For every man who lives without freedom, the rest of us must face the guilt.
—Lillian Hellman (1905–84) American Dramatist, Memoirist
Merciful death! How you love your precious guilt.
—Anne Rice (1941–2021) American Author
If the soul is left in darkness, sins will be committed. The guilty one is not he who commits the sin, but he who causes the darkness.
—Victor Hugo (1802–85) French Novelist
Guilt’s a terrible thing.
—Ben Jonson (1572–1637) English Dramatist, Poet, Actor
The mind of guilt is full of scorpions.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
Jews don’t go to confession. They don’t want to relieve the guilt. screenwriter of FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME.
—Unknown
Guilt soon learns to lie.
—Mary Elizabeth Braddon (1835–1915) English Novelist
He through whose agency another has been falsely punished stands outside of heaven’s gates.
—The Talmud Sacred Text of the Jewish Faith
He who helps the guilty, shares the crime.
—Publilius Syrus (fl.85–43 BCE) Syrian-born Roman Latin Writer
It is more dangerous that even a guilty person should be punished without the forms of law than that he should escape.
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) American Head of State, Lawyer
Better it were, that all the miseries which nature owns were ours at once, than guilt.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
It is criminal to steal a purse, daring to steal a fortune, a mark of greatness to steal a crown. The blame diminishes as the guilt increases.
—Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805) German Poet, Dramatist
Nothing is more wretched that the mind of a man conscious of guilt.
—Plautus (Titus Maccius Plautus) (c.250–184 BCE) Roman Comic Playwright
The gods Grow angry with your patience. ‘Tis their care, And must be yours, that guilty men escape not: As crimes do grow, justice should rouse itself.
—Ben Jonson (1572–1637) English Dramatist, Poet, Actor
Those who start war often know that because of their high political position their own lives will not be in danger on the Diane Rehm Show.
—Jimmy Carter (1924–2024) 39th US President, Humanitarian
Seek to make a person blush for their guilt rather than shed their blood.
—Tacitus (56–117) Roman Orator, Historian
How unhappy is he who cannot forgive himself.
—Publilius Syrus (fl.85–43 BCE) Syrian-born Roman Latin Writer
Sin with the multitude, and your responsibility and guilt are as great and as truly personal, as if you alone had done the wrong.
—Tryon Edwards (1809–94) American Theologian, Author
Guilt is a spiritual Rubicon.
—Jane Porter (1776–1850) Scottish Novelist, Dramatist, Pioneer of Historical Fiction
The greatest incitement to guilt is the hope of sinning with impunity.
—Cicero (106BCE–43BCE) Roman Philosopher, Orator, Politician, Lawyer
Punishment closely follows guilt as its companion.
—Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus) (65–8 BCE) Roman Poet
I esteem death a trifle, if not caused by guilt.
—Plautus (Titus Maccius Plautus) (c.250–184 BCE) Roman Comic Playwright
It is quite gratifying to feel guilty if you haven’t done anything wrong: how noble! Whereas it is rather hard and certainly depressing to admit guilt and to repent.
—Hannah Arendt (1906–75) German-American Philosopher, Political Theorist
God hath yoked to guilt, her pale tormentor, misery.
—William Cullen Bryant (1794–1878) American Romantic Poet, Journalist, Editor
Oh, she is fallen into a pit of ink that the wide sea hath drops too few to wash her clean again!
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
A wicked conscience mouldeth goblins swift as frenzy thoughts.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
Defending the truth is not something one does out of a sense of duty or to allay guilt complexes, but is a reward in itself.
—Simone de Beauvoir (1908–86) French Philosopher, Writer, Feminist
Guilt upon the conscience, like rust upon iron, both defiles and consumes it, gnawing and creeping into it, as that does which at last eats out the very heart and substance of the metal.
—Robert South (1634–1716) English Theologian, Preacher
The thinking man must oppose all cruel customs no matter how deeply rooted in tradition and surrounded by a halo. When we have a choice, we must avoid bringing torment and injury into the life of another, even the lowliest creature; to do so is to renounce our manhood and shoulder a guilt which nothing justifies.
—Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965) French Theologian, Philosopher, Musician, Physician
It is the confession, not the priest, that gives us absolution.
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Playwright
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