afford. With what propriety can it then be asserted, that vengeance is the foundation of human law? and how ought we to shrink from the rash assertion that represents it as the basis of divine justice?

"Punishments," says an excellent writer, the strong decisions of whose judgment are always tempered by the milder features of benevolence and compassion: "Punishments, as well as crimes, are evils; and whether inflicted by man, ́or the Deity, must have good for their ultimate object before we can pronounce them to be just. But that so much pain should be inflicted for so much guilt, resembles the LEX TALIONIS of fallible and vindictive man, rather than the measures of a perfect Being. Justice in the Deity must bear some resemblance to justice in man. It cannot be supposed to accumulate the evil of punishment upon the evil of crime, without some ulterior object; and if that purpose be called the satisfaction of the judge who punishes, we may still contend that this very satisfaction itself must be founded upon the good which punishment, at some time or other, and in some degree or other, will produce to some sentient being or other."

But we are given to understand, that although vengeance is the stimulating motive, it should

Characters of C. J. Fox, by Philopatris Varvicensis, vol. ii, p. 421.

only be employed to a certain extent, and kept within prescribed bounds; that when the law is satisfied and the punishment fully inflicted, and not till then, the feelings of revenge which we have cherished in our bosoms are to be relinquished:-nay, it is even hinted, that if the law refuses us satisfaction, our animosity must instantly be laid aside! Is it not, however, to be feared, that the honey from the jaws of the lion may, like the intoxicating gas, possess a charm for us, from which we may not be able to disengage ourselves? All vicious gratifications strengthen by indulgence. Of these, revenge is the most gross, and the most insatia

ble.

If we refer to the earlier periods of society, we shall indeed find, as might be expected, systems of legislation established, and punishments inflicted, upon the most absurd and irrational grounds; frequently from the impulse of resentment, or by way of retaliation, and not seldom for imaginary or imputed crimes.Wherever we turn our eyes on past ages, we may observe the same insensibility to the sufferings of others, and the same propensity to, not to say eagerness for, the shedding of human blood. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or the life of the offender as an expiation for his crime, were the rude and summary laws which in those days seemed the perfection of justice.

.

The invention of one portion of the community was continually on the stretch to devise modes of torture to keep the other in awe: the punishment of death was applied almost indiscriminately, and with every yariety of form, to almost every species of crime. Torture, in different ways, was very generally employed; and when religious zeal began to mingle with secular enmity, the faggot and the flames were introduced to complete the horrors of the sys

tem.

This idea, of the necessity of severe and revengeful punishments, seems to have made such a deep impression on mankind, that even to this day it has never been obliterated. It is difficult for us to conceive that practices, however shocking to our natural feelings, which have received the sanction of so many ages, can be erroneous. We therefore continue to indulge, with little or no restraint, those sentiments of anger and resentment, which are excited by any violations of the laws which we have ourselves prescribed. These feelings gratify our pride, because they seem to be the result of our superior virtue. We consider ourselves for a moment as raised above the frailties of humanity, and our sympathy with it is de-. stroyed. The assumption of perfect rectitude in ourselves, and the imputation of guilt to others, give rise to our vindictive feelings; and

a spirit of cruelty and persecution is awakened, which is sometimes carried to such an extreme, as perhaps to be scarcely less criminal than the offence which it is intended to avenge.

As long as this spirit prevails, it will be to no purpose to expect any substantial improvement, either in the administration of criminal justice, or in the manners and morals of the people. Laws, each more severe than the other, may be promulgated; executions may take place weekly, and daily, in our streets; but whilst we continue to pursue the methods at present adopted, crimes will continue to increase, both in frequency and enormity, till a general terror diffuses itself abroad, and the apprehension of individual and personal danger (already no imaginary alarm), points out the necessity of those more effectual regulations, which prudence, tempered with humanity, will alone be found competent to devise.

If we could divest ourselves of those resentful feelings which are too apt to take possession of our minds on the contemplation of acts of criminality, we should make one great step towards the discovery of a better system of jurisprudence, and prepare the way to an incalculable improve

ement in the condition of mankind. The correction of vice would then be no longer an exertion of the violent and hostile passions, but of the kind and benignant affections. By the most

salutary change, the very errors and crimes of the profligate would afford to the good an opportunity for the exercise of the highest virtues. The question would no longer be, whether stripes and bloodshed can prevail against guilt and ignorance, but whether sympathy, prudence, and compassion, have lost their influence on the moral feelings of mankind. If we could impress upon the mind of the delinquent, an idea that the efforts we are making are really intended for his welfare, our object would in a great degree be accomplished. There is no human being so stupid, or so wicked, as not to concur, to the utmost of his power, in measures evidently calculated to relieve him from misery. Even in those unhappy cases which involve a diminution, or aberration of intellect, recent experience has shewn, that by a mild, humane, and temperate treatment, the most salutary effects may be produced; and the unfortunate objects not merely placed in a state of comparative tranquillity, but in many instances restored to the full exercise of their powers..

Almost all writers have considered crime merely with relation to punishment, and their chief difficulty has been to apportion the latter to the former; but surely, a mere system or scale of crimes and punishments, however well defined and proportioned, would afford but a very rude and imperfect idea of that enlight