Cesare Beccaria, On Crimes and Punishments and Other Writings

"For every crime that comes before him, a judge is required to complete a perfect syllogism in which the major premise must be the general law; the minor, the action that conforms or does not conform to the law; and the conclusion, acquittal or punishment. If the judge were constrained, or if he desired to frame even a single additional syllogism, the door would thereby be opened to uncertainty."

Cesare Beccaria, On Crimes and Punishments and Other Writings