No século XVII
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"... after he (Francis Bacon - 1561-1626) had held this great position for only two years, he was prosecuted for accepting bribes from litigants. He admitted the truth of accusation, pleading only that presents never influenced his decision. As to that, any one may form his own opinion, since there can be no evidence as to the decisions that Bacon would have come to in other circumstances...
The ethics of legal profession, in those days, were somewhat lax. Almost every judge accepted presents, usually from both sides.
Nowadays we think it atrocious for a judge to take bribes, but even more atrocious, after taking them, to decide against the givers of them. In those days, presents were a matter of course, and a judge showed his "virtue" by not being influenced by them."
A History of Western Philosophy - Bertrand Russell
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