[44]
or whether, without
having the least reason for the deed, he was carried
away by the impulse of the moment and acted
without deliberate purpose (for it is a common
saying that crimes are irrational), or finally, whether
he was led astray by the fact that crime had become
a habit with him.
[p. 75]
Having dealt with the question whether he
intended to commit the crime, we proceed to the
question whether he was in a position to commit it.
Under this head we discuss the place and occasion of
the offence. For instance, in a case of theft we ask
whether it was committed in a secluded or frequented
spot, in the daytime, when witnesses are more
numerous, or by night, when success is more difficult.
Quintilian. With An English Translation. Harold Edgeworth Butler. Cambridge. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1922.
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