Still, we are not to infer that every crime is to be punished with this extreme penalty. Far from it. The “sword” here is, we repeat, an emblem, — the power of the sword comprehending every grade of penal infliction, from the smallest fine to the severest sort of punishment. Civil rulers are endowed with power to affix and execute suitable penal sanctions.

James M. Wilson, Civil Government: An Exposition on Romans XIII. 1-7 (Philadelphia: William S. Young, 1853), 68.