cessive awe and terror. Thus they preferred to deal with a mortal like themselves in preference to God, whose greatness and glory they feared and could not endure. And I quite agree with them. Oh, my dear brethren, if mere men were to judge me at the end of my life and on the last day, I should not be half so much afraid of the judgment, although I have often and grievously transgressed, for I should have some hopes of making out a good case for myself and escaping condemnation. If mere men were to be our judges, then you, great ones of the world, princes, kings, and emperors, would have little to fear! Why? Eh! do we not know how partial earthly judges sometimes are?
For they are subject to many defects, by which one may escape them. In olden times Solon used to say to the Athenians: “Your laws are like spiders webs.”[1] They catch small flies, but allow the large ones to break through. We Germans have a saying to the effect that the little thief is hung, while the big one gets off scot free. Why so? The power and authority of the judge is often not enough to coerce the criminal, for the latter can frequently wield a mightier weapon than his judge; his exalted position, authority, or wealth enables him to pervert the ends of justice and make its officers look on black as white; and even if the sentence is pronounced, it frequently happens that the power of carrying it into execution is wanting. Again, justice is represented with a sceptre in the hand, in which there is an open eye, signifying that the judge must have not merely the power of punishing criminals, but also the wisdom and knowledge required to perform duly the duties of his state. And in this respect, too, there is often a great want, so that earthly judges are not able to inspire malefactors with due fear of punishment, and the latter consequently wax daring and confident in their evil deeds. What a number of crimes are committed in the world and never punished because the judges know nothing of them! What a number of criminals are got free by dint of false swearing, or through want of sufficient proof against them! And how many an innocent man, as St. Augustine complains, is condemned, while the guilty one is pronounced innocent; and this because the earthly judge fails to see the guilt of the one and the innocence of the other!
But Christ, our future Judge, is an Almighty God. But, my dear brethren, how widely different will be the judgment of which we are speaking! He who will then be seated on the throne is not a weak, fallible man, but God, and therefore an Al-
- ↑ Leges vestræ aranearum telis similes sunt.
