. I come to do the Devil's work. I come to counsel Christians they should belie themselves. There is blood on my head! Can you not see the blood on my head!!This recalls Giles Corey's anguished cry at the beginning of Act III: "I have broke charity with the woman." The difference is that Hale has "broke charity" with a lot more than one person. And now he must break charity with God, by counselling them to lie in order to save their lives.^^^^^^^^^^THE CRUCIBLE: ACT IV, SCENE 5We see the depth of Hale's disillusionment and disgust with himself when he pleads with Elizabeth to get Proctor to confess:Beware, Goody Proctor--cleave to no faith when faith brings blood.... Life, woman, life is God's most precious gift; no principle, however glorious, may justify the taking of it.Here is another speech that looks like a good candidate for "author's thematic statement." And it's spoken by the man who's most like us.But Hale by now is a lost soul. A minister of God, he is counselling people to lie. How can we have faith anymore in anything he says? Elizabeth senses this, and tells him, "I think that be the Devil's argument."Besides, it's a useless subject to dispute. Elizabeth has more pressing business on her mind than theological arguments. She must see her husband one last time. She has something to tell him.^^^^^^^^^^THE CRUCIBLE: ACT IV, SCENE 6This scene is not long, but a lot happens in it. In terms of the plot, it's pretty simple: John explains to Elizabeth why he's going to confess. She urges him to do what he has to do, and tells him that no matter what he decides, he's a good man. That's it.We know from Danforth that Proctor's confession is important to the court and the town. But John doesn't seem to care much what his confession means to anyone but his wife. And Elizabeth doesn't seem to care whether or not he confesses at all.What's really going on in this scene has little to do with events in the outside world. In Act II Arthur Mi...
