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Full Idea
Punishment is solely a method of procuring pure good for men who do not desire it. The art of punishing is the art of awakening in a criminal, by pain or even death, the desire for pure good.
Gist of Idea
Punishment aims at the good for men who don't desire it
Source
Simone Weil (Human Personality [1943], p.95)
Book Ref
Weil,Simone: 'An Anthology' [Penguin 1986], p.95
A Reaction
I know Weil is seen as some sort of saint, but this remark could have come from the Inquisition. I'm always alarmed by talk of 'pure' good and 'pure' evil, which seem to need a superior insight the rest of us lack. But see Idea 23764.
Related Idea
Idea 23764 The only thing in society worse than crime is repressive justice [Weil]