贝卡尼亚CHAPTE I.docVIP

INTRODUCTION. In every human society, there is an effort continually tending to confer on one part the height of power and happiness, and to reduce the other to the extreme of weakness and misery. The intent of good laws is to oppose this effort, and to diffuse their influence universally and equally. But men generally abandon the care of their most important concerns to the uncertain prudence and discretion of those, whose interest it is to reject the best and wisest institutions; and it is not till they have been led into a thousand mistakes, in matters the most essential to their lives and liberties, and are weary of suffering, that they can be induced to apply a remedy to the evils with which they are oppressed. It is then they begin to conceive, and acknowledge the most palpable truths, which, from their very simplicity, commonly escape vulgar minds, incapable of analysing objects, accustomed to receive impressions without distinction, and to be determined rather by the opinions of others, than by the result of their own examination. 人们差不多总是把制定极重要的规则交给智力平凡的人去作，或者交给那些为了自己的利益而反对施行最英明的法律的人们去处理。而这些英明的法律，就其本质来说，是要把幸福普及给所有人的，不让它只为少数人所有；否则，在一边全是实力和幸福，而在另一边只是软弱无力和贫困。正因为这样，人们只有在对生存和自由来说最重要的问题上成千上万次地走出了迷途以后，只有当他们受尽了极端的苦难而筋疲力尽以后，才动手消灭压迫他们的无秩序状态，并且开始理解最显而易见的真理。也正由于这些真理是单纯的，它使从愚昧无知的头脑中滑过去，因为这种愚昧无知的头脑不习惯于对事物分别地进行观察，是一下子便把各种印象都收容起来，并且它依赖一代传给一代的公认意见的程度要比依靠个人所领会的程度还大。 If we look into history we shall find that laws which are, or ought to be, conventions between men in a state of freedom, have been, for the most part, the work of the passions of a few, or the consequences of a fortuitous or temporary necessity; not dictated by a cool examiner of human nature, who knew how to collect in one point the actions of a multitude, and had this only end in view, the greatest happiness of the greatest number. Happy are those few nations who have not waited till the slow succession of human vicissitudes should, from the extremity of evil, produce a transition to good; but, by prudent laws,