Excellency, it is a natural lie to tell; I beg you, stop now before another is condemned! I may shut my conscience to it no more – private vengeance is working through this testimony! From the beginning this man has struck me true. By my oath to Heaven, I believe him now, and I pray you call back his wife before we – .
– Arthur Miller
The Crucible, Act 3. Hale realizes now what John Proctor had known all along, that Abigail’s witchcraft accusations are nothing but lies driven by a desire for vengeance. The witch-hunter, misguided and naive at first, is riddled with guilt and seeks redemption for wrongly condemning people to die. He shows his moral integrity in this plea to Danforth by trying to put a stop to the witchcraft court proceedings. The "natural lie" referred to is Elizabeth’s lie that John is not a lecher.