Measure for Measure Act 2, Scene 1 "Scarecrow of the Law"

Angelo, "We must not make a scarecrow of the law, Setting it up to fear the birds of prey. And let it keep one shape, till custom make it, Their perch and not their terror."

Here, when Angelo is talking to Escalus, Shakespeare is criticizing the enforced blanket of law by saying it is not rigid enough in the face of temptation. In essence, Angelo is proclaiming that the law should hold society up instead of break it down. By evoking the concept of "custom," Angelo illustrates that while customs guide Elizabethian society, laws are still needed to maintain order. Angelo establishes that the "birds of prey" of society (the powerful yet not entirely rich or noble men in society) cannot continue to fear the legal system because it is this exact system that legitimized their power and relative hiearchy. After Escalus responds to Angelo's scarecrow analogy, Angelo bites back with a pivotal allusionary line in the play.

"Tis one thing to be tempted, Escalus. Another thing to fall."

In essence, wanting to eat the apple in the Garden of Eden and actually eating the apple are not mutually exclusive. However, in Shakespeare's day, thinking of committing acts of treason, slander, libel and actually committing these acts was thought as one of the same. Thus, 'Measure for Measure' probes whether the reader first, thinks 'considering' and actually 'acting' are equal, and second, to ponder the question of fairness between the realms of our minds and the realms of our actions.