| Calculation of Land: |
Now the idea of punishments is to restrain depravity, and the idea of rewards is to support the interdicts. Shame and disgrace, labour and hardship are what the people dislike; fame and glory, ease and joy are what the people pay attention to. So, if the penalties of the country are such that they do not cause dislike, and the titles and emoluments are not worth attention, it is an omen of the ruin of the country. If culprits often escape through the meshes, inferior people will be depraved and dissolute and will not think of the punishments as deterrents, and thus they will be applied to the people in a haphazard manner. That being so, and the way to fame and glory by means of gain not being one, then superior men will apply power to obtain a name and inferior people will not avoid what is prohibited. Therefore, the punishments will be numerous. If the superior man does not set up his commands clearly, minor penalties will be applied. If punishments are numerous and minor penalties are applied, the country will have many criminals. Then the rich will not be able to keep their wealth, nor the poor to apply themselves to their occupations; the fields will lie fallow and the state will be poor. |
