Cesare Beccaria

"A monarch who rules by law is great; one who rules by whim is merely a tyrant with a crown."

"The pursuit of knowledge frees the mind from the chains of superstition and ignorance."

"To understand why a man commits a crime is the first step toward preventing future crimes."

"Excessive punishment corrupts both the punished and those who administer the punishment."

"The innocence of a single man is worth more than the comfort of a thousand guilty convictions."

"Laws should be few in number and clear in meaning, so that even the simplest citizen may understand them."

"The man who fears the law does not respect it; he merely fears the consequence of discovery."

"Public trials, openly conducted, are the best guarantee against judicial corruption and abuse."

"A society that executes the innocent will eventually execute the innocent with impunity."

"The social contract is not a promise of perfect happiness, but a guarantee of basic security and justice."

"Torture is an invention of cruelty and fear, unworthy of an enlightened and rational state."

"The legislator must consider not what people ought to be, but what they actually are."

"Children who are educated in justice and reason will grow into citizens who practice both."

"A nation that cherishes freedom must accept that free people will sometimes make mistakes."

"The greatest prison is not made of bars, but of ignorance and superstition."

"Every law that exceeds what is necessary to maintain order and security is a tyranny."

"The judge who acts as both accuser and executioner is no judge at all, but an instrument of oppression."

"Punishment, like medicine, should be prescribed with care, measured precisely, and administered only when necessary."

"To deny a man the right to defend himself is to declare him less than human."

"The fear of punishment may restrain one crime, but the love of justice will prevent many."

"Laws that are rarely enforced against the powerful are tyrannical chains on the weak."

"Habit and tradition, though venerable, are poor guides for the legislator seeking truth and justice."

"The magistrate who is not bound by law is the enemy of all citizens."

"A confession extracted by torture is not evidence; it is merely the sound of a man's pain."

"Liberty consists not in the absence of all restraint, but in the presence of wise and limited laws."

"The penalty for a crime should be no more than what is necessary to deter others from committing it."

"A society without justice is merely an aggregation of thieves and murderers."

"The common man, though humble in station, possesses within him the capacity for reason and virtue."

"Laws are the price we pay for civilization; without them, we return to the war of all against all."

"The enlightened legislator seeks to improve humanity, not to gratify the vengeful passions of the mob."