give him
a bloody back, under pretence of false teaching. The fourth is called
zeal for the faith; the fifth, the freedom of fatherland; the sixth,
the maintenance of privileges.' Last of all, there hung one very old
and much worn, like an old banner or horse cover, concerning which the
son-in-law laughed, wondering much; but the father-in-law said--'The
daily and too great misuse of this has worn the hair off, but it is
called good intentions, and is oftener sought after at the courts of
the great than daily bread. For, if one lays insupportable burdens on
subjects, and reduces them to skin and bone with soccage service, and
if one cuts the bread from their mouths, it is said to be done with the
best intentions; if one begins an unnecessary war, and plunges the
country and its inhabitants in a sea of blood under fire and sword, it
is done with the best intentions. Who could know that it would turn out
so ill? If one sends innocent people to prison or to the rack, or
drives them into utter misery, and their innocence comes to light,
still it must have been with good intentions. If one passes an unjust
judgment from hatred, envy, favour, bribery, or friendship, it is only
done with a good intention. It comes at last to such a point, that one
shall make use of the help of the devil with the best intentions. If
one or other of these mantles are too short to disguise the roguery,
one may cloak it with two, three, or more.' This room appeared very
strange to the new councillor; he, nevertheless, followed his noble
father-in-law into another; there they found all sorts of masks, so
ingeniously formed both in colour and features that they might be the
natural faces of men. 'When the mantles,' said the chancellor, 'do not
suffice to the attainment of the above-mentioned object, one must make
a change; for if one appears too often in one or the other mantle
successively before the States, or subjects, or before neighbouring
potentates, they at last learn to understand it, and say: "It is the
old story; we know what he wants, he wishes to obtain money; but how
can we always get it? One might at least be informed to what these
repeated taxes are applied." The masks serve to meet this discontent
One is called the oath; another, calumny; a third, deceit; these delude
people, be they good or bad, and effect more than all the arguments of
logic. But, above all, the oath is the masterpiece of court logic; for
an honourable man always th