Note 213 — Chapter XXI · CIVIL SOCIETY AND THE POLITICAL STATE
Reading edition
The slowness and indirectness of change throw light upon the supposed distinction of justice and mercy (see ante, p. 415). When the practical injustice of regarding accidental homicide or killing in self-defense as murder began to be felt, the theory was still that the man in justice was guilty, but that he was to be recommended to the crown for mercy or pardon. This was a mean term in the evolution of our present notion of justice.