The Theory Of Legislation

by William Sweet (Editor)

This set presents in facsimile The Theory of Legislation by the English utilitarian legal philosopher Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832), originally edited by Étienne Dumont (1802) and later translated by Richard Hildreth (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. 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 ‘liberal' characteristics.

530 pages, Hardcover

First published November 30, 2004