The Judge turned and looked at Barbee in simple silence.

Barbee sprang to his feet:  “It is a damned shame!” he cried.  “Damn the French! damn such a civilization.”

“Why damn the French code?  In our own country the same thing goes on, not as part of our system of jurisprudence, but as part of our system of—­well, we’ll say—­morals.  In this country any man’s secret personal enemy, his so-called religious enemy for instance, may fabricate any accusation against him.  He does not drop it into the dark crevice of a dead wall, but into the blacker hole of a living ear.  A perfectly innocent man by such anonymous or untraceable slander can be as grossly injured in reputation, in business, in his family, out of a prison in this country as in a prison in France.  Slander may circulate about him and he will never even know what it is, never be confronted by his accuser, never have power of redress.

“Now what I wish you to remember is this:  that in the very nature of the case a man is often unable to prove his innocence.  All over the world useful careers come to nothing and lives are wrecked, because men may be ignorantly or malignantly accused of things of which they cannot stand up and prove that they are innocent.  Never forget that it is impossible for a man finally to demonstrate his possession of a single great virtue.  A man cannot so prove his bravery.  He cannot so prove his honesty or his benevolence or his sobriety or his chastity, or anything else.  As to courage, all that he can prove is that in a given case or in all tested cases he was not a coward.  As to honesty, all that he can prove is that in any alleged instance he was not a thief.  A man cannot even directly prove his health, mental or physical:  all that he can prove is that he shows no unmistakable evidences of disease.  But an enemy may secretly circulate the charge that these evidences exist; and all the evidences to the contrary that the man himself may furnish will never disperse that impression.  It is so for every great virtue.  His final possession of a single virtue can be proved by no man.

“This was another reason why I was sometimes unwilling to prosecute a fellow-creature; it might be a case in which he alone would actually know whether he were innocent, but his simple word would not be taken, and his simple word would be the only proof that he could give.  I ask you, as you care for my memory, never to take advantage of the truth that the man before you, as the accused, may in the nature of things be unable to prove his innocence.  Some day you are going to be a judge.  Remember you are always a judge; and remember that a greater Judge than you will ever be gave you the rule:  ‘Judge as you would be judged.’  The great root of the matter is this:  that all human conduct is judged; but a very small part of human conduct is ever brought to trial.”

He had many visitors at his office during these idle summer days.  He belonged to a generation of men who loved conversation—­when they conversed.  All the lawyers dropped in.  The report of his failing strength brought these and many others.