grundlinien.de

234

The relations of external existence fall within the infinity of the understanding; there is therefore no boundary in itself for what is harmful or not harmful, nor, with regard to crime, for what is suspicious or unsuspicious, what is to be forbidden or supervised, or spared prohibition, supervision, suspicion, inquiry, and the rendering of account. It is custom, the spirit of the rest of the constitution, the particular condition of the moment, the danger of the moment, and so on, that provide the more precise determinations.

DE

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One response to “234”

  1. Eduard Gans (Additions) Avatar
    Eduard Gans (Additions)

    No fixed determinations can be given here, and no absolute boundaries can be drawn. Everything here is personal; subjective opinion comes into play, and the spirit of the constitution, the danger of the times, must supply the more particular circumstances. In times of war, for example, many things otherwise harmless are to be regarded as harmful. Through these aspects of contingency and arbitrary personal judgment, the police acquire something odious. Given a highly cultivated reflection, they can take the direction of drawing everything possible into their sphere, for in everything a connection can be found through which something might become harmful. In this the police can proceed very pedantically and inconvenience the ordinary life of individuals. But whatever inconvenience this may be, an objective boundary line cannot be drawn here.

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