Gosh what a warm and fuzzy sentiment. And it is because this father loves his kids enough to discipline them that they won't grow up to be animals. Maybe, unless Children, Adult, and Family Services gets involved and yanks his kids away and then they can go into the "system" and end up little hoodlums that we can incarcerate later in life.
"I thee so I beat thee" is such a perverse context I won't even bother going there.
Saying "No" to your kids and teaching them consequences that arise from their actions is a form of love. Preparing them for the real world is a form of love. Teaching them values and self respect is a form of love.
Beating them and leaving marks is not.