proverb · Words worth keeping
Repentance costs very dear.
Repentance costs very dear.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Recognising a wrong choice can involve costs beyond saying sorry. Consider what repair requires, while allowing remorse to become constructive action rather than permanent self-punishment.
Example
After cancelling an agreed task without notice, a member apologises and helps rearrange the work instead of expecting the apology alone to solve it.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
Repentance is presented as expensive because acknowledging an error may expose consequences that cannot simply be wished away. Time, trust or a damaged arrangement may need attention. A useful reading asks what can be repaired and what responsibility the person should take. The cost is not a reason to avoid admitting the problem. Nor does suffering itself prove that repair has occurred. The proverb is stronger as an invitation to realistic accountability than as a demand that a person remain ashamed indefinitely.
When to use it
Use it when an admission needs to be followed by practical repair.
Keep in mind
Remorse does not require endless punishment, and another person’s forgiveness cannot be demanded as payment for an apology.
An interpretation of the words, not a claim about their earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional (French-language collection)
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Date unknown