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Sin: Quotations from Cyclopedia of Practical Quotations
The greatest truths are the simplest: and so are the greatest men. J. C. AND A. W. HARE-Guesses at Truth. Her head was bare; But for her native ornament of hair; Which in a simple knot was tied above, Sweet negligence, unheeded bait of love!— OVID — Metamorphoses. Meleager and Atalanta. L. 68. Dryden's trans.
I waive the quantum o' the sin, The hazard of concealing: But, och! it hardens a' within, And petrifies the feeling!— BURNS — Epistle to a Young Friend.
Compound for sins they are inclin'd to, By damning those they have no mind to.— BUTLER — Hudibras. Pt. I. Canto I. L. 215.
But, sad as angels for the good man's sin, Weep to record, and blush to give it in. S.— CAMPBELL — Pleasures of Hope. Pt. II. L. 357.
Sin let loose speaks punishment at hand.— COWPER — Expostulation. L. 160.
Come, now again, thy woes impart, Tell all thy sorrows, all thy sin; We cannot heal the throbbing heart Till we discern the wounds within.— CRABBE — Hell of Justice. Pt. II.
I couldn't live in peace if I put the shadow of a wilful sin between myself and God.— GEORGE ELIOT — The Mill on the Floss. Bk. VI. Ch. XIV.
Man-like is it to fall into sin, Fiend-like is it to dwell therein, Christ-like is it for sin to grieve, God-like is it all sin to leave.— FRIEDRICH VON LOGAU — Sinngedichte.
Sin. See Longfellow's trans. Poetic Aphorisms. Daily with souls that cringe and plot, We Sinais climb and know it not. X.— LOWELL — The Vision of Sir Launfal. Prelude to Pt. I.
Her rash hand in evil hour Forth reaching to the fruit, she pluck'd, she eat; Earth felt the wound, and Nature from her seat Sighing through all her works gave signs of woe That all was lost.— MILTON — Paradise Lost. Bk. IX. L. 780.
Law can discover sin, but not remove, Save by those shadowy expiations weak.— MILTON — Paradise Lost. Bk. XII. L. 290.
So many laws argues so many sins.— MILTON — Paradise Lost. Bk. XII. L. 283.
But the trail of the serpent is over them all.— MOORE — Lalla Rookh. Paradise and
C. the Peri. L. 206. In Adam's fall- We sinned all. From the New England Primer. 1814. Young Timothy Learnt sin to fly. From the New England Primer. 1777. How shall I lose the sin yet keep the sense, And love th' offender, yet detest the offence?— POPE — Eloise to Abelard. L. 191.
See sin in state, majestically drunk; Proud as a peeress, prouder as a punk.— POPE — Moral Essays. Ep. II. L. 69.
Sin is a state of mind, not an outward act.— SEWELL — Passing Thoughts on Religion.
Wilful Sin. Commit The oldest sins the newest kind of ways?— Shakespeare — Henry IV. Pt. II. Act IV. Sc. 5. L. 126.
Few love to hear the sins they love to act.— Shakespeare — Pericles. Act I. Sc. 1. L. 92.
I am a man More sinn'd against than sinning.— Shakespeare — King Lear. Act III. Sc. 2. L. 58.
It is great sin to swear unto a sin, But greater sin to keep a sinful oath.— Shakespeare — Henry VI. Pt. II. Act V. Sc. 1. Sc. 1. L. 182.
O, fie, fie, fie! Thy sin's not accidental, but a trade.— Shakespeare — Measure for Measure. Act III. Sc. 1. Sc. 1. L. 148.
O, what authority and show of truth Can cunning sin cover itself withal!— Shakespeare — Much Ado About Nothing. Act IV. Sc. 1. L. 36.
Robes and furr'd gowns hide all. Plate sin with gold, And the strong lance of justice hurtless breaks; Arm it in rags, a pigmy's straw doth pierce it.— Shakespeare — King Lear. Act IV. Sc. 6. L. 169.
Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall; Some run from breaks of ice, and answer none: And some condemned for a fault alone.— Shakespeare — Measure for Measure. Act II. Sc. 1. L. 38.
Nam ego illum periisse duco, cui quidem periit pudor. I count him lost, who is lost to shame.— PLAUTUS — Bacchides. III. 3. 80.
Domini pudet non servitutis. I am ashamed of my master and not of my servitude.— SENECA — Troades. 989.
Cui peccare licet peccat minus. Ipsa potestas Semina nequitiæ languidiora facit. He who has it in his power to commit sin, is less inclined to do so. The very idea of being able, weakens the desire.— OVID — Amorum. III. 4. 9.
Palam mutire plebeio piaculum est. It is a sin for a plebeian to grumble in public.— PHEDRUS- — Fabulæ. III. Epilogue. 34.
Homines qui gestant, quique auscultant crimina, Si meo arbitratu liceat, omnes pendeant, Gestores linguis, auditores auribus. Your tittle-tattlers, and those who listen to slander, by my good will should all be hanged-the former by their tongues, the latter by the ears. S.— PLAUTUS — Pseudolus. I. 5. 12.
Aliena vitia in oculis habemus; a tergo nostra sunt. Other men's sins are before our eyes; our own behind our backs.— SENECA — De Ira. II. 28.
Magna pars hominum est, quæ non peccatis irascitur sed peccantibus. The greater part of mankind are angry with the sinner and not with the sin.— SENECA — De Ira. II. 28.
Omnes mali sumus. Quidquid itaque in Quidquid itaque in alio reprehenditur, id unusquisque in suo unusquisque in suo sinu inveniet. We are all sinful. Therefore whatever we blame in another we shall find in our own bosoms.— SENECA — De Ira. III. 26.
Nec tibi celandi spes sit peccare paranti; Est deus, occultos spes qui vetat esse dolos. When thou art preparing to commit a sin, think not that thou wilt conceal it; there is a God that forbids crimes to be hidden.— TIBULLUS — Carmina. I. 9. 23.