When we do not at all understand the cause of an action, whether a crime, a good action, or even one that is simply non-moral, we ascribe a greater amount of freedom to it. In the case of a crime, we most urgently demand the punishment for such an act; in the case of a virtuous act we rate its merit most highly. In an indifferent case we recognise in it more individuality, originality, and independence. But if even one of the innumerable causes of the act is known to us we recognise a certain element of necessity and are less insistent on punishment for the crime, or the acknowledgment of the
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