ABSTRACT
The discussions of crime and the law in the passages concentrate on three areas: the moral causes of crime, particularly among the poor; the role of the magistrate in society; and the nature and ends of punishment. This chapter discusses the effectiveness of various forms of punishment. The extracts from Fielding’s Enquiry involve wide-ranging discussions of social policy, which have been examined in the introduction. God, comprehending within himself, the Beginning, End, and Middle of all Things and Times, exerts his Energy throughout the whole Creation. He never ceaseth to influence by Instinct, by the Light of Nature, by his declared Will. And it is the Duty of Magistrates and Law-givers, to cultivate and encourage those divine Impressions in the Minds of all Men under their Care. Human Regards may restrain Men from open and penal Offences; but the Fear of God is a Restraint from all Degrees of all Crimes however circumstanced.
