FILANGIERI (Gansu), celebrated for his va rious works on political economy and legislation, was born at Naples, on the 18th August 1752. He was the third son of Cesar Prince cf Anianello, by Marianne Montalto, daughter of the Duke of Frag nito. His family was ancient, and rose to distinc tion at the first establishment of the Neapolitan mo narchy. Angenio, its founder, was the soma one of those brave Normans who landed in Italy about the beginning of the eleventh century, and accompany ing Count Roger in all his military expeditions, he received from him ample domains as the reward of his exploits. His descendants were allowed to take the honourable title of Filii Angerii, and hence the name Filangieri. Gaetan from his infancy was des tined to the profession of arms; when he was seven years of age, he was enrolled in one of the royal re giments, and he commenced actual service at the age of fourteen. His education was at first neglect.. ed from a misconception of his character, which was supposed to be averse from all literary or specula tive pursuits. The injudicious methods adopted at that time in the teaching of Latin had, it appears, dis gusted him, and alienated his mind from the study of this language; and hence an impression had been hastily taken up of his general unfitness for all literary exercises. A lucky accident, however, not only removed this apprehension, but show ed that his former impatience of the modes of tuition then in use, arose from the dearness and vigour of his judgment. It happened that his brother's pre ceptor had one day mistaken the solution of some geometrical problem. Gaetan immediately perceiv ed the source of this error, which he demonstrated to the master. This incident, apparently trivial, de termined his future destiny. Encouraged by his success he quitted the military service, and deter mined to follow his natural taste for science and phi losophy. So diligent was he in repairing the defects of his education, that at twenty years of age he had acquired a knowledge of Greek and Latin, of an cient and modern history, of the great principles both of civil and of public law, and was besides well initiated in mathematical science. Although his genius inclined him solely to the study of legislation and policy, he sacrificed his views to the wishes of his friends, and entered on the profession of the law, which was then the certain road both to honour and fortune. His success was rapid both from his elo quence and his extensive knowledge; and, about this period, a circumstance happened which greatly con duced to his celebrity. Great abuses prevailed at Naples in the administration of justice from the un certainty of the law, which gave rise to constant mis conceptions, and almost always to arbitrary judg ments. By a wise ordinance of the King, passed in the year 1774, at the suggestion of the minister, Tanucci, those abuses were reformed, the law was restored to its proper authority, its judgments were freed from the control of precedents, and the jud ges were ordained, in every case, to publish the grounds of their decisions. Although this reform was generally applauded, it excited the murmurs of the bar. Filangieri now became the advocate of the court, and published a defence of the royal de tree, founded on the most enlarged views of equity and reason. The extensive knowledge and matu red judgment displayed in this performance attracted the attention of the ministers, and Filangieri was en couraged to pursue the course in which he had al ready acquired such distinction. Through the in fluence of his uncle, the Archbishop of Palermo, he was, in 1777, placed in an honourable office at court, and was almost at the same time named officer of the royal corps of marine volunteers, who were more particularly attached to the king's person. His abode at Court neither broke in upon his regular ha bits of life, nor upon the course of his studies; nor did he allow it to interrupt the composition of the great work on legislation and government in which he was engaged, and to which for several years past he had devoted all his inquiries. About the commence.. ment of the eighteenth century, a great school of philosophy was formed at Naples, in which the prin ciples of the civil law, of the law of nations, and of legislation, were established on the solid and compre hensive basis of general expediency. From this school numerous works of celebrity have proceeded, among others the great work of Beccaria, which, though con fined to one branch of legislation, contains general principles which are of universal application. There was still wanting, however, a general treatise on legis lation, for the purpose of examining it in all its rela tions, and of laying down some common and universal principles of equity and expediency as its only true basis; and it was to this important undertaking that Filangieri's philosophical mind was directed. His subject he proposed to divide into seven books. The first, on the general rules of legislation, and the second on political laws, and on those laws also which are connected with the general structure of society, appeared in 1780 at Naples; and such was its popularity, that not only in Italy, but throughout Europe at large, the author was ranked among the most celebrated writers on public law. According to his theory, the goodness of laws is ei ther absolute or relative. It is absolute, when they are agreeable to those great and universal principles of equity and expediency which are obligatory on man under every diversity of country, climate, go vernment, or manners ; it is relative, according as the laws agree with the nature of the government, with the genius and character of the people, with the climate, with the fertility or sterility of the soil, with the physical circumstances of the country, with the religion of the inhabitants, and the degree of civi lization to which they have advanced. In his second book, which treats of political laws, and of those laws also which are connected with the gene ral economy of society, he examines two points, namely, the state of population and of wealth. With respect to the first point, the great question which he considers is, whether Europe is as populous as it might be? This question he resolves in the Jega tive, and he proceeds to explain the causes of this deficient population. According to his hypothesis, the state of agriculture affords in every country the surest evidence as to the state of the population ; and the backwardness of agriculture in most parts of Europe sufficiently indicates that the population is deficient; and hence he infers the defective state of European legislation on these two capital points.
The great obstacles to the improvement of agricul ture, and, consequently, to the increase of popula. tion, he considers to be, 1st, The small number of proprietors and the great number of non-proprietors. 2dly, Too many large properties, and too few small properties. idly, The exorbitant and inalienable pos sessions of the church in several suites. 4thly, The excess of the public imposts, and the violent modes of levying them. 5thl,y, To these he adds other causes of less importance, such as the state of most of the regular troops of the European states; also public corruption and the dissoluteness of private morals. The progress of agriculture, the great source of' wealth as well as of population, may also be obstructed by a bad political administration, by bad laws, or by those causes which occasion a great influx of inhabitants to the respective capitals of the different states. It belongs to a pure system of le gislation to remove some of those obstacles, and to counterbalance such others as are inevitable, by suit able encouragements. Having discussed those mo mentous questions, he enters into a comprehensive survey of the tither sources of riches, namely,—arts, manufactures, and commerce,—and points out how they may be obstructed by a faulty legislation, and, at the same time, the means by which these might be removed. In order fully to comprehend the merits of these performances, we must consider that all the faults which the author reprehends were committed by his own government ; a circumstance which im posed on him the delicate task of stating obnoxious truths with freedom and boldness, and, at the same time, without offence. So well, however, did he ap preciate the views of those whom it was his wish to enlighten, that he was immediately promoted by the king to die Commandery in the Royal Order of Con stantia. In 1788, he married a Hungarian lady of noble birth, who was entrusted with the education of the second daughter of the king, and who joined to outward attractions the gift of a sound judgment and an agreeable disposition. That he might the more freely enjoy domestic happiness, and, at the same time, have leisure for the composition of his work, on which he became every day more intent, he re signed, with the consent of the king, all his military employments and his office at court, and retired to a country seat about twenty miles from Naples. In the same year, he published his third book, relating entirely to the principles of criminal jurisprudence. In these discussions he maintains the same tone of de cision and independence as before. Abuses are freely pointed out, and the defects of the penal code, and in the forms of criminal procedure, are fairly exposed. In thus pointing out those defects in the domestic ad ministration of his government, Filangieri excited the hatred of an interested and powerful class ; and a pro position which he made in his third book, for the re formation of abuses in the Roman Church, drew down upon his work the censure of some of the ecclesias tical tribunals. In 1785, however, he published the 5th, 6th, and 7th volumes of his work, which com prehended his fourth book. These were devoted to the consideration of education, morals, and public instruction; and though, on these important points, we may be occasionally disposed to question his views, we must nevertheless admire his mild and phi losophical spirit still opposed to every excess, his extensive knowledge, and his happy talent of arran ging and combining it for the illustration of his argu ment; his animated, flowing, and perspicuous style ; and, above all, that rectitude and philanthropy which is diffused over all his reasonings. His fifth book was soon after published, which treated of the laws relative to religion. His health was now consider ably impaired, owing to an excess of application, so that the remainder of his work advanced but slowly; and other interruptions soon followed. In the year 1787, he was called by the new king, Ferdinand IV., to the supreme Council of Finance. He returned to Naples, and from that time was wholly engrossed with the important business of this office. His health, already impaired, was soon completely broken by such severe and active application, and several do. mestic misfortunes operating upon a mind of deep sensibility, threw him at last into a state of melan choly. He finally retired from all business into the country, where he soon after fell seriously ill, and on the 21st July 1788 he expired. Before his death he had finished the 8th volume of his work, containing the first part of the 5th book, in which he treats of the different systems of religion which preceded Christianity. Of the second part of the same book he had only made a rude sketch, in which were noted down the principal subjects of discus sion; namely, the advantages of Christianity and the dangers of superstition ; the inconveniences of mix ing spiritual with temporal concerns; the excessive riches of the clergy, and the immense increase of their power. He was also to examine the founda tion of ecclesiastical rights, and to *sent, in a new system of legislation, a remedy for the abuses which he pointed out. A chapter on toleration would have terminated this book. In his 6th and last book he proposed to treat of the laws relative to property, and of the nature of the paternal power and the go vernment of families. He had also other important works in contemplation when his course was termi nated by death. This eminent person, along with the rarest gifts of genius, was endowed by nature with the additional advantage of a most imposing presence. His manners were graceful and digni fied. His countenance bore the traces of habitual reflection, and of deep sensibility, mingled with an expression of soft melancholy. In private life nothing could exceed the simplicity of his charac ter, and the animation and interest of his converse tion.—See La Scienza della Legislazionc. 5 Tom. 8vo. Livour. 1807. This is the last Italian edition of Filangieri's peat work. There is a French trans lation in 7 vols. 8vo, published at Paris in 1798, from the Neapolitan edition of 1784. The two first Books have been translated into English, under the title of The Science of Legislation, from the Italian of Filangieri, and published in 2 vols. 8vo, Loud. 1806.