And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing.
Ver. 12. He answered nothing] Here the nimble lawyer would have presently argued, as the pope's legate did at the meeting of the princes at Smalcaldia in Germany. He brought letters from the pope to the elector of Saxony; and because the elector gave him not a present answer, he inferred, Qui tacet consentire videtur. Melancthon being by, made answer, Hoc est sophisticum; est regula iuris, sed non valet inconiecturalibus. Nam dicit, videtur, et argumentum videtur; solvitur per non videtur. a Christ therefore answered nothing, because they alleged nothing but notorious lies, and such as he saw well the governor himself saw through, and therefore tried so many policies to set him free.
a Joh. Manl. loc. com. p. 406.