morally interesting as it is typically predicated on the idea that murder and murderers are intrinsically fascinating. And this suggests that beneath the humorous hyperboles of De Quincey’s sardonic essay lies a serious and perceptive point. Sympathy and empathy are really functions of aesthetics, not moral law. The murderer can be set forth in a sympathetic light by presenting him as sophisticated or at war with himself or as a rebel against society or as a genius
