And just as those whose courage shines the most
in battle are the least inclined to boast,
so those whose hearts are truly pure and lowly
don’t make a flashy show of being holy.

There’s a vast difference, so it seems to me,
between true piety and hypocrisy:
How do you fail to see it, may I ask?
Is not a face quite different from a mask?
Cannot sincerity and cunning art,
Reality and semblance, be told apart?
Are scarecrows just like men, and do you hold
that a false coin is just as good as gold?

Ah, Brother, man’s a strangely fashioned creature
who seldom is content to follow Nature,
but recklessly pursues his inclination
beyond the narrow bounds of moderation,
and often, by transgressing Reason’s laws,
Perverts a lofty aim or noble cause.

A passing observation, but it applies.
- Cleante, Tartuffe by Jean-Baptiste Poquelin Moliere