[3]
however, necessary in this connection to point
out that there are no stronger proofs than those in
which uncertainty has been converted into certainty.
“You committed the murder, for your clothes were
stained with blood.” 'This argument is not so
strong if the accused admits that his clothes were
bloodstained as if the fact is proved against his
denial. For if he admits it, there are still a number
of ways in which the blood could have got on to his
clothes: if on the other hand he denies it, lie makes
his whole case turn on this point, and if his contention is disproved, he will he unable to make a
stand on any subsequent ground. For it will be
thought that he would never have told a lie in
denying the allegation, unless he had felt it a hopeless task to justify himself if he admitted it.
Quintilian. With An English Translation. Harold Edgeworth Butler. Cambridge. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1921.
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