Pontius Pilate! God will not let you wash your hands of this!
– Arthur Miller
The Crucible, Act 2. Proctor compares Hale to Pontius Pilate when he fails to intervene to stop Elizabeth being arrested for witchcraft. This is an allusion to the Bible story of how Pilate washed his hands when he ordered Christ’s crucifixion as a symbol that his death was not his fault.