A Literary Translation and Critical Analysis of Voltaire’s Prix de la Justice et de l’Humanité (1777) Sarah Clancy Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts by Research in French Studies Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick Supervised by: Dr. Loïc Guyon External Examiner: Dr. James Hanrahan Internal Examiner: Mr. Darach Sanfey Submitted to Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick, September, 2019 i ABSTRACT A Literary Translation and Critical Analysis of Voltaire’s Prix de la Justice et de l’Humanité (1777) Author: Sarah Clancy On 1 October 1777, the Economic Society of Berne proposed a reform discussion in the Gazette de Berne, that required entrants to ‘compose and write a complete and detailed legislative proposal on criminal matters.’ As a member of the Society, Voltaire composed and submitted his own treatise Prix de la Justice et de l’Humanité (1777), in response to the proposed competition as a gesture of support. Unlike many of his other celebrated works, Prix de la Justice et de l’Humanité was never adequately translated into the English language. However, the following research study has produced a comprehensively annotated literary translation of the first edition of Voltaire’s treatise, including detailed commentaries and an integrated analysis. In order to accurately represent Voltaire’s views about crime and punishment, the following study examined the historical background of Prix de la Justice et de l’Humanité, including its publication and the first edition of the treatise. In addition, Voltaire’s relationship with justice throughout his life as well as his literary style were also examined. Furthermore, a detailed analysis of Prix de la Justice et de l’Humanité is presented, which addresses principal themes in the treatise including corruption, freedom of speech and thought, the death penalty, rationalist thought, and social optimism. Keywords: Criminal theory, legal history, crime and punishment, capital punishment, French enlightenment, criminal law, rationalist thought, social optimism. i AUTHOR’S DECLARATION I hereby declare that this dissertation represents my own work and has not been submitted, in whole or in part, by me or another person, for the purpose of obtaining any other credit/grade. I agree that this dissertation may be made available by the College to future students and for research purposes. Dearbhú an Údair Dearbhaím leis seo gurb é mo chuid oibre féin atá sa tráchtas seo agus nár chuir mé féin ná aon duine eile an t-iomlán nó aon chuid de isteach chun aon chreidmheas ná aon ghrád eile a bhaint amach. Tugaim cead don choláiste an tráchtas seo a chur ar fáil do mhic léinn eile a thiocfaidh i mo dhiaidh agus le haghaidh taighde. Signature/Síniú: ___________________________________________________ Date/Dáta: ___________________________________________________ ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor Dr. Loïc Guyon for his patience, guidance, and encouragement over the past two years. I would like to thank you for introducing me to the research topic and for the support and invaluable advice that you provided throughout the completion of my master’s thesis. I would also like to thank Mr. Darach Sanfey for his advice and assistance while I was preparing my research proposal. Finally, I would like to express my appreciation to my mom and dad, who were a constant source of support throughout my research. I would like to thank you for your continuous reassurance, encouragement, and inspiration while writing my thesis. iii CONTENTS iv CONTENTS Abstract ................................................................................................................................. i Author’s declaration .............................................................................................................. ii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................... iii 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1 1.1 The Inception of Prix de la Justice et de l’Humanité ..................................... 2 1.2 The First Edition of Prix de la Justice et de l’Humanité ................................ 3 1.2.1 The false imprint ‘Londres’ and ornamentation .................................... 4 1.2.2 Société Typographique de Neuchâtel publishing house (STN) ............ 4 1.3 Voltaire and Justice ......................................................................................... 6 1.4 Voltaire’s Literary Style .................................................................................. 9 1.5 Analysis of Prix de la Justice et de l’Humanité .............................................. 12 1.5.1 Organisation of Prix de la Justice et de l’Humanité .............................. 12 1.5.2 Synopsis of Prix de la Justice et de l’Humanité .................................... 13 1.5.3 Significance of the title ‘Prix de la Justice et de l’Humanité’ ............... 13 1.5.4 The theme of corruption in Prix de la Justice et de l’Humanité ............ 15 1.5.5 Social optimism in Prix de la Justice et de l’Humanité ......................... 16 1.5.6 Voltaire’s outlook on torture and capital punishment ........................... 17 1.5.7 Heresy and fanaticism in Prix de la Justice et de l’Humanité ............... 20 1.5.8 Impact of Prix de la Justice et de l’Humanité ........................................ 21 v 2. PROLOGUE: TRANSLATION STRATEGY ..................................................... 24 2.1 Strategic Decisions ........................................................................................... 25 2.1.1 Ethical Considerations ............................................................................ 25 2.1.2 Objectives ................................................................................................ 26 2.1.3 Translation Purpose and Intended Audience ........................................... 26 2.1.4 Safeguarding Literary Values and Author’s Style .................................. 26 2.2 Decisions of Detail and Principles Underlying the Translation...................... 28 2.2.1 Translation Process: Initial Strategic Issues .......................................... 28 2.2.2 Accuracy: Linguistic Context ................................................................ 29 2.2.3 Accuracy: Socio-cultural Context ......................................................... 32 2.3 The Revision Process and Technique Overview ............................................ 32 Prix de la Justice et de l’Humanité .................................................................................... 34 The Prize of Justice and Humanity ................................................................................... 34 Préface ~ Prix de la Justice et de l’Humanité ....................................................................... 35 Preface ~ The Prize of Justice and Humanity ...................................................................... 36 Article I ~ Des crimes, et des châtiments proportionnés ...................................................... 41 Article I ~ On crimes and proportional punishments ........................................................... 42 Article II ~ Du vol ................................................................................................................ 45 Article II ~ On theft .............................................................................................................. 46 vi Article III ~ Du meurtre ...................................................................................................... 57 Article III ~ On murder ....................................................................................................... 58 Article IV ~ Du duel ............................................................................................................ 69 Article IV ~ On duel ............................................................................................................ 70 Article V ~ Du suicide ......................................................................................................... 73 Article V ~ On suicide ......................................................................................................... 74 Article VI ~ Des mères infanticides .................................................................................... 79 Article VI ~ On infanticidal mothers ................................................................................... 80 Article VII ~ D’une multitude d’autres crimes ................................................................... 87 Article VII ~ On a multitude of other crimes ...................................................................... 88 Article VIII ~ De l’hérésie .................................................................................................. 93 Article VIII ~ On heresy ..................................................................................................... 94 Article IX ~ Des sorciers ..................................................................................................... 105 Article IX ~ On sorcerers .................................................................................................... 106 Article X ~ Du sacrilège .....................................................................................................