10. Montesquieu (The Spirit of Laws, l. xii. c. 12) praises
one of the laws of Theodosius, addressed to the praefect
Rufinus (1. ix. tit. iv. leg. unic.), to discourage the
prosecution of treasonable or sacrilegious words. A
tyrannical statute always proves the existence of tyranny;
but a laudable edict may only contain the specious
professions or ineffectual wishes of the prince or his
ministers. This, I am afraid, is a just though mortifying
canon of criticism.