Page:A Dissertation on the Construction of Locks (1815).pdf/19

 opposing methods of prevention, to the enormities which lead to such a dreadful end. It is a maxim in morals, that no man becomes at once completely wicked. The timidity which attends the first act of dishonesty, and the remorse it excites in the unpractised offender, are a natural, and in general a sufficient check to the commission of very enormous crimes, till the mind is tainted by evil councils, or becomes hardened by the frequent repetition of petit offences. To remove all temptation to dishonesty, and to give as few opportunities as possible to the indulgence of evil propensities, is as much the duty of those who possess, and wish to preserve their property, as obedience to the law, which forbids to steal, is the duty of those who may be tempted to deprive them of it. For the servant, who would never have meditated an attempt upon the chest which contains his master’s treasure, may be tempted to purloin his purse if carelessly thrown in his way. To secrete objects of temptation, and prevent access to them by every possible security, seems therefore to promise more towards lessening the number of robberies, than the dread of any punishment, which the law of England can inflict.