half-proofs

Updated: July 1, 2025

He made the audience shudder at the probable condition of the senator; then he massed together proofs, half-proofs, and probabilities with a cleverness stimulated by a sense that his zeal was certain of its reward, and sat down tranquilly to await the fire of his opponents. Monsieur de Grandville never argued but this one criminal case; and it made his reputation.

Honoré de Balzac - An Historical Mystery