A Charge Past Belief

Is it not sheer madness in my accuser even to suspect me of such a thing? What, I ask again, could have led me to trust this man? What trait did I see in his character that I could rely on? He had murdered his own master. He had been faithless to his friends. He had broken his oath. He had blasphemed God by consulting poisoners and sorcerers against his law. With what conscience could I send greetings to such a man, whose madness and cruelty had afflicted not only me but the whole world around me? No doubt I was greatly in his debt for what he did: when your departed brother had filled our churches with sacred offerings, he murdered him! For the wretch was not moved by the sight of these gifts of his, nor did he stand in awe of the divine grace that had been given to him in baptism. Like an accursed and devilish spirit he raged against him, until your blessed brother suffered martyrdom at his hands. And he, from then on a criminal like Cain, was driven from place to place, “groaning and trembling,” so that he might follow the example of Judas in his death by becoming his own executioner, and so bring on himself a double weight of punishment in the judgment to come. [a]