We must face the fact that sooner or later
A menace to society becomes so severe—
Such a danger to safety or justice
Or order or decency—
That we must intervene and remove him
From his place, dispatching him to prison,
Or in the most egregious cases, even to God.
And further—
This present point being
The more salient one—
We must face the fact
That not facing the aforesaid fact
Is a menace in its own right.
We seem to be suffering
From the menacing delusion
That justice is supposed
To be easy business,
And that it may be neglected
With impunity.
