Free Download Offences Against Oneself and An Open Letter (Audiobook)
English | June 10, 2019 | ASIN: B07SW1T2T9 | M4B@128 kbps | 4h 1m | 223 MB
Authors: Jeremy Bentham, Károly Mária Kertbeny | Narrator: Andrew Cullum
The criminalisation of homosexuality over centuries has been one of the shocking injustices of European history – it existed from the middle ages and before and well into the 20th century. The death penalty (hanging or burning) was a commonplace feature in legal systems. These two remarkable texts – one from England in the 18th century and one from Germany in the 19th century – show how there was a growing awareness of the prejudice and the cruelty of its effect.
Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832), the prominent English writer, philosopher and jurist, wrote Offences Against Oneself in 1785. In characteristically measured and clear tones, he argued against the death penalty for sodomy and queried what was actually wrong with homosexuality in terms of the individual and society. Sadly, the public opposition, rooted in religion and public morals, cautioned him against publication, and it remained among his private papers at his death, not to emerge for decades afterwards.
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