Wide context

Complete PICLE corpus of essays by Polish advanced EFL students (330,000)

/^t/Charles Baudelaire once wrote: 'My dear brothers, never forget, when you hear the progress of the Enlightenment praised, that the Devil's cleverest ploy is to persuade you that he doesn't exist.' This may be true but statements like this are impossible to verify. What is important is not whether we believe in the existence of the Devil or not, but whether we respect the concept. The idea of evil, and its realization in the concept of Satan, is crucial for the health of society. It is a defence mechanism that helps society to deal with the overpowering wickedness of the world; it serves as a moral litmus test revealing the true nature of our deeds; finally, becauseof its politically correct character, it saves women from having to take full responsibility for the Fall of Man.