God in Heaven, what is John Proctor, what is John Proctor? I think it is honest, I think so; I am no saint. Let Rebecca go like a saint; for me it is fraud!
– Arthur Miller
The Crucible, Act 4. Proctor, wrestling with his conscience and guilt, is persuaded to make a false confession to witchcraft to avoid the gallows. With some irony he describes agreeing this lie as being "honest." But he believes it would be an even greater lie for a lecher and sinner like him to go to the gallows with sinless people like Rebecca Nurse. In a simile, he compares her to a saint.