Philosophers and theologians have often pondered whether, or to what extent, wicked deeds are punished within the lifetime of a malefactor.  Some maintain that the consequences of evil actions can never be avoided, and that, sooner or later, divine retribution will be visited upon him who offends the gods of justice.  Others take a different position, and hold that punishment for the commission of foul acts is a purely random occurrence.  Some men, they say, arrive at their appointment with Fate, while others seem to lead charmed lives, escaping justice while walking through life’s raindrops.  As for which view is correct, no man can know.  For my own part I tend to subscribe to the belief that wicked deeds always exact a certain price from their authors.  That price may be postponed, or deferred, or placed in arrears, or hidden from the view of others; but the levy nevertheless weighs on the soul of the malefactor, and steadily corrodes it from within.