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Jefferson on "Firearms"
- Thread starter mspgunner
- Start date
peterarthur
Regular Member
Thanks for posting this. I love to address this popular myth.
Credit where it is due. Jefferson (my favorite figure in US History behind Washington) was only commenting on Cesare Beccaria's writing in his "Essay on Crimes and Punishments", which says, after translating into English from Italian:
"A principal source of errors and injustice are false ideas of utility. For example: that legislator has false ideas of utility who considers particular more than general conveniencies, who had rather command the sentiments of mankind than excite them, who dares say to reason, 'Be thou a slave;' who would sacrifice a thousand real advantages to the fear of an imaginary or trifling inconvenience; who would deprive men of the use of fire for fear of their being burnt, and of water for fear of their being drowned; and who knows of no means of preventing evil but by destroying it.
The laws of this nature are those which forbid to wear arms, disarming those only who are not disposed to commit the crime which the laws mean to prevent. Can it be supposed, that those who have the courage to violate the most sacred laws of humanity, and the most important of the code, will respect the less considerable and arbitrary injunctions, the violation of which is so easy, and of so little comparative importance? Does not the execution of this law deprive the subject of that personal liberty, so dear to mankind and to the wise legislator? and does it not subject the innocent to all the disagreeable circumstances that should only fall on the guilty? It certainly makes the situation of the assaulted worse, and of the assailants better, and rather encourages than prevents murder, as it requires less courage to attack unarmed than armed persons." -- Cesare Beccaria
Jefferson never actually said or wrote the quote attributed to him, Jefferson's only notation on this passage, in his Legal Commonplace Book, was, "False idee di utilità."
There are variations on the English translation, but this one is fairly common. I would like to imagine Jefferson actually saying these words, but he didn't
But he certainly agreed with them so the mis-quote is understandable.
Sorry to kill a popular myth, but truth is utmost to all true seekers...
Yes, I have read both of these books, well, the translation of the Italian one. Jefferson was highly influenced by Beccaria who had a great legal mind. I highly recommend it for legal geeks...
Credit where it is due. Jefferson (my favorite figure in US History behind Washington) was only commenting on Cesare Beccaria's writing in his "Essay on Crimes and Punishments", which says, after translating into English from Italian:
"A principal source of errors and injustice are false ideas of utility. For example: that legislator has false ideas of utility who considers particular more than general conveniencies, who had rather command the sentiments of mankind than excite them, who dares say to reason, 'Be thou a slave;' who would sacrifice a thousand real advantages to the fear of an imaginary or trifling inconvenience; who would deprive men of the use of fire for fear of their being burnt, and of water for fear of their being drowned; and who knows of no means of preventing evil but by destroying it.
The laws of this nature are those which forbid to wear arms, disarming those only who are not disposed to commit the crime which the laws mean to prevent. Can it be supposed, that those who have the courage to violate the most sacred laws of humanity, and the most important of the code, will respect the less considerable and arbitrary injunctions, the violation of which is so easy, and of so little comparative importance? Does not the execution of this law deprive the subject of that personal liberty, so dear to mankind and to the wise legislator? and does it not subject the innocent to all the disagreeable circumstances that should only fall on the guilty? It certainly makes the situation of the assaulted worse, and of the assailants better, and rather encourages than prevents murder, as it requires less courage to attack unarmed than armed persons." -- Cesare Beccaria
Jefferson never actually said or wrote the quote attributed to him, Jefferson's only notation on this passage, in his Legal Commonplace Book, was, "False idee di utilità."
There are variations on the English translation, but this one is fairly common. I would like to imagine Jefferson actually saying these words, but he didn't
But he certainly agreed with them so the mis-quote is understandable.Sorry to kill a popular myth, but truth is utmost to all true seekers...
Yes, I have read both of these books, well, the translation of the Italian one. Jefferson was highly influenced by Beccaria who had a great legal mind. I highly recommend it for legal geeks...
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