The second is the state of another civilization in which the supervision of citizens over one another makes crime impossible.

The end which modern society has placed before itself is the latter; namely, that in which a crime presents such difficulties that a man must abandon all reasoning in order to commit it.

In fact, iniquities which the law cannot reach are not left actually unpunished, for social judgment is even more severe than that of courts.

If a man like Minoret, the post-master at Nemours [see "Ursule Mirouet"] suppresses a will and no one witnesses the act, the crime is traced home to him by the watchfulness of virtue as surely as a robbery is followed up by the detective police.

No wrong-doing passes actually unperceived; and wherever a lesion in rectitude takes place the scar remains.