He seemed more and more to feel the need of grasping through
books the hand of erring humanity. And from day to day his
conversations with Barbee began to take more the form of counsels
about life and duty, about the ideals and mistakes and virtues and
weaknesses in men. He had a good deal to say about the ethics of
character in the court room and in the street.
One afternoon Barbee very thoughtfully asked him a question:
"Uncle, I have wanted to know why you always defended and never
prosecuted. The State is supposed to stand for justice, and the
State is the accuser; in always defending the accused and so in
working against the State, have you not always worked against
justice?"
The Judge sat with his face turned away and spoke as he sat--very
gravely and quietly: "I always defended because the State can
punish only the accused, and the accused is never the only
criminal. In every crime there are three criminals. The first
criminal is the Origin of Evil. I don't know what the Origin of
Evil is, or who he is; but if I could have dragged the Origin of
Evil into the court room, I should have been glad to try to have it
hanged, or have him hanged. I should have liked to argue the
greatest of all possible criminal cases: the case of the Common
People vs. the Devil--so nominated. The second criminal is all
that coworked with the accused as involved in his nature, in his
temptation, and in his act. If I could have arraigned all the
other men and women who have been forerunners or copartners of the
accused as furthering influences in the line of his offence, I
should gladly have prosecuted them for their share of the guilt.
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