To confess a fault freely is the next thing to being innocent of it.

To confess a fault freely is the next thing to being innocent of it.

Nothing spoils a confession like repentance.

Nothing spoils a confession like repentance.

There are things to confess that enrich the world, and things that need not be said.

There are things to confess that enrich the world, and things that need not be said.

Confession is good for the soul only in the sense that a tweed coat is good for dandruff--it is a read more

Confession is good for the soul only in the sense that a tweed coat is good for dandruff--it is a palliative rather than a remedy.

Confess yourself to heaven,
Repent what's past, avoid what is to come,
And do not spread the read more

Confess yourself to heaven,
Repent what's past, avoid what is to come,
And do not spread the compost on the weeds
To make them ranker.

A man's very highest moment is, I have no doubt at all, when he kneels in the dust, and beats read more

A man's very highest moment is, I have no doubt at all, when he kneels in the dust, and beats his breast, and tells all the sins of his life.

Faith is confirmed by the heart, confessed by the tongue, and acted upon by the body

Faith is confirmed by the heart, confessed by the tongue, and acted upon by the body

There is no refuge from confession but suicide; and suicide is confession

There is no refuge from confession but suicide; and suicide is confession

It is the confession, not the priest, that gives us absolution

It is the confession, not the priest, that gives us absolution