That Mystery Floating Alongside

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  “The side of the ship made an opaque belt of shadow on the darkling glassy shimmer of the sea. But I saw at once something elongated and pale floating very close to the ladder. Before I could form a guess a faint flash of phosphorescent light, which seemed to issue suddenly from the naked body of a man, flickered in the sleeping water with the elusive, silent play of summer lightning in a night sky. With a gasp I saw revealed to my stare a pair of feet, the long legs, a broad livid back immersed right up to the neck in a greenish cadaverous glow. One hand, awash, clutched the bottom rung of the ladder. He was complete but for the head. A headless corpse! The cigar dropped out of my gaping mouth with a tiny plop and a short hiss quite audible in the absolute stillness of all things under heaven. At that I suppose he raised up his face, a dimly pale oval in the shadow of the ship’s side. But even then I could only barely make out down there the shape of his black-haired head. Howev...

Case Study in Justice

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The story is told of a man who was caught stealing a loaf of bread. When the judge investigated he found that the man had no job, could not get work and since his family was hungry, he felt he needed to steal the loaf of bread.

The judge told the man, "I'm sorry, but the law can make no exceptions. You stole, therefore I have to punish you. I have to assess a fine of ten dollars." As he said this, the judge reached into his pocket, pulled out a ten dollar bill and handed it to the man. "I want to pay the fine myself," the judge said.

As the man took the money, the judge added, "Now, I also want to remit the fine." This means the judge laid the fine aside. He released the man from the guilt or penalty of the fine, which means the man could keep the money.

"Furthermore," the judge said, "I am going to instruct the bailiff to pass around a hat to everyone in this courtroom, and I am fining everybody in this courtroom fifty cents for living in a city where a man has to steal in order to have bread to eat."

When the money was collected he gave it to the defendant.

What are your thoughts about the point of this story?

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