Woman! It is pride, it is vanity. Be his helper! What profit him to bleed? Shall the dust praise him? Shall the worms declare his truth? Go to him, take his shame away!
– Arthur Miller
The Crucible, Act 4. Hale pleads with Elizabeth to persuade John to confess and save himself from the gallows. He says that Proctor’s pride and vanity are what keep him from doing so. However, John’s reason for not confessing to a lie has more to do with honor than pride. Dust and worms are personified in this passage, having the ability to praise and to speak the truth.