Thursday, July 7, 2011

Inquisition

"The Inquisition, Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis (inquiry on heretical perversity),
was the "fight against heretics"

It started...with the introduction of torture in the persecution of heresy.

In practice, the Inquisition would not itself pronounce sentence,
but handed over convicted heretics to secular authorities.

...the inquisitors generally knew what would be the fate of anyone so remanded,
and can not be considered to have divorced the means of determining guilt
from its effects.

The 1578 handbook for inquisitors spelled out the purpose of inquisitorial penalties:

... quoniam punitio non refertur primo & per se in correctionem
& bonum eius qui punitur, sed in bonum publicum ut alij terreantur,
& a malis committendis avocentur.

Translation from the Latin:

... for punishment does not take place primarily and per se
for the correction and good of the person punished,
but for the public good in order that others may become terrified
and weaned away from the evils they would commit."

Wiki

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