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On Crimes and Punishments and Beccaria – Ex Urbe

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“Make everyone read Beccaria!” is one of many sentiments I share with François-Marie Arouet, better known as Voltaire. This post was prompted by two things. The first was this comment responding my post about the two recent Borgia TV series, which mentioned TV depictions of horrific pre-modern executions. Jen: “I am watching the final episode of The Borgias, Season 2, in which Savonarola is tortured and burnt at the stake, and again I find myself wondering – what was the supposed justification and thinking behind these acts? What did the church think burning people achieved? I know it was meant to be symbolic in some way, but of what I don’t know. I just do not understand why people were capable of such hideous acts of evil and why they did not realise that it was evil? How on earth could they reconcile this acts with their supposed devout religious beliefs??? Why was torture used without a second thought? So many questions about humanity and religion. Why did it take so long for us hu

“Make everyone read Beccaria!” is one of many sentiments I share with François-Marie Arouet, better known as Voltaire. This post was prompted by two things. The first was this comment responding my post about the two recent Borgia TV series, which mentioned TV depictions of horrific pre-modern executions. Jen: “I am watching the final episode of The Borgias, Season 2, in which Savonarola is tortured and burnt at the stake, and again I find myself wondering – what was the supposed justification and thinking behind these acts? What did the church think burning people achieved?

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