Letter 14: So this is how sons defend their fathers!

To Anysius. So this is how sons defend their fathers! I thank you for it. Carnas came to me as a suppliant, and God himself made the plea sacred. How can a priest ignore the arrest of a man — on his own warrant, no less — during a day of fasting? Whoever brought him did not hand him over willingly; he was taken by force. So if I am to be punished for this act of mercy, it has come to the point where I show compassion to those who have wronged me and end up wronging the very people who have done nothing wrong.

Letter 14: A Horse Thief [1] To Anysius Thus do sons defend their fathers! I thank you for this. Carnas came to me as a suppliant, and God Himself made the prayer more sacred. How can a priest overlook the arrest of a man, on his own mandate too, during a day of fasting? Whoever, therefore, brought him, did not surrender the fellow, but was deprived of him by force. [2] Wherefore, if on account of this violence I am to be punished, I have come to the point of showing humanity to those who have wronged me, and having wronged the very people who have done no wrong.