Moral essays. With an English translation by J.W. Basore

ON MERCY, I. xxii. 3-xxiv. 1of the ruler makes men shrink from doing wrong ;the punishment which a kindly man decrees seemsall the more severe.You will notice, besides, that the sins repeatedlypunishedare the sins repeatedly committed. Yourfather" ^nthin five years had more men sewed up in thesack ^ than, by all accounts, there had been \-ictimsof the sack throughout al' time. Children venturedmuch less often to incur the supreme sin so long asthe crime lay outside the pale of the law. For bysupreme wisdom the men of the highest distinctionand of the deepest insight into the ways of naturechose rather to ignore the outrage as one incredibleand passing the bounds of boldness, than by punishingit to point out the possibility of its being done ; andso the crime of parricide began with the law againstit, and punishment showed children the way to thedeed ; filial piety was truly at its lowest ebb afterthe sack became a more common sight than thecross. In that state in which men are rarely punisheda sympathy for uprightness is formed, and encouragementis given to this virtue as to a common good.Let a state think itself blameless, and it ^^^ll be so ;its anger against those who depart from the generalsobriety \\'ill be greater if it sees that they are few.Believe me, it is dangerous to show a state in howgreat a majority evil men are.A proposal was once made in the senate to distinguishslaves from free men by their dress ; it thenbecame apparent how great would be the impendingdanger if our slaves should begin to count our number.Be sure that we have a like danger to fear if no man'sguilt is pardoned ; it will soon become apparent howgreatly the worse element of the state preponderates.421