Excellency, there are orphans wandering from house to house; abandoned cattle bellow on the highroads, the stink of rotting crops hangs everywhere, and no man knows when the harlots’ cry will end his life – and you wonder yet if rebellion’s spoke? Better you should marvel how they do not burn your province.
– Arthur Miller
The Crucible, Act 4. Returned to Salem after a spiritual reawakening, Reverend Hale has undergone a radical change from accuser to sympathizer and fighter on behalf of the accused. He wants Danforth to put a stay on the hangings. He draws a graphic picture of Salem’s despair, devastation and disintegration of society, caused by the witch hunt hysteria. Abandoned orphans, wandering cattle, the stench of rotting crops, people in fear of the accusing finger – Salem is a community in ruins. Hale warns that continuing the hangings could provoke rebellion.