Today’s wisdom comes from The Bard of Avon himself, William Shakespeare who has all kinds of wisdom cleverly implanted in his many works of comedy, tragedy, history and poetry. The quote is “The devil can cite scripture of his purpose”.
It’s the classic wolf in sheep’s clothing scenario. Beware of hidden agendas and be aware of those who see the world through convenient filters in that they tend to justify behavior under the guise of belief systems.
We should be equally aware of these filters in ourselves. Sometimes, what we take on faith or mistake for fact can be a lack of intellectual honesty and authenticity.
The full quote from The Merchant of Venice as uttered by the character Antonio:
“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!”
― William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice
