CHAP. IX.
Of the Severity of Punishiments in different Governments.
Book VI.
Chap. 9.THE severity of punishments is fitter for despotic governments whose principle is terror, than for a monarchy or a republic whose spring is honor and virtue.
In moderate governments the love of one's country, shame and the fear of blame, are restraining motives, capable of preventing a great multitude of crimes. Here the greatest punishment of a bad action is conviction. The civil laws have therefore a softer way of correcting, and do not require so much force and severity.
In those states a good legislator is less bent upon punishing than preventing crimes; he is more attentive to inspire good morals than to inflict punishment.
It is a perpetual remark of the Chinese authors[1], that the more the punishments of criminals were increased in their empire, the nearer they were to a revolution. This is because punishments were augmented in proportion as the public morals were corrupted.
It would be an easy matter to prove that in all or almost all the governments of Europe, punishments have increased or diminished in proportion as those governments favoured or discouraged liberty.
- ↑ I shall shew hereafter that China is in this respect in the same case as a republic or a monarchy.
