Forty stripes he may give him, and not exceed: lest, if he should exceed, and beat him above these with many stripes, then thy brother should seem vile unto thee.
Lest, if he should exceed ... then thy brother should seem vile unto thee. It may, perhaps, be thought that this mode of punishment was itself a brand of infamy, whatever precautions were taken to limit its severity. But it must be borne in mind that the ancients regarded it with associations very different from ours. Among the Romans the infliction of the scourge was not deemed infamous; for it was sometimes applied even to freemen and high-born citizens. But the reason assigned by the legislator in this statute for restricting the number of stripes is very remarkable. It is not simply a motive of compassion for a sufferer-it is a respect for human nature, the rights of which are preserved even in a criminal. To inflict upon a man an excessive and degrading punishment is to outrage the feelings of those who witness it, and to pour contempt upon humanity itself. This humane character of the Mosaic legislation is deserving of special notice. How rigorous soever it may be in some respects, it upholds the dignity of man's nature, and does not permit even a guilty offender to 'seem vile unto others.'