The perpetrators' motives can range from a desire for easy money to mugging as a sort of after-school sport, either for the pleasure of intimidating weaker boys or to impress their own friends.

But there is a ghastly unpredictability about which foreign hostages are killed and which are released, and no one can say whether gestures of that kind have the power to move kidnappers in Iraq, whose motives range over the entire gamut from profit to politics.

The motives range from self-aggrandizement to the thrill of the chase or sincere dedication to a composer.

The scene where the body was found was controlled by the authorities only after dozens of people had gone through it - some were officials but many others were individuals whose identities were never confirmed and whose motives could have ranged from simple curiosity to intentional contamination of the scene.

A Range of Age and Motives Participants' motives range from larkish recreation to grave competitiveness.

As in other forms of power struggle, such as war or law enforcement, motives range from predation to self-defense to fighting for justice, and the dividing line between predation and justice is subject to rationalization.

For employers, the motives can range from simply wanting to help their workers in a time of crisis to trying to bring religion to workers who are receptive to such discussions.

Capt. Thomas Scanlon said possible motives for the killings ranged from drugs to a domestic disagreement to robbery.

The motives range from purely decorative foliage, to a Calvary group adjacent to the south portal, a notable sculpture group depicting St. Catherine, patron saint of scholars, holding a book and an equally prominent carved sculpture of St. Nicholas, patron saint of fishermen, accompanied by a monk holding a ship.

And while the assassins' motives range from revolutionary idealism to a dyspeptic stomach, this version emphasizes their shared belief in their potential magnificence as they gather in a funhouse shooting gallery outside of time.