Guilt Quotes | Beyond Motive

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Guilt Quotes

"My guiding principle is this: Guilt is never to be doubted."

"My guiding principle is this: Guilt is never to be doubted."

Franz Kafka, Austrian Novelist

15

"I'm an Irish Catholic and I have a long iceberg of guilt."

"I'm an Irish Catholic and I have a long iceberg of guilt."

Edna O'Brien, Irish Novelist

12

"What is guilt? Guilt is the pledge drive constantly hammering in our heads that keeps us from fully enjoying the show. Guilt is the reason they put the articles in Playboy."

"What is guilt? Guilt is the pledge drive constantly hammering in our heads that keeps us from fully enjoying the show. Guilt is the reason they put the articles in Playboy."

Dennis Miller, American Comedian

8

"Guilt is the price we pay willingly for doing what we are going to do anyway."

"Guilt is the price we pay willingly for doing what we are going to do anyway."

Isabelle Holland, Swiss Writer

7

"I suffer from Irish-Catholic guilt. Guilt is a good reality check. It keeps that 'do what makes you happy' thing in check."

"I suffer from Irish-Catholic guilt. Guilt is a good reality check. It keeps that 'do what makes you happy' thing in check."

Edward Burns, American Actor

Guilt, Irish, Reality

7

"Alas! how difficult it is not to betray one's guilt by one's looks."

"Alas! how difficult it is not to betray one's guilt by one's looks."

Ovid, Roman Poet

6

"Feelings of guilt are the worst punishment. You are being punished by yourself."

"Feelings of guilt are the worst punishment. You are being punished by yourself."

Debasish Mridha, American Author

Guilt, Self, Punishment, Growth

6

"Guilt is a weird thing to me. I don't have a lot of it."

"Guilt is a weird thing to me. I don't have a lot of it."

Andy Dick, American Actor

6

"Nothing is more wretched than the mind of a man conscious of guilt."

"Nothing is more wretched than the mind of a man conscious of guilt."

Titus Maccius Plautus, Roman Poet

Guilt, Man, Mind, Nothing

5

"There is no such thing as collective guilt."

"There is no such thing as collective guilt."

Kurt Waldheim, Austrian Politician

5

"Hard though it may be to accept, remember that guilt is sometimes a friendly internal voice reminding you that you're messing up."

"Hard though it may be to accept, remember that guilt is sometimes a friendly internal voice reminding you that you're messing up."

Marge Kennedy, American Author

Guilt, May, Voice

4

"It's great to be recognized when I'm looking for a table at a crowded restaurant, but I still don't put it to best use. I'm such a lump. I won't cut the line. It's my Catholic guilt. I gotta get used to it."

"It's great to be recognized when I'm looking for a table at a crowded restaurant, but I still don't put it to best use. I'm such a lump. I won't cut the line. It's my Catholic guilt. I gotta get used to it."

Christopher Meloni, American Actor

4

"With a parent, it's always guilt. You want to be there, but you kind of also want to be here."

"With a parent, it's always guilt. You want to be there, but you kind of also want to be here."

Heather Locklear, American Actress

4

"I don't feel guilt. Whatever I wish to do, I do."

"I don't feel guilt. Whatever I wish to do, I do."

Jeanne Moreau, French Actress

4

"Whether they knew of didn't know is not the main issue; the main issue is whether a man is innocent because he didn't know. (...) by beating himself on the chest and proclaiming, "My conscience is clear! I did not know! I was a believer!" Isn't his "I did not know I was a believer!" at the very root of his irreparable guilt?"

"Whether they knew of didn't know is not the main issue; the main issue is whether a man is innocent because he didn't know. (...) by beating himself on the chest and proclaiming, "My conscience is clear! I did not know! I was a believer!" Isn't his "I did not know I was a believer!" at the very root of his irreparable guilt?"

Milan Kundera, Czechoslovakian Writer

Guilt, Belief, Innocence, Conscience

4

"Of course we're guilty!-That's what we've got pardons for!"

"Of course we're guilty!-That's what we've got pardons for!"

Anthony T. Hincks, British Writer

Guilt, Justice, Life, Truth

4

"How blunt are all the arrows of thy quiver in comparison with those of guilt."

"How blunt are all the arrows of thy quiver in comparison with those of guilt."

Robert Blair, American Poet

4

"Canon law itself says for one case of guilt, a priest can be dismissed from the clerical state. One."

"Canon law itself says for one case of guilt, a priest can be dismissed from the clerical state. One."

Roger Mahony, American Clergyman

Guilt, Law, State

3

"There's no regret. You can't regret. I mean, I've felt regret but I've also refused to allow regret to sow a seed and live in me because I don't believe it. You feel it, it's like guilt, it's like jealousy, it's like all those horrible things. You've just got to snip them and get them out, because they're no good."

"There's no regret. You can't regret. I mean, I've felt regret but I've also refused to allow regret to sow a seed and live in me because I don't believe it. You feel it, it's like guilt, it's like jealousy, it's like all those horrible things. You've just got to snip them and get them out, because they're no good."

Jude Law, British Actor

Guilt, Jealousy, Regret

3

"The worst guilt is to accept an unearned guilt."

"The worst guilt is to accept an unearned guilt."

Ayn Rand, Russian Writer

3

"This feeling of guilt is your conscience calling your attention to the higher road, and your heart wishing you had taken it."

"This feeling of guilt is your conscience calling your attention to the higher road, and your heart wishing you had taken it."

Richelle E. Goodrich, American Poet

Guilt, Regret, Truth, Wisdom, Power

3

"A pang of guilt, like a blaring siren, should never be ignored."

"A pang of guilt, like a blaring siren, should never be ignored."

Richelle E. Goodrich, American Poet

Guilt, Truth, Wisdom, Life

2

"Out, damned spot! out, I say!"

"Out, damned spot! out, I say!"

William Shakespeare, English Dramatist

Guilt, Regret, Truth, Power, Life

2

"How now! Here's the smell of the blood still: all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand." Lady Macbeth."

"How now! Here's the smell of the blood still: all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand." Lady Macbeth."

William Shakespeare, English Dramatist

Guilt, Truth, Power, Regret, Life

2

"Vultures pick the meat clean off a bone. Guilt eats at the marrow, leaving a man hollow."

"Vultures pick the meat clean off a bone. Guilt eats at the marrow, leaving a man hollow."

Richelle E. Goodrich, American Poet

Guilt, Regret, Truth, Power, Wisdom

2

"Repentant tears wash out the stain of guilt."

"Repentant tears wash out the stain of guilt."

Saint Aurelius Augustine, Roman Theologian

2

"What man ever openly apologizes for slander? It is not so much a feeling of slander as it is that of a massive lie, a misdeed not only to the slandered but also to those manipulated in the process. He has made them all, every one, his enemies, thereupon he is so overwhelmed with guilt that he will deny it until his grave."

"What man ever openly apologizes for slander? It is not so much a feeling of slander as it is that of a massive lie, a misdeed not only to the slandered but also to those manipulated in the process. He has made them all, every one, his enemies, thereupon he is so overwhelmed with guilt that he will deny it until his grave."

Criss Jami, American Philosopher

Guilt, Apology, Truth, Reputation

2

"Consider guilt like a street sign that warns of rough roads ahead if you don't make a u-turn."

"Consider guilt like a street sign that warns of rough roads ahead if you don't make a u-turn."

Richelle E. Goodrich, American Poet

Guilt, Regret, Truth, Wisdom, Today

2

"I had told him I was searching for my keys, that's what had taken me so long in the car, and I squeezed him tighter, as if I could crush my little lie."

"I had told him I was searching for my keys, that's what had taken me so long in the car, and I squeezed him tighter, as if I could crush my little lie."

Mitch Albom, American Writer

Guilt, Deception, Lie, Trust

2

"At the same time I know that it's not really their fault, at least not completely. I did my part too. I did it on a hundred different days and in a thousand different ways, and I know it. But this makes the anger worse, not better."

"At the same time I know that it's not really their fault, at least not completely. I did my part too. I did it on a hundred different days and in a thousand different ways, and I know it. But this makes the anger worse, not better."

Lauren Oliver, American Author

Guilt, Anger, Blame, Responsibility

1

"It was something quite special, that feeling: an oppressive, hideous constraint as if I were sitting with the small ghost of somebody I had just killed."

"It was something quite special, that feeling: an oppressive, hideous constraint as if I were sitting with the small ghost of somebody I had just killed."

Vladimir Nabokov, American Novelist

Guilt, Memory, Emotion, Truth

1

"Maybe time would not feel as heavy if I didn't have this guilt - the guilt of knowing the truth and stuffing it down where no one can see it."

"Maybe time would not feel as heavy if I didn't have this guilt - the guilt of knowing the truth and stuffing it down where no one can see it."

Veronica Roth, American Author

Guilt, Truth, Regret, Time

1

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