ACCORDING TO THE THEORIES OF MAX WEBER, THE SCIENCE OF HUMAN REALITY IS CONCERNED EITHER WITH NONRECURRING EVENTS (HISTORY) OR WITH THE CONCEPTUAL RECONSTRUCTION OF INSTITUTIONS AND THEIR FUNCTION (SOCIOLOGY); BOTH DISCIPLINES SEEK TO ANALYZE CAUSAL RELATIONSHIPS. THE INTERRELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE TWO APPROACHES IS EVIDENT IN THE CONCEPT OF IDEAL TYPES, USED TO MAKE THE INTERNAL RATIONALE OF SOCIAL PHENOMENA INTELLIGIBLE. DURKHEIM'S THEORY OF SOCIAL TYPES HOLDS THAT CRIME IS A NORMAL SOCIAL OCCURRENCE. THE MASSES IN A SOCIETY ARE THE POINT OF DEPARTURE FOR A CONSTRUCTION. FOUR TYPES OF SOCIETIES ARE DISTINGUISHED, THREE OF THEM SEGMENTED AND ONLY ONE WITH ORGANIC SOLIDARITY BASED ON COMPLEMENTARITY AND DIFFERENCES, AS OPPOSED TO MECHANICAL SOLIDARITY FOUNDED ON SIMILARITIES. A SOCIETY HELD TOGETHER EXCLUSIVELY BY SIMILARITIES IS AN ABSOLUTELY HOMOGENOUS MASS. THIS VIEW PERMITS CLASSIFICATION OF SOCIETIES ACCORDING TO PRINCIPLES OF COHENSION, FORMS OF SANCTIONS AND OF LAW, AND CONDUCT AS DETERMINED BY SANCTIONS--CONDUCT IS THOUGHT TO BE DEFINED BY THE SOCIAL REACTION PRODUCING IT. THE SOCIAL PHENOMENON 'CRIME' AND THE LEGAL ENTITY 'OFFENSE' MUST BE DISTINGUISHED AND THEIR AREAS OF CONVERGENCE MEASURED. A REVIEW OF AN APPLICATION OF THESE PRINCIPLES SHOWS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE LEGAL CONCEPT OF HOLD-UPS AND THE BEHAVIOR OF OFFENDERS CALLED BANDITS. A SCIENTIFIC MODEL OF THE HOLD-UP IS CONSTRUCTED FROM CRIMINOLOGICAL LITERATURE, NEWSPAPER ACCOUNTS OF BANDITRY, AND APPROPRIATE PRISONER FILES, THEN COMPARED TO A MODEL BASED ON LEGAL AND POLICE DOCUMENTS. RESULTS INDICATE CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE CONCEPTIONS OF HOLD-UPS AND BANDITRY. --IN FRENCH. (KMD)