Alphonsus, King of Naples and Sicily, so celebrated in history for his clemency, was once asked why he was so forgiving to all men, even to those most notoriously wicked?
“Because,” he answered, “good men are won by justice; the bad by clemency.”
When some of his ministers complained to him on another occasion of his lenity, which they were pleased to say was more than became a prince: “What, then,” he exclaimed, “would you have lions and tigers to reign over you? It is for wild beasts to scourge; but for man to forgive.”
