第107章 NOTE ON BENTHAM'S WRITINGS(1)

The following account of Bentham's writings may be of some use.The arrangement is intended to show what were the topics which attracted his attention at successive periods.

The Collected Works，edited by Bowring，appeared from 1838to 1843in eleven volumes，the last two containing the life and an elaborate index.

The first nine volumes consist partly of the works already published；partly of works published for the first time from Bentham's MSS.and partly of versions of Dumont's redactions of Bentham.Dumont's publications were (1)Traités de Legislation civile et pénale (1802；second edition，revised，1820)：[vol.i，contains Principes généraux de Legislation and Principes du Code civil；vol.ii，Principes du Code pénal；and vol.iii，Mémoire sur le Panoptique，De la Promulgation des Lais，De l'Influence du Temps et des Lieux，and Vue générale d'un Corps complet des Lois]；(2)Tactiques des Assemblées déliberantes et Traitédes Sophismes politiques，1816；(4)Traitédes Preuves judiciares，1823；and (5)De l'Organisation judicaire et de la Codification，1823.

In the following I give reference to the place of each work in Bowring's edition.

Bentham's first book was the Fragment on Government，1776(i.221-295).

An interesting 'historical preface'，intended for a second edition (i.240-259)，was first printed in 1828.The Fragment，edited by Mr F.C.Montague，was republished in 1891.

The Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation was published in 1789，in one vol.4to.(i.1-154).It had been printed in 1780.A second edition，in two vols，8vo，appeared in 1823.It was intended as an introduction to the plan of a penal code.Bentham says in his preface that his scheme would be completed by a series of works applying his principles to (1)civil law；(2)penal law；(3)procedure；(4)reward；(5)constitutional law；(6)political tactics；(7)international law；(8)finance；and (9)political economy，and by a tenth treatise giving a plan fo a body of law 'considered in respect of its form，'that is，upon 'nomography.'He wrote more or less in the course of his life upon all these topics.Dumont's Traités of 1802were based partly upon the Introduction and partly upon Bentham's MSS.corresponding to unfinished parts of this general scheme.

The two first section of this scheme are represented in the Works by Principles of the Civil Code (i，297-364)and Principles of Penal Law (i，365-580).

The Principles of the Civil Code is translated from Dumont's Traités，where it follows a condensed statement of 'general principles'taken from the opening chapters of the Introduction.An appendix 'on the levelling system'is added in the Works from Bentham's MSS.The Principles of Penal Law consists of three parts：the first and third (on 'political remedies for the evil of offences'and on 'indirect means of preventing crimes')are translated from parts 2and 4of Dumont's Principes du Code pénal (parts 1and 3of Dumont being adaptations from the Introduction to Morals and Legislation).

The second part of the Penal Law，or The Rationale of Punishment is from Dumont's Théorie des Peines et des Récompenses.Dumont took it from a MS.written by Bentham in 1775.(See Bentham's Works，i，388).

An appendix on 'Death Punishment'，addressed by Bentham to the French people in 1830，is added to Part II in the Works (i.525-532).No.4of Bentham's general scheme corresponds to the Rationale of Reward，founded upon two MSS.one in French and one in English，used by Dumont in the Théorie des Peines et des Récompensees.The English version in the Works，chiefly translated from Dumont and compared with the original manu，was first published in 1825(ii，189-266).Richard Smith 'of the Stamps and Taxes'was the editor of this and of an edition of the Rationale of Punishment in 1831，and of various minor treatises.(Bentham's Works，x，548n.)The Table of the Springs of Action (i，195-220)，written at an early period，was printed in 1815，and published，with modifications，in 817.The Vue générale included in the Traités of 1802was intended by Bentham as a sketch for his own guidance，and is translated as View of a Complete Code of Laws in the Works (iii，154-210).The two essays in the 1802Traités on 'the promulgation of laws'and the 'influence of time and place in matters of legislation'are translated in Works (i.157-194).A fragment on International law --a phrase invented by Bentham --written between 1786and 1789，first appeared in the Works (ii，535-571)，with Junctiana proposal --a plan for a canal between the Atlantic and the Pacific --written in 1822，as an appendix.

Besides the above，all written before 1789，in pursuance of his schem，Bentham had published in 1778his View of the Hard Labour Bill (iv，1-36)；andin 1787his Defence of Usury (iii，1-19).A third edition of the last (with the 'protest against law taxes')was published in 1816.

During the following period (1789-1802)Bentham wrote various books，more or less suggested by the French revolution.The Essay on Political Tactics (ii，299-373)，(corresponding to No.6of the scheme)，was sent to Morellet in 1789，but first published by Dumont in 1816.With it Dumont also published the substance of the Anarchical Fallacies (ii，489-534)，written about 1791.