Note 282 — Chapter XXV
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It must be remembered that it was the emperor's business to execute the law, not to discuss its propriety with the accused. In the same way nowadays, should a man convicted, for example, of bigamy urge that he believed it Scriptural to have two wives, the court would refuse to listen to his arguments and would sentence him to the penalty imposed by law, in spite of the fact that the prisoner believed that he had committed no wrong.