WIST Quotations

Kerr, Jean -- Essay (1958-07), “Hand Me My Dark Glasses,” McCall’s Magazine

Dave — Tue, 12 May 2026 14:34:15 +0000

I make mistakes — I’ll be the second to admit it.

Jean Kerr (1922-2003) American author and playwright [b. Bridget Jean Collins]
Essay (1958-07), “Hand Me My Dark Glasses,” McCall’s Magazine
(Source)

Collected in her The Snake Has All the Lines (1960) as "I Was a Sand Crab."

The original in McCall's has what I suspect is an incorrect "correction" from an editor, reading "I'll be the first to admit it," which is not particularly funny. The "second" text appears in the book.

Fuller, Thomas (1654) -- Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 1, # 84 (1725)

Dave — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 15:08:19 +0000

If thou wilt be cured of thy Ignorance, confess it.

Thomas Fuller (1654-1734) English physician, preacher, aphorist, writer
Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 1, # 84 (1725)
(Source)

McLaughlin, Mignon -- The Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 4 (1963)

Dave — Wed, 05 Jun 2024 15:57:28 +0000

It does not undo harm to acknowledge that we have done it; but it undoes us not to acknowledge it.

Mignon McLaughlin (1913-1983) American journalist and author
The Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 4 (1963)
(Source)

Shakespeare, William -- Winter’s Tale, Act 1, sc. 2, l. 310ff (1.2.310-325) (1611)

Dave — Mon, 22 Jan 2024 16:55:02 +0000

CAMILLO:My gracious lord,
I may be negligent, foolish, and fearful.
In every one of these no man is free,
But that his negligence, his folly, fear,
Among the infinite doings of the world,
Sometime puts forth. In your affairs, my lord,
If ever I were willful-negligent,
It was my folly; if industriously
I played the fool, it was my negligence,
Not weighing well the end; if ever fearful
To do a thing where I the issue doubted,
Whereof the execution did cry out
Against the non-performance, ’twas a fear
Which oft infects the wisest. These, my lord,
Are such allowed infirmities that honesty
Is never free of.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
Winter’s Tale, Act 1, sc. 2, l. 310ff (1.2.310-325) (1611)
(Source)

France, Anatole -- The Gods Will Have Blood [Les Dieux Ont Soif], ch. 19 [Brotteaux] (1912) [tr. Allinson (1913), The Gods Are Athirst]

Dave — Wed, 13 Dec 2023 16:04:09 +0000

Men will readily enough avow cruelty, passion, even avarice, but never cowardice, because such an admission would bring them, among savages and even in civilized society, into mortal danger.

[Les hommes avouent volontiers la cruauté, la colère, l’avarice même, mais jamais la lâcheté, parce que cet aveu les mettrait, chez les sauvages et même dans une société polie, en un danger mortel.]

Anatole France (1844-1924) French poet, journalist, novelist, Nobel Laureate [pseud. of Jaques-Anatole-François Thibault]
The Gods Will Have Blood [Les Dieux Ont Soif], ch. 19 [Brotteaux] (1912) [tr. Allinson (1913), The Gods Are Athirst]
(Source)

(Source (French)). Alternate translation:

Men willingly post of their cruelty, their anger, their greed even, but never of their cowardice, because to admit such a thing would put them, whether in a primitive or a civilized society, in mortal peril.
[tr. Davies (1979)]

Hogan, Robert -- Quoted in Jeffrey Kluger, The Narcissist Next Door, ch. 6 (2014)

Dave — Fri, 16 Sep 2022 21:41:21 +0000

There’s a reason narcissists don’t learn from mistakes and that’s because they never get past the first step, which is admitting that they made one. It’s always an assistant’s fault, an adviser’s fault, a lawyer’s fault. Ask them to account for a mistake any other way and they’ll say, “What mistake?”

Robert Hogan (b. 1937) American psychologist
Quoted in Jeffrey Kluger, The Narcissist Next Door, ch. 6 (2014)
(Source)

Jackson, Robert H. -- United States v. Kahriger, 345 U.S. 36 (1953) [concurring]

Dave — Thu, 14 Jul 2022 14:19:34 +0000

The United States has a system of taxation by confession. That a people so numerous, scattered and individualistic annually assesses itself with a tax liability, often in highly burdensome amounts, is a reassuring sign of the stability and vitality of our system of self-government. What surprised me in once trying to help administer these laws was not to discover examples of recalcitrance, fraud or self-serving mistakes in reporting, but to discover that such derelictions were so few.

Robert H. Jackson (1892-1954) US Supreme Court Justice (1941-54), lawyer, jurist, politician
United States v. Kahriger, 345 U.S. 36 (1953) [concurring]
(Source)

This is often misattributed to Hugo Black, who wrote a dissent in the case.

Adams, Abigail -- Letter to John Adams (19-20 Apr 1764)

Dave — Fri, 25 Mar 2022 17:57:19 +0000

There is something which makes it more agreeable to condemn ourselves than to be condemned by others.

Abigail Adams (1744-1818) American correspondent, First Lady (1797-1801)
Letter to John Adams (19-20 Apr 1764)
(Source)

Dubay, Thomas -- Authenticity: A Biblical Theology of Discernment, Part 2, ch. 6 (1977)

Dave — Mon, 24 Aug 2020 19:50:26 +0000

A candid admission of a blunder is refreshing and not often heard in human affairs. It is the saint alone who is large-minded enough to think and speak in this way. This is part of his authenticity.

Thomas Dubay (1921-2020) American Catholic priest, author, spiritual director
Authenticity: A Biblical Theology of Discernment, Part 2, ch. 6 (1977)
(Source)

Epictetus -- Enchiridion, 33 (c. AD 135) [tr. Long (1888)]

Dave — Thu, 13 Sep 2018 02:52:19 +0000

If a man has reported to you that a certain person speaks ill of you, do not make any defense to what has been told you: but reply, The man did not know the rest of my faults, for he would not have mentioned these only.

Epictetus (c. 55-c. 135 AD) Greek (Phrygian) Stoic philosopher [Ἐπίκτητος, Epíktētos]
Enchiridion, 33 (c. AD 135) [tr. Long (1888)]
(Source)

Alt. trans.: "If anyone tells you that a certain person speaks ill of you, do not make excuses about what is said of you, but answer, 'He was ignorant of my other faults, else he would have not mentioned these alone.'" [tr. Higginson (1948)]

Martial -- Epigrams [Epigrammata], Book 3, epigram 42 (3.42) (AD 87-88) [tr. Pott & Wright (1921)]

Dave — Wed, 01 Nov 2017 16:10:25 +0000

You daub your face and think I shall not see
Your wrinkles. You deceive yourself, not me.
A small defect is nothing when revealed;
But greater seems the blemish ill concealed.

[Lomento rugas uteri quod condere temptas,
Polla, tibi ventrem, non mihi labra linis.
Simpliciter pateat vitium fortasse pusillum:
Quod tegitur, magnum creditur esse malum.]

Martial (AD c.39-c.103) Spanish Roman poet, satirist, epigrammatist [Marcus Valerius Martialis]
Epigrams [Epigrammata], Book 3, epigram 42 (3.42) (AD 87-88) [tr. Pott & Wright (1921)]
(Source)

"To Polla." (Source (Latin)). Alternate translations:

Thou seek'st with lard to smooth thy wrinkled skin,
Bedaub'st thyself, and dost no lover win.
Simple decays men easily pass by,
But, hid, suspect some great deformity.
[tr. Killigrew (1695)]

Leave off thy Paint, Perfumes, and youthful Dress,
And Nature's failing honesty confess;
Double we see those Faults which Art wou'd mend,
Plain downright Ugliness would less offend.
[tr. Sedley (1702), "To Cloe"]

With lotion some wrinkles you labor to hide.
No policy, Polla, you show; but some pride.
A small fault perhaps might more safely appear:
Whatever is hid, draws construction severe.
[tr. Elphinston (1782), Book 6, Part 3, ep. 20]

When you try to conceal your wrinkles, Polla, with paste made from beans, you deceive yourself, not me. Let a defect, which is possibly but small, appear undisguised. A fault concealed is presumed to be great.
[tr. Bohn's Classical (1859)]

Seek not to hide a blemish that's but small.
The fault that's hidden ofttimes greater seems.
[ed. Harbottle (1897)]

You try to conceal your wrinkles by the use of bean-meal, but you plaster your skin, Polla, not my lips. Let a blemish, which perhaps is small, simply show. The flaw which is hidden is deemed greater than it is.
[tr. Ker (1919)]

Applying paste to smooth out the folds in your fat belly only means you are rouging your belly for yourself instead of your lips for me. It wouild be more natural to let that minor flaw stand. The hidden evil is considered worse.
[tr. Bovie (1970)]

You try to hide your belly's wrinkles with bean meal, Polla, but you smear your stomach, not my lips. Better that the blemish, perhaps a trifling one, be frankly shown. Trouble concealed is believed to be greater than it is.
[tr. Shackleton Bailey (1993)]

You use a cream your wrinkles to disguise,
But you're just pulling wool over our eyes.
The wrinkles, left alone, would draw no mention,
But, covered up, they draw closest attention.
[tr. Wills (2007)]

Conceal a flaw, and the world will imagine the worst.
[Source]

Coase, Ronald -- (Attributed)

Dave — Mon, 25 Apr 2016 14:15:47 +0000

If you torture the data long enough, Nature will confess.

Ronald Coase (1910-2013) British economist, academic, author
(Attributed)

Criticizing econometricians. Cited as early as 1977. Variants:

"If you torture data long enough, it will confess to anything you'd like."
"If you torture the data long enough, it will confess to anything."

Lehrer, Tom -- “The Vatican Rag,” That Was the Year That Was (1965)

Dave — Thu, 10 Mar 2016 17:50:39 +0000

Get in line in that processional,
Step into that small confessional.
There the guy who’s got religion’ll
Tell you if your sin’s original.
If it is, try playin’ it safer,
Drink the wine and chew the wafer.
Two, four, six, eight,
Time to transubstantiate!

Tom Lehrer (b. 1928) American mathematician, satirist, songwriter
“The Vatican Rag,” That Was the Year That Was (1965)

Nicoll, James -- “Proposal for a new FAQ or two,” rec.arts.sf.written, Usenet (10 Jun 2005)

Dave — Mon, 29 Feb 2016 15:00:26 +0000

That’s not a nuts thing, that’s a “humans hate to admit error even as they stand there, black and smoldering, with the stub of a cigarette in one hand, in the middle of a wide crater containing them and the remains of a sign that once read ‘DANGER: VOLATILE EXPLOSIVES'” thing. It’s pretty universal.

James Nicoll (b. 1961) Canadian reviewer, editor
“Proposal for a new FAQ or two,” rec.arts.sf.written, Usenet (10 Jun 2005)
(Source)

Franklin, Benjamin -- Poor Richard (1738 ed.)

Dave — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 16:40:52 +0000

None but the well-bred man knows how to confess a fault, or acknowledge himself in error.

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
Poor Richard (1738 ed.)
(Source)

Gabirol, Solomon ibn -- Choice of Pearls, 109 [tr. Cohen (1925)]

Dave — Mon, 30 Nov 2015 16:29:38 +0000

Admit thy guilt and and seek forgiveness, for the denial of guilt is two iniquities.

Solomon ibn Gabirol (fl. 11th Century) Andalusian poet and Jewish philosopher [a.k.a. Solomon ben Judah, Avicebron]
Choice of Pearls, 109 [tr. Cohen (1925)]

Richardson, James -- Vectors: Aphorisms and Ten-Second Essays (2001)

Dave — Fri, 23 Oct 2015 13:15:32 +0000

Laziness is the sin most willingly confessed to, since it implies talents greater than have yet appeared.

James Richardson (b. 1950) American poet
Vectors: Aphorisms and Ten-Second Essays (2001)

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Sr. -- Article (1859-06), “The Professor at the Breakfast-Table,” Atlantic Monthly

Dave — Mon, 21 Jul 2014 13:01:21 +0000

Apologizing. — A very desperate habit, — one that is rarely cured. Apology is only egotism wrong side out. Nine times out of ten, the first thing a man’s companion knows of his shortcoming is from his apology. It is mighty presumptuous on your part to suppose your small failures of so much consequence that you must make a talk about them.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809-1894) American poet, essayist, scholar
Article (1859-06), “The Professor at the Breakfast-Table,” Atlantic Monthly
(Source)

Collected in The Professor at the Breakfast-Table, ch. 6 (1859).

Nash, Ogden -- “A Word to Husbands,” Marriage Lines: Notes of a Student Husband (1964)

Dave — Fri, 14 Feb 2014 14:05:46 +0000

To keep your marriage brimming,
With love in the loving cup,
Whenever you’re wrong, admit it;
Whenever you’re right, shut up.

Ogden Nash (1902-1971) American poet
“A Word to Husbands,” Marriage Lines: Notes of a Student Husband (1964)
(Source)

Lippmann, Walter -- “Journalism and the Higher Law,” Liberty and the News (1920)

Dave — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 12:17:45 +0000

There can be no higher law in journalism than to tell the truth and shame the devil.

Walter Lippmann (1889-1974) American journalist and author
“Journalism and the Higher Law,” Liberty and the News (1920)
(Source)

See Rabelais.

Billings, Josh -- Everybody’s Friend, Or; Josh Billing’s Encyclopedia and Proverbial Philosophy of Wit and Humor, ch. 144 “Affurisms: Gnats” (1874)

Dave — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 17:23:17 +0000

Forgiving our enemys haz the same refreshing effekt upon our souls az it duz tew confess our sins.

[Forgiving our enemies has the same refreshing effect upon our souls as it does to confess our sins.]

Josh Billings (1818-1885) American humorist, aphorist [pseud. of Henry Wheeler Shaw]
Everybody’s Friend, Or; Josh Billing’s Encyclopedia and Proverbial Philosophy of Wit and Humor, ch. 144 “Affurisms: Gnats” (1874)
(Source)

Stevenson, Adlai -- Speech (1952-09-05), “Time for a Change –?” Colorado Volunteers for Stevenson Dinner, Denver, Colorado

Dave — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 12:48:01 +0000

Man does not live by words alone, despite the fact that sometimes he has to eat them.

Adlai Stevenson (1900–1965) American diplomat, statesman
Speech (1952-09-05), “Time for a Change –?” Colorado Volunteers for Stevenson Dinner, Denver, Colorado
(Source)

Playing off of the Biblical passages Luke 4:4 and Matthew 4:4, in turn from Deuteronomy 8:3.

Fuller, Thomas (1654) -- Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 1, # 661 (1725)

Dave — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 10:51:57 +0000

If thou confesseth thy Sins and amendest not, thou mocketh God.

Thomas Fuller (1654-1734) English physician, preacher, aphorist, writer
Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 1, # 661 (1725)
(Source)

Bible, Vol. 2. New Testament -- 1 John 1: 8-9 [NJB (1985)]

Dave — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 14:19:49 +0000

If we say, ‘We have no sin,’ we are deceiving ourselves, and truth has no place in us; if we acknowledge our sins, he is trustworthy and upright, so that he will forgive our sins and will cleanse us from all evil.

[Ἐὰν εἴπωμεν ὅτι ἁμαρτίαν οὐκ ἔχομεν ἑαυτοὺς πλανῶμεν καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν ἡμῖν. ἐὰν ὁμολογῶμεν τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν πιστός ἐστιν καὶ δίκαιος ἵνα ἀφῇ ἡμῖν τὰς ἁμαρτίας καὶ καθαρίσῃ ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ πάσης ἀδικίας.]

The Bible (The New Testament) (AD 1st - 2nd C) Christian sacred scripture
1 John 1: 8-9 [NJB (1985)]
(Source)

(Source (Greek)). Alternate translations:

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
[KJV (1611)]

If we say we have no sin in us, we are deceiving ourselves and refusing to admit the truth; but if we acknowledge our sins, then God who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and purify us from everything that is wrong.
[JB (1966)]

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and there is no truth in us. But if we confess our sins to God, he will keep his promise and do what is right: he will forgive us our sins and purify us from all our wrongdoing.
[GNT (1976)]

If we claim, “We don’t have any sin,” we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from everything we’ve done wrong.
[CEB (2011)]

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
[NRSV (2021 ed.)]

Twain, Mark -- In More Maxims of Mark [ed. M. Johnson (1925)]

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 19:00:00 +0000

Always acknowledge a fault. This will throw those in authority off their guard and give you an opportunity to commit more.

Mark Twain (1835-1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]
In More Maxims of Mark [ed. M. Johnson (1925)]

Jackson, Robert H. -- West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943) [majority opinion]

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion, or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein. If there are any circumstances which permit an exception, they do not now occur to us.

Robert H. Jackson (1892-1954) US Supreme Court Justice (1941-54), lawyer, jurist, politician
West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943) [majority opinion]
(Source)