Page "Crime" Paragraph 54

If compensation could mollify families ' feelings, this would help to keep the peace.

On the other hand, the institution of oaths also played down the threat of feudal warfare.

Both in archaic Greece and in medieval Scandinavia, an accused person walked free if he could get a sufficient number of male relatives to swear him unguilty.

( Compare the United Nations Security Council, in which the veto power of the permanent members ensures that the organization does not become involved in crises where it could not enforce its decisions.