Comments on: 282

By: Hegel (Simple)

Hegel (Simple) — Thu, 24 Sep 2026 10:59:51 +0000

§ 282: The Right of Pardon

From the sovereignty of the monarch follows the right to pardon criminals.

What is a pardon?

Spirit has the power to undo what has happened. In forgiving and forgetting, it annihilates the crime. The right of pardon is one of the highest acknowledgments of this power.

What remains?

The pardon cancels the punishment. But it does not cancel right. The pardoned person remains a criminal. The pardon does not say that he did nothing.

Why the monarch?

In religion, spirit can undo what has happened. In the world, this has its place only in majesty. For only a decision without a ground has the right to do it.

This also belongs here: Crimes against the state and against the prince count as the highest crimes.

Summary: The monarch may pardon. The pardon cancels the punishment, but it does not cancel right. It expresses the majesty of spirit.

By: Karl Marx

Karl Marx — Sun, 14 May 1843 04:54:36 +0000

The right of pardon is the right of grace. Grace is the highest expression of contingent arbitrariness, which Hegel meaningfully makes the true attribute of the monarch. In the Addition itself Hegel determines its origin as »the groundless decision«.

By: Eduard Gans (Additions)

Eduard Gans (Additions) — Wed, 29 May 1833 14:19:14 +0000

Pardon is the remission of punishment, which, however, does not annul the right. This remains, rather, and the pardoned person is a criminal as before; grace does not declare that he committed no crime. This annulment of the punishment can take place through religion, for what has happened can be made undone by spirit within spirit. Insofar as this is accomplished in the world, however, it has its place only in majesty and can belong only to a groundless decision.