williams's voluminous and sometimes complicated writings are inspired by two big and simple notions. the first is that the law should be clear, consistent and accessible. the second is that law should be humane. he was a convinced utilitarian, who held that punishment was an evil to be avoided unless there was a good reason for imposing it, and for whom "good reasons" meant the well-being of society, not the tenets of religious belief. hence leon radzinowicz's celebrated bon mot about him: "glanville williams is the illegitimate child of jeremy bentham".