quotations about shame
Shame is a part of original sin.
JOHN HUMPHREY NOYES
attributed, Day's Collacon
Shame corrodes the very part of us that believes we are capable of change.
BRENE BROWN
I Thought It Was Just Me
Shame ... ever sticks close to the ribs of honor.
THOMAS MIDDLETON
The Mayor of Queenborough; Or Hengist, King of Kent
Mine has been a life of much shame. I can't even guess what it must be to live the life of a human being.
OSAMU DAZAI
No Longer Human
It is safest to be moderately base--to be flexible in shame, and to be always ready for what is generous, good and just, when anything is to be gained by virtue.
SYDNEY SMITH
The Works of the Rev. Sydney Smith
If we can share our story with someone who responds with empathy and understanding, shame can't survive.
BRENE BROWN
Daring Greatly
I want to drag knives over my skin, just to feel something other than shame, but I'm not even brave enough for that.
PAULA HAWKINS
The Girl on the Train
Where there is shame there is virtue.
JOHANN RIST
attributed, Day's Collacon
Time was when most people didn't want to admit feelings shame, but even that terribly crippling feeling is more out in the open now than it used to be. Admitting shame is admitting a flaw or a defect in oneself, as if there is something wrong with the person's being. Talking about feeling shame or guilt can make a person feel exposed and vulnerable; it can also lead to grace.
JEANIE MILEY
"Growing Edges: Talking about shame and guilt can lead to grace", Standard-Times, August 19, 2017
Though honor might possess certain advantages, yet shame had others, and not inferior.
THOMAS MANN
The Magic Mountain
The secret thoughts of a man run over all things, holy, profane, clean, obscene, grave, and light, without shame or blame.
THOMAS HOBBES
Leviathan
The only shame is to have none.
BLAISE PASCAL
Pensées
Shame makes the world go around.
MORISSEY
"Shame Is The Name"
Shame is the turnkey that keeps our evil desires in jail.
AUSTIN O'MALLEY
Keystones of Thought
Shame is the lie someone told you about yourself.
ANAIS NIN
attributed, Why Men Fall Out of Love
Shame is an uncomfortable companion, it makes you want to climb out of your skin.
ZOE FITZGERALD CARTER
"Charlottesville rage rooted in white shame", San Francisco Chronicle, August 26, 2017
Shame is a great concealer of tears.
ALTAHIYA
attributed, Day's Collacon
Only man can blush.
No other creature knows of shame.
Why have we wandered so far away
From simple honesty?
EDWIN LEIBFREED
"The Song of the Soul"
One of the misfortunes of our time is that in getting rid of false shame we have killed off so much real shame as well.
LOUIS KRONENBERGER
Company Manners
Once shame touches your being at any point, even the most distant nerve is implicated, whether you know it or not; any fleeting encounter or random thought will rake up the anguish and add to it.
STEFAN ZWEIG
The Post Office Girl