During a certain period of his life, the Vilna Gaon traveled from town to town on a self-imposed exile. One day, when the Gaon was riding in a wagon driven by a Jew, the horse strayed from the road and landed in a field owned by a gentile. The angry farmer ran over to the Vilna Gaon to hit him. The Vilna Gaon later related to his disciple Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin, "My first impulse was to place the blame on the wagon driver; but I resisted the temptation. Even had the wagon driver been financially responsible, he certainly did not deserve to be physically assaulted. Had I named the driver as the responsible person, I would have been guilty of malshinus. My entire accumulation of Torah and mitzvos would not have saved me from a most severe punishment. (Chofetz Chaim in Shem Olam).
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