A minister may pray to God without he have golden candlesticks upon the altar.
– Arthur Miller
The Crucible, Act 2. Proctor highlights the greed of Reverend Parris to visiting witchcraft investigator Hale. John tells him that since Salem’s church was built by the community, it had pewter candlesticks on the altar made by Rebecca Nurse. But when Parris came to Salem he insisted on golden candlesticks to replace these. To Proctor the lavish candlesticks are a symbol of Parris’s hypocrisy and materialism.