wrong ourselves. "If thy brother sin, rebuke him; and if he
repent, forgive him. And if he sin against thee seven times in a day,
and seven times turn again to thee, saying, I repent, thou shalt forgive
him." To ignore an unrepented wrong, and to continue to punish a
repented wrong, are equally wide of the mark of that love for the
offender which metes out to him both justice and forgiveness according
to his needs. All punishment which is not tempered with forgiveness is
brutal; and brutalizes both punisher and punished. It hardens the heart
of the offender; and itself constitutes a new offense against him.

These principles apply strictly to relations between individuals. In the
case of punishment by the state, the necessity of self-protection; of
warning others; and of approximate uniformity in procedure; added to the
impossibility of getting at the exact state of mind of the offender by
legal processes, render it necessary to inflict penalties in many cases
which are more severe than the best interest of the individual offenders
requires. To meet such cases, and to mitigate the undue severity of
uniform penalties when they fall too heavily on individuals, all
civilized nations give the power of pardon to the executive.

+Whether the penalty be in itself light or severe, it should always be
administered in the endeavor to improve and reform the character of the
offender.+--The period of confinement in jail or prison should be made a
period of real privation and suffering; but it should be especially the
privation of opportunity for indulgence in idleness and vice; and the
painfulness of discipline in acquiring the knowledge and skill necessary
to make the convict a self-respecting and self-supporting member of
society, after his term of sentence expires.

THE VICE OF EXCESS.

+Lenity ignores the wrong; and by ignoring it, becomes responsible for
its repetition.+--Lenity is sentimentality bestowed on criminals. It
treats them in the manner most congenial to its own feelings, instead of
in the way most conducive to their good. Forgiveness is regard for the
offender in view of his ability to renounce the offense and try to do
better in the future. Lenity confounds offender and offense in a
wholesale and promiscuous amnesty. The true attitude toward the
wrongdoer must preserve the balance set forth by the lawgiver of Israel
as characteristic of Israel's God, "full of compassion and gracious,
slow to anger and plenteo