And this is the forbidden truth, the unspeakable taboo - that evil is not always repellent but frequently attractive; that it has the power to make of us not simply victims, as nature and accident do, but active accomplices.

. . . there is a wish in the heart of mankind to be distracted and confused. Truth is but one attraction, and not always the most powerful.

I'm sure all that you've heard is just the usual gossip, invented to injure feelings rather than illuminate truth.

like all virtuous people he imagines he must speak the truth ...

Not even the most devastating truth can be told; it must be evoked.