However evil men may be they dare not be openly hostile to virtue, and so when they want to attack it they pretend to find it spurious , or impute crimes to it.

Summary

This quote asserts that even evil individuals are cautious about openly opposing virtue. Instead, they resort to a deceptive strategy of undermining it by falsely claiming it to be fake or attributing wrongdoing to it. By doing so, they try to tarnish the reputation of virtue and weaken its influence while avoiding direct confrontation. It implies that the power of virtue is so widely acknowledged that even those who lack it feel compelled to devise covert means to attack and discredit it.

Topics