There are persons to whom we never think of applying the ordinary rules ofjudging. They form a class by themselves, and are curiosities in morals, like nondescripts in natural history. We forgive whatever they do or say, for the singularity of the thing, or because it excites attention. A man who has been hanged is not the worst subject for dissection, and a man who deserves to be hanged may be a very amusing companion or topic of discourse.
--- HAZLITT, Characteristics, 1823