The Devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.
An evil soul, producing holy witness,
Is like a villain with a smiling cheek,
A goodly apple rotten at the heart.
O, what a goodly outside falsehood hath!
Merchant of Venice, Act i. Sc. 3. SHAKESPEARE.
But then I sigh, and with a piece of Scripture
Tell them that God bids us do good for evil:
And thus I clothe my naked villany
With odd old ends stol'n forth of holy writ,
And seem a saint when most I play the devil.
King Richard III., Act i. Sc. 3. SHAKESPEARE.
O villain, villain, smiling damnèd villain!
My tables,—meet it is I set it down,
That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain.
Hamlet, Act i. Sc. 5. SHAKESPEARE.
That practised falsehood under saintly shew,
Deep malice to conceal, couched with revenge.
Paradise Lost, Bk. IV. MILTON.
Built God a church, and laughed his word to scorn.
Retirement. W. COWPER.
And the devil did grin, for his darling sin
Is pride that apes humility.
The Devil's Thoughts. S.T. COLERIDGE.
O, what may man within him hide,
Though angel on the outward side!
Measure for Measure, Act iii. Sc. 2. SHAKESPEARE.
'Tis too much proved—that with devotion's visage
And pious action we do sugar o'er
The devil himself.
Hamlet, Act iii, Sc. 1. SHAKESPEARE.
I waive the quantum o' the sin,
The hazard of concealing:
But, och! it hardens a' within,
And petrifies the feeling.
Epistle to a Young Friend. R. BURNS.