midnight
And it is a point of vast interest whether the soul may contract such stains in all their depth and flagrancy from deeds which may have been plotted and resolved upon , but which physically have never had existence . Must the fleshly hand and visible frame of man set its seal to the evil designs of the soul , in order to give them their entire validity against the sinner ? Or , while none but crimes perpetrated are cognizable before an earthly tribunal , will guilty thoughts -- of which guilty deeds are no more than shadows , -- will these draw down the full weight of a condemning sentence in the supreme court of eternity ? In the solitude of a midnight chamber or in a desert afar from men or in a church while the body is kneeling the soul may pollute itself even with those crimes which we are accustomed to deem altogether carnal . If this be true , it is a fearful truth . Let us illustrate the subject by an imaginary example . A venerable gentleman -- one Mr. Smith -- who had long been regarded as a pattern of moral excellence was warming his aged blood with a glass or two of generous wine .