4421. CONCERNING PUNISHMENTS, THAT THEY ARE OF MERCY. I spoke with spirits who thought that to be punished was against mercy; but it was said to them that it was of mercy, and of unmercifulness not to be punished; and they were convinced [of their mistake] by an example; to wit, that if a father does not chastise a son or a daughter who is wayward and does evil, but indulges him, he is then unmerciful, for that he then encourages his son to all those evils, and is thus against his children and unmerciful toward others. The same considerations prove that it is not against love. The principle may be illustrated also by the case of a king who pardons the wicked and does not punish; he is guilty of more unmercifulness, for he thus tolerates the wicked in his kingdom, and increases their number. Such is the case with punishments in the other life; if the evil should not be punished, even to emendation, as is always done, they would not only remain wicked, but would injure the good, which is against mercy.