Notice:

[surei]

The Malebranche ("evil claws") are so much at liberty because of the "evil" clause, which, of comparatively recent date, states in so many words that merely sinning is not enough to earn eternal damnation; one's character and inclinations must be thoroughly bad. Because of this, those whose task nominally is to encourage, by their treatment and presence, crooked barristers, sellers of indulgences, and other like souls, to stay beneath the surface of the lake of boiling tar which is ever after their fate, have so little to do that they can often be found walking among men, wearing human guise, and seeking entertainment at bars, clubs, raves, coffee houses, and parks. Shocking as such conduct may be, bear in mind that, though demons, they are not the enemy. Their place is to torture, not to tempt, and nothing but the most extreme of exigencies* would cause them to abandon the purpose for which they have been created.



* to put it properly, they're bored out of their minds and aware that they've been lost in the system. But it would never do for a notice to say that.