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The Positive School of Criminology
Three Lectures Given at the University of Naples, Italy onApril 22, 2 an! 2", #$%#
Enrico Ferri
Project Gutenberg's The Positive School of Criminology, by Enrico Ferri
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Title The Positive School of CriminologyThree &ectures Given at the (niversity of )a$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"
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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 $henomena" But since e !o
not kno the internal an! eDternal causes in the majority of cases, e
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$reten! that they are free $henomena, that is to say, that they are not
!etermine! necessarily by their causes"
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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"
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$ro$agating the 3arinian theory at the university of 4ena" *t as
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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
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themselves felt in the $ublic conscience" ;ne of them, $erva!ing the
overhelming majority of in!ivi!ual consciences, asks
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$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
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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
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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
7/23/2019 positive school of criminology
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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
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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 $reju!ices hich still
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eigh u$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
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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 $age of human
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history in the /0th century, ealth itself is a source of crime" For the
rich, ho !o not enjoy the a!vantage of manual or intellectual ork,
suffer from the corru$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
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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
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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,
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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$ulsive immorality ithout violating it"
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This misun!erstan!ing as eD$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
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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
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!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"
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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"
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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$tional an! ultimate refuge, because e !o not believe that e
shall succee! in eliminating all forms of criminality"
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*n the majority of cases com$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 $ractical life, an! only the
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$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$$lication of the metho!s of the $ositive
school of criminology has been solemnly $romise!" The !irector of the
institution is a $sychologist, a $hysician" Ahen a criminal un!er age is
brought in, he is stu!ie! from the $oint of vie of $hysiology an!
$sychology" The treatment serves to regenerate the $lants ho, being
young, may still be straightene! u$" Scientific thera$eutics can !o
little for rela$se! criminals" The $resent re$ression of crime robs the
$risoner of his $ersonality an! re!uces him to a number, either in mass
im$risonment hich corru$ts him com$letely, or in solitary confinement,
hich ill turn him into a stu$i! or raving beast"
These metho!s are also gra!ually intro!uce! in the insane asylums" *
must tell you a little story to illustrate this" Ahen * as a $rofessorin Pisa, eight years ago, * took my stu!ents to the $enitentiaries an!
the asylum for the criminal insane in ?ontelu$o, as * alays use! to !o"
3r" +lgieri, the !irector of this asylum, shoe! us among others a very
interesting case" This as a man of about .7, hose history as shortly
the folloing
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the hos$ital, an! cure! of his eDternal injury, but lost both his
$hysical an! moral health"
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!angerous criminals, hose con!ition cannot be met by a sim$le
com$ensation of the injury they have !one to others"
This is the function of re$ression as e look u$on it, an inevitable
result of the $ositive !ata regar!ing the natural origin of crime"
Ae believe, in other or!s, that re$ression ill $lay but an unim$ortant
role in the future" Ae believe that every branch of legislation illcome to $refer the reme!ies of social hygiene to those sym$tomatic
reme!ies an! a$$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