
The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.魔鬼也能利用《圣经》干自己的勾当。
这条谚语出自莎士比亚的名著《威尼斯商人》(The Merchant of Venice),原文是:
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:
Oh, what a goodly outside falsehood hath!
此外他在另外一剧《理查二世》(Richard Ⅱ)中也有类似的话:
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 villainy
With old odd ends, stolen out of holy writ;
And seem a saint, when most I play the devil.
其他有关谚语也有:
Fine words dress ill deeds.
美言掩饰恶行。
Pretended holiness is double iniquity.
伪装神圣应罪加一等。
这种魔鬼也是中国成语中所谓“口是心非”、“表里不一”的人。

