Primary sourceBook1802

Traités de législation civile et pénale

Jeremy Bentham, edited by Étienne Dumont · 1802

Étienne Dumont's 1802 French redaction of Bentham's manuscripts, the book that spread his ideas across Europe and Latin America.

This French edition of Bentham's manuscripts, edited by Dumont, made his legal philosophy famous across Europe and Latin America.

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A nearly blank white page with only faint, illegible gray text at the bottom edge, likely a page header or footer from a scanned book. No readable title or illustration is visible. — Jeremy Bentham, edited by Étienne Dumont, Traités de législation civile et pénale, 1802.

About this source

What it is

This is a French-language edition of Jeremy Bentham's writings on civil and penal law, edited and translated by Étienne Dumont and first published in 1802. Dumont reorganised Bentham's English manuscripts into readable treatises.

Why it matters

Because much of Bentham's work circulated in difficult, unfinished English drafts, it was Dumont's French versions that made his ideas widely known, helping spread utilitarian legal theory across Europe and Latin America. The book shows how collaboration between Bentham and his editor shaped the reach of his philosophy.

Look closer

Why might a French redaction have reached more readers than Bentham's own English writings?
What might be gained or lost when an editor reorganises an author's manuscripts for publication?
What does the book's wide international influence tell us about the appeal of Bentham's ideas at the time?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Jeremy Bentham on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.