They would not have
followed it unless the actor had chosen, and the only way
generally available to show that he would have chosen to do them
is by showing that he intended to do them when he did what he
did. The accompanying intent in that case renders the otherwise
[68] innocent act harmful, because it raises a probability that
it will be followed by such other acts and events as will all
together result in harm. The importance of the intent is not to
show that the act was wicked, but to show that it was likely to
be followed by hurtful consequences.
It will be readily seen that there are limits to this kind of
liability. The law does not punish every act which is done with
the intent to bring about a crime. If a man starts from Boston to
Cambridge for the purpose of committing a murder when he gets
there, but is stopped by the draw and goes home, he is no more
punishable than if he had sat in his chair and resolved to shoot
somebody, but on second thoughts had given up the notion. On the
other hand, a slave who ran after a white woman, but desisted
before he caught her, has been convicted of an attempt to commit
rape. /1/ We have seen what amounts to an attempt to burn a
haystack; but it was said in the same case, that, if the
defendant had gone no further than to buy a box of matches for
the purpose, he would not have been liable.
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