It is significant that our ?penal? derives from the Latin for pain, paena, the root of our penance, penalty, penitence, penitentiary. punish, primitive, pine, and a circle of similar English words. It has the meaning of pain inflicted for the purpose of correction, discipline, or protecting society, never the inflic-tion of pain for its own sake. Our own penalties are symbolical in form, their language being derived from early English forms of punishment for heresy and treason. |
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