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1. Law is a necessary evil.
2. Pass as few laws as possible, consistent with
the demands of justice and the maintenance of order.
3. Where custom is sufficient, there is no need
for law.
4. Do not pass laws that cannot, or will not,
be enforced, for such breed contempt for both the law and the
State.
5. Penalties must be minimally sufficient to
deter infractions, given adequate enforcement. Less renders the law ineffective;
more inflicts unnecessary pain.
6. There is an inverse proportion between the
severity necessary to deter infractions and the certainty of
punishment.
7. Enshrine your principles in constitutions,
codify your common sense in laws, and leave the rest to
regulation.
8. Even more than on your wisdom, the legitimacy
of the State depends on your integrity.
9. In public life, integrity requires not only
an honest heart but an honest face.
10. Your primary object must always be not the
satisfaction of your constituents but the continued legitimacy of the State,
for upon that depends the welfare, even the survival, of us
all.
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