In ecclesiastical procedure this expedient was frequently adopted.

And there was yet another reason, a very strong one, for passing her off as an innocent, a damsel devoid of intelligence.

This second trial, like the first, had been instituted with a political motive; its object was to make known that Jeanne had come to the aid of the King of France not by devilish incitement, but by celestial inspiration.

Consequently in order that divine wisdom might be made manifest in her she must be shown to have had no wisdom of her own.

On this string the examiners were constantly harping.