Inthosestatesagoodlegislatorislessbentuponpunishingthanpreventingcrimes;heismoreattentivetoinspiregoodmoralsthantoinflictpenalties。
ItisaconstantremarkoftheChineseauthors[24]thatthemorethepenallawswereincreasedintheirempire,thenearertheydrewtowardsarevolution。Thisisbecausepunishmentswereaugmentedinproportionasthepublicmoralswerecorrupted。
Itwouldbeaneasymattertoprovethatinall,oralmostall,thegovernmentsofEurope,penaltieshaveincreasedordiminishedinproportionasthosegovernmentsfavouredordiscouragedliberty。
Indespoticgovernments,peoplearesounhappyastohaveagreaterdreadofdeaththanregretforthelossoflife;consequentlytheirpunishmentsoughttobemoresevere。Inmoderatestatestheyaremoreafraidoflosingtheirlivesthanapprehensiveofthepainofdying;
thosepunishments,therefore,whichdeprivethemsimplyoflifearesufficient。
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