You have gone back in time to the 1630's. You are in the Holy German Reich: in Rheinbach near Bonn in the dukedom of Cologne.
You have an enormous problem. After years of quarrelling, the venomous female neighbor of yours has accused you, in public, of being a magician. The roof of her house is leaking again and you're to blame.
Well you may laugh now, but that will soon change.
You now have only two possibilities: 1) you remain quiet to those accusations 2) you fight against them
- - If you remain quiet, your guilt is almost proved. By a traditional dictum of justice we learn: "qui tacet, concentiret", one who keeps silent, agrees.
- - If you fight against the accusations your guilt is likewise almost proved. The more actively you fight against them, the more suspicion you arouse. People will think: if that person is so eager to refute the charge, they must have a good reason.
Everyone knows "that God can never let an innocent person be accused in such a way." Therefore the conclusion is, that you are highly suspicious.
