"Happy are those few nations that 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 have facilitated the progress from one to the other!"
Cesare Beccaria was an Italian Enlightenment philosopher and jurist best known for On Crimes and Punishments (1764). His arguments against torture and arbitrary punishment influenced modern criminal law. He is widely regarded as a foundational thinker in criminology and penal reform.