9 'No enquiry is more idle than one which is devoted to seeing how nearly the facts of two cases come together: the use of cases is for the propositions of law they contain, and it is no use to compare the special facts of one case with the special facts of another for the purpose of endeavouring to ascertain what conclusion you ought to arrive at in the second case.'" Decided cases dealing with sentence may be of value as providing guidelines for the trial court's exercise of discretion (see S v S 1977(3) SA 830(A)) and they sometimes provide useful guidance where they show a succession of punishments imposed for a particular type of crime. (See R v Kars 1961(1) SA 231 (A) at 236 G.) But it is an idle exercise to try to match the colours of the case at hand and the colours of other cases with the object of arriving at an appropriate sentence. "Each case