Pillars of Justice, by Mirza Abu Taleb Khan

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THE woman, perceiving her error, addressed the judge, and said, “My lord, your lordship has for many years presided in this court, and every day, that you come here, ascend a flight of stairs: may I beg to know how many steps these stairs consist of?” The judge confessed he did not know: “Then,” replied she, “if your lordship cannot tell the number of steps you ascend daily to the seat of Justice, it cannot be astonishing that I should forget the number of pillars in a balcony, which I never entered half a dozen times in my life.” The judge was much pleased with the woman’s wit, and decided in favour of her party.

by Mirza Abu Taleb Khan 1752-1806

From ‘Travels Of Mirza Abu Taleb Khan’ (1814), by Mirza Abu Taleb Khan (1752-1806), translated by Charles Stewart. With minor emendations to improve readability.

Précis

The witness turned and asked the judge how many steps there were up to his bench. When he could not answer, she protested that if he did not have perfect knowledge of his own courtroom she could not be expected to have perfect knowledge of someone else’s veranda, and the judge (not ill-pleased by this banter) ruled in her favour.

Questions for Critics

1. What is the author aiming to achieve in writing this?

2. Note any words, devices or turns of phrase that strike you. How do they help the author communicate his ideas more effectively?

3. What impression does this passage make on you? How might you put that impression into words?

Based on The English Critic (1939) by NL Clay, drawing on The New Criticism: A Lecture Delivered at Columbia University, March 9, 1910, by J. E. Spingarn, Professor of Comparative Literature in Columbia University, USA.

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