Whenever the offence inspires less horror than the punishment, the rigour of penal law is obliged to give way to the common feelings of mankind.

Lavater, Johann Caspar. "Annotations to Lavater's Aphorisms on Man." The Complete Poetry and Prose of William Blake, edited by David Erdman. University of California Press, 2008.

Paine, Thomas. "The American Crisis, Number I, December 19, 1776." Common Sense, The Crisis, & Other Writings from the American Revolution. Library of America, 2015.

Pope, Alexander. "An Essay on Criticism." Alexander Pope: The Major Works, edited by Pat Rogers. Oxford University Press, 2009, pt. 2, I. 215-218.