"I lie, but in service of truth! Unlike the old liars, who only lied self-servingly. Yes, there are those who hide among my ranks who speak and act exactly like me, but our institution is better because it serves truth! No, I can't prove that once bad agents are introduced."
It's possible that the only mistake in burning people at the stake was that the people who performed these acts should also have been so burned for the same charges.