"Those I call evil are utterly dedicated to preserving their self-image of perfection. They are unceasingly engaged in the effort to maintain the appearance of moral purity. They worry about this a great deal. They are acutely sensitive to social norms and what others might think of them. They dress well, go to work on time, and outwardly seem to live lives that are above reproach.

The words "image," "appearance," and "outwardly" are crucial to understanding the morality of the evil. While they seem to lack any motivation to be good, they intensely desire to appear to be good. Their "goodness" is on a level of pretense. It is, in effect, a lie… a lie designed not so much to deceive others as to deceive themselves."

–M. Scott Peck, PEOPLE OF THE LIE, Toward a Psychology of Evil