The Theory of Legislation

This set presents in facsimile "The Theory of Legislation" by the English utilitarian legal philosopher Jeremy Bentham (1748 1832), originally edited by tienne Dumont (1802) and later translated by Richard Hildreth (1840). In 1802, Bentham's Genevan friend, tienne Dumont (1759 1829), published a French redaction and translation of the utilitarian philosopher's writings on civil and penal law, including hitherto unpublished manuscripts on civil law (the extant mss. in the Bentham Papers at University College London date from the 1770s and 1780s). This was entitled "Trait s de L gislation Civile et P nale. ... Publi s en Fran ois par t". Dumont (3 vols, Paris 1802), and prefaced by a "Discours Pr liminaire" in which Dumont clarified his role as an arranger and translator of Bentham's original manuscripts. Later, Richard Hildreth (1807 65), the famous American utilitarian and admirer of Bentham, re-translated the principal parts of Dumont's edition into English as "The Theory of Legislation" (Boston 1840).;Hildreth's 1840 edition is generally accepted as a faithful English translation of the first two volumes of Dumont. A second (corrected) edition of Hildreth's translation was published in London in 1864, and following this Hildreth's translation went through several more editions and reprints between the years 1871 and 1911. It was largely through the distribution of Hildreth's translation that Bentham's utilitarian legal philosophy gained currency in the United States. To the text and Hildreth's translation of Dumont's "Discours Pr liminaire", James E. Crimmins adds an introduction, a select bibliography, and an index. The introduction explains (1) the origin of Bentham's writings on civil and penal law, their 1802 publication by Dumont and subsequent re-translation into English by Hildreth, and (2) the importance of Bentham's writings on civil law to a complete understanding of his theory of utilitarian legislation and, in particular, its "libera" characteristics.