !amages, hile the $roletarian oul! have to make goo! a

sentence of /111 lire by /11 !ays in $rison, an! in the meantime theinnocent family that tearfully aits for him outsi!e, oul! be $lunge!

into !es$erate straits" Com$ensation for !amages shoul! never take

$lace in any other ay than by means of the labor of the $risoner to an

eDtent satisfactory to the family of the injure!" *t has been attem$te!to $lace this in an eclectic ay on our la books, but this $ro$osition

remains a !ea! letter an! is not a$$lie! in *taly, because a stroke oflegislator's $en is not enough to change the fate of an entire nation"

These $ractical an! efficient measures oul! be taken in the case oflesser criminals" For the graver crimes committe! by atavistic or

congenital criminals, of by $ersons inclining toar! crime from acuire!

habit or mental alienation, the $ositive school of criminology reserves

segregation for an in!efinite time, for it is absur! to fiD the time

beforehan! in the case of a !angerous !egenerate ho has committe! a

grave crime"

The uestion of in!eterminate sentences has been recently !iscusse! also

by Pessina, ho combats it, of course, because the essence of the

classic school of criminology is retribution for a fault by means of

corres$on!ing $unishment" Ae might re$ly that no human ju!ge can use anyother but the grossest scale by hich to !etermine hether you are

res$onsible to the eDtent of the hole, one half, or one thir!" +n!

since there is no absolute or objective criterion by hich the ratio ofcrime to $unishment can be !etermine!, $enal justice becomes a game of

chance" But e content ourselves by $ointing out that segregation for an

in!efinite time has so much truth in it, that even the most ortho!oD of

the classic school a!mit it, for instance in the case of criminals un!er

age" )o, if an in!eterminate sentence is a violation of the $rinci$les

of the classic school, * cannot un!erstan! hy it can be a!mitte! in the

case of minors, but not in the case of a!ults" This is evi!ently an

eD$e!ient im$ose! by the eDigencies of $ractical life, an! only the


34/46

$ositive school of criminology can meet them by a logical

systematiation" For the rest, in!efinite segregation, such as e

$ro$ose for the most !angerous atavistic criminals, is a measure hichis alrea!y in use for or!inary lunatics as ell us for criminal

lunatics" But it may be sai! that this is an a!ministrative measure, not

a court sentence" Aell, if any one is so fon! of formulas as to make

this objection, he may get all the fun out of them that he likes" But it

is a fact that an insane $erson ho has committe! a crime is sent to abuil!ing ith iron bars on its gates such as a $rison has" #ou may call

it an a!ministrative buil!ing or a $enal institute, the name is

unessential, for the substance alone counts" Ae maintain that congenital

or $athological criminals cannot be locke! u$ for a !efinite term in any

institution, but shoul! remain there until they are a!a$te! for the

normal life of society"

This ra!ical reform of $rinci$les carries ith it a ra!ical

transformation of !etails" Given an in!eterminate segregation, thereshoul! be organs of guar!ianshi$ for $ersons so seclu!e!, for instance

$ermanent committees for the $erio!ical revision of sentences" *n the

future, the criminal ju!ge ill alays secure am$le evi!ence to $rovehether a !efen!ant is really guilty, for this is the fun!amental $oint"

*f it is certain that he has committe! the crime, he shoul! either be

eDclu!e! from social intercourse or sentence! to mate goo! the !amage,$rovi!e! the criminal is not !angerous an! the crime not grave" *t is

absur! to sentence a man to five or siD !ays im$risonment for some

insignificant mis!emeanor" #ou loer him in the eyes of the $ublic,

subject him to surveillance by the $olice, an! sen! him to $rison from

hence he ill go out more corru$te! than he as on entering it" *t isabsur! to im$ose segregation in $rison for small errors" Com$ensation

for injuries is enough" For the segregation of the graver criminals, the

management must be as scientific as it is no in insane asylums" *t is

absur! to $lace an ol! $ensione! sol!ier or a har!ene! bureaucrat at thehea! of a $enal institution" *t is enough to visit one of those

com$ulsory human beehives an! to see ho a military !isci$line carries abrutal hy$ocrisy into it" The management of such institutions must be

scientific, an! the care of their inmates must be scientific, since a

grave crime is alays a manifestation of the $athological con!ition ofthe in!ivi!ual" *n +merica there are alrea!y institutions, such as the

Elmira 2eformatory, here the a$$lication of the metho!s of the $ositive

school of criminology has been solemnly $romise!" The !irector of the

institution is a $sychologist, a $hysician" Ahen a criminal un!er age is

brought in, he is stu!ie! from the $oint of vie of $hysiology an!

$sychology" The treatment serves to regenerate the $lants ho, being

young, may still be straightene! u$" Scientific thera$eutics can !o

little for rela$se! criminals" The $resent re$ression of crime robs the

$risoner of his $ersonality an! re!uces him to a number, either in mass

im$risonment hich corru$ts him com$letely, or in solitary confinement,

hich ill turn him into a stu$i! or raving beast"

These metho!s are also gra!ually intro!uce! in the insane asylums" *

must tell you a little story to illustrate this" Ahen * as a $rofessorin Pisa, eight years ago, * took my stu!ents to the $enitentiaries an!

the asylum for the criminal insane in ?ontelu$o, as * alays use! to !o"

3r" +lgieri, the !irector of this asylum, shoe! us among others a very

interesting case" This as a man of about .7, hose history as shortly

the folloing


35/46

the hos$ital, an! cure! of his eDternal injury, but lost both his

$hysical an! moral health"


36/46

!angerous criminals, hose con!ition cannot be met by a sim$le

com$ensation of the injury they have !one to others"

This is the function of re$ression as e look u$on it, an inevitable

result of the $ositive !ata regar!ing the natural origin of crime"

Ae believe, in other or!s, that re$ression ill $lay but an unim$ortant

role in the future" Ae believe that every branch of legislation illcome to $refer the reme!ies of social hygiene to those sym$tomatic

reme!ies an! a$$ly them from !ay to !ay" +n! thus e come to the theory

of the $revention of crime" Some say Hit is better to re$ress than to

$revent"H ;thers say H*t is better to $revent than to re$ress"H *n

or!er to solve this conflict e must remember that there are to i!ely

!ifferent kin!s of re$ression" There is the imme!iate, !irect em$iricalre$ression, hich !oes not investigate the cause of criminality, but

aits unt

positive school of criminology

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