Sentence:  The slave fully appreciates the saying, "where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise." When old master's gestures were violent, ending with a threatening shake of the head, and a sharp snap of his middle finger and thumb, I deemed it wise to keep at a respectable distance from him; for, at such times, trifling faults stood, in his eyes, as momentous <WSD>offenses</WSD>; and, having both the power and the disposition, the victim had only to be near him to catch the punishment, deserved or undeserved. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  a crime or sin