“Them that will not confess will hang.”
Why it's great
A bare conditional turns two paths into one, and the calm makes it brutal.
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Formal
Use it yourself
Them that will not hand in the form will not get paid.
00:00 / 04:42
00:00 / 04:42
Hale Begs Danforth to Postpone, Explained
The Crucible · 2014
Chapter 26 of 29 · 4'42"
Hale returns at dawn to plead for the condemned, but Danforth will not bend: "I will not receive a single plea for pardon or postponement." Hale has become the court's conscience, arguing that mercy would look like strength; Danforth treats it as weakness. Their argument ends with Hale's bitter reversal: "I come to do the Devil's work."
Key moments
Start here, then watch the full scene- 1:42–2:44
❝ Monologue · 13 lines Danforth Refuses All Mercy
61s - 3:29–4:37
❝ Monologue · 4 lines Hale Turns Against the Court
68s
Hale Begs Danforth to Postpone, explained
What happens
Before dawn on execution day, Hale asks Danforth to postpone the hangings so the prisoners have time to confess. Danforth refuses: the seven names are published, twelve have already been hanged, and a delay would imply doubt about the earlier deaths. Hale warns that the town is near rebellion, and when Danforth will not listen, Hale says he has come to do the Devil's work.
What's really going on
The scene is a collision between two kinds of authority. Hale has stopped believing the trials are just — he says the prisoners will not confess and it is not just — and he pleads for postponement because a confession would save lives. Danforth's refusal is political, not theological: "Postponement now speaks a floundering on my part." He cannot admit doubt, because twelve people are already dead for the same crime, and pausing would make their deaths look like murder. That is why he says "I should hang ten thousand that dared to rise against the law." Hale's last line, "I come to do the Devil's work," is not a joke: he believes that talking a prisoner into a false confession to save his life is itself a kind of damnation, and he does it anyway. The scene shows the machinery of the court running on its own momentum, with even its critic forced to serve it.
Key lines & what they mean
- “Them that will not confess will hang.”
- Danforth's flat rule: refusing to confess is itself fatal, because the court has committed to executing everyone still denying the charges.
- “I come to do the Devil's work.”
- Hale's bitter self-accusation: persuading prisoners to lie and confess feels, to him, like serving the Devil rather than God.
- “While I speak God's law, I will not crack its voice with whimpering.”
- Danforth's claim that he speaks for God and will not soften his judgment just because people are weeping for mercy.
- “I come to counsel Christians they should belie themselves.”
- Hale explains his reversal: he is now telling believing Christians to lie about their consciences to save their lives.
Theme
- Power — Danforth refuses to pause because a postponement would expose his own doubt and undermine the court's authority.
- Guilt — Hale's 'blood on my head' and 'Devil's work' show a man who knows he is complicit and cannot stop.
What this chapter teaches
Teaching points
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Language points
Click a card to jump to its moment in the videoGolden lines
A great line in its own right — why and how to use it“I come to do the Devil's work.”
Why it's great
One line turns the minister into the devil's helper, and the self-mockery carries his guilt.
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literary
Use it yourself
I come to do the Devil's work and close the whole office.
“While I speak God's law, I will not crack its voice with whimpering.”
Why it's great
He makes the law a voice and refuses to crack it with whimpering, a cold, vivid image.
Register
Formal
Use it yourself
While I run this team, I will not crack its rules with excuses.
“I come to counsel Christians they should belie themselves.”
Why it's great
Calling his task making Christians belie themselves sums up his moral trap in one verb.
Register
literary
Use it yourself
I come to counsel clients they should contradict themselves.
Monologue
One character carrying the scene — shadow the whole passage❝ Danforth refuses to postpone
Now hear me, and beguile yourselves no more. I will not receive a single plea for pardon or postponement. Them that will not confess will hang. Twelve are already executed; the names of these seven are given out, and the village expects to see them die this morning. Postponement now speaks a floundering on my part; reprieve or pardon must cast doubt upon the guilt of them that died till now. While I speak God's law, I will not crack its voice with whimpering. If retaliation is your fear, know this - I should hang ten thousand that dared to rise against the law, and an ocean of salt tears could not melt the resolution of the statutes. Now draw yourselves up like men and help me, as you are bound by Heaven to do.
It seizes the floor, then builds a wall of law without yielding an inch.
❝ Hale's confession
I come to do the Devil's work. I come to counsel Christians they should belie themselves. There is blood on my head! Can you not see the blood on my head?
A few short lines turn him into the devil's helper and end with blood on his head.
Up next · 27cleave toThe scene: Hale Urges Elizabeth to Save ProctorTakeaways
What you walk away with- Do my utmost is a solemn promise to try to the limit.
- Cast doubt upon makes something look uncertain.
- Not budge means refusing to yield even slightly.
- Devil's work is ironic self-mockery from a minister.
People also search
Questions, then the linesWhy does Hale want to postpone the hangings?
He wants more time to persuade the prisoners to confess, which would save their lives. He argues that unconfessed martyrs only multiply doubt among the town.
Why does Danforth refuse to postpone?
A delay would suggest he was wrong. Twelve people have already been hanged for the same crime, so pausing now would cast doubt on their guilt and on his judgment.
What does Hale mean by 'I come to do the Devil's work'?
He means he is doing evil in God's name: persuading innocent Christians to lie and confess goes against everything he believes, yet he does it to save them.
What does 'I should hang ten thousand' show about Danforth?
It shows his resolve and his pride. He says he would hang ten thousand rebels rather than see the law defied, even as the town falls apart.
What has happened to the town of Salem?
Hale describes orphans wandering, abandoned cattle, rotting crops, and people afraid of being accused, warning Danforth that rebellion is close.