“The well understood equity as well as interest of society demand that we work on much more to prevent crime and offenses than to punish them.”

— African Spir

Source: Words of a Sage : Selected thoughts of African Spir (1937), p. 52.

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African Spir 98

Russian philosopher 1837–1890

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Oui, je le répète : c'est la société qui fait les criminels, et vous jurés, au lieu de les frapper, vous devriez employer votre intelligence et vos forces à transformer la société. Du coup, vous supprimeriez tous les crimes ; et votre œuvre, en s'attaquant aux causes, serait plus grande et plus féconde que n'est votre justice qui s'amoindrit à punir les effets.
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