Theology, sir, is a fortress; no crack in a fortress may be accounted small.
– Arthur Miller
The Crucible, Act 2. The importance of religion and unswerving faith to the church is highlighted by Hale using this metaphor. After John Proctor forgets the seventh commandment and describes it as a small fault, Hale compares theology to a fortress, in which no crack may be seen as small. He is suggesting that even the smallest gap in one’s faith may allow the Devil in.