Note 436 — Chapter II
Henry P. (Henry Pomeroy) Horton translation
As the social structure changed the ideas about theft changed equally; with the origin of the system of exchange and of the contrasts of property, came powerful motives for theft, and at the same time the social instincts grew weaker. Thus theft came to be considered a more serious matter than before, and the graded system of punishments for it, beginning with a fine, ended in capital punishment.436 It is not our task to investigate the reason why the punishment for theft has not always been the same during the whole civilized period; it is enough for us to establish the fact that the act has always been considered as a grave offense, the perpetrator of which incurred severe penalties.