Woman, before the laws of God we are as swine! We cannot read His will!
– Arthur Miller
The Crucible, Act 4. Reverend John Hale wants Elizabeth Proctor to persuade husband John to make a false confession to witchcraft, to save him from hanging. Hale is a very changed clergyman who has lost confidence in the Salem court and believes Proctor to be innocent. In trying to explain to Elizabeth why one can lie to save life, he uses an animal simile. People are like swine before God’s laws, he says, and we cannot read God’s will.