Happy is the nation without a history.

For every crime that comes before him, a judge is required to complete a perfect syllogism in which the major premise must be the general law; the minor, the action that conforms or does not conform to the law; and the conclusion, acquittal or punishment. If the judge were constrained, or if he desired to frame even a single additional syllogism, the door would thereby be opened to uncertainty.

Crimes are more effectually prevented by the certainty than the severity of punishment

Happy is the nation without a history.

It is better to prevent crimes than to punish them.

Laws against the possession of weapons only disarm those who have no intention of committing a crime.

The laws that forbid the carrying of arms... serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.