
“It is easier to denature plutonium than it is to denature the evil spirit of man.”
1940s
Source: The Real Problem Is in the Hearts of Men http://books.google.com/books?id=AIHgK-p6mhgC&q=%22It+is+easier+to+denature+plutonium+than+it+is+to+denature+the+evil+spirit+of+man%22&pg=PA385#v=onepage, The New York Times Magazine ( June 23, 1946 http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60715F63E5C14738DDDAA0A94DE405B8688F1D3)