Shame Quotes

• Being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwilling to learn.

  Benjamin Franklin

  Inspirational, Learning, Ignorance

  Benjamin Franklin (2012). “Wit and Wisdom from Poor Richard's Almanack”, p.39, Courier Corporation

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• Time shall unfold what plaited cunning hides: Who cover faults, at last shame them derides.

  William Shakespeare

  Time, Lasts, Faults

  William Shakespeare (1820). “Select Plays of William Shakespeare: With the Corrections & Illustrations of Various Commentators”, p.151

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• Kind words produce their own image in men's souls; and a beautiful image it is. They soothe and quiet and comfort the hearer. They shame him out of his sour, morose, unkind feelings. We have not yet begun to use kind words in such abundance as they ought to be used.

  Blaise Pascal

  Beautiful, Uplifting, Kindness

  20 Copy quote

• Tell troth and shame the devil.

  Ben Jonson

  Truth, Devil

  Ben Jonson (1756). “The tale of a tub. The sad shepherd; or, A tale of Robin Hood. Mortimer's fall. Entertai[n]ments. Speeches. Masques at court”, p.28

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• Churchill says the Government had to choose between war and shame. They chose shame. They will get war, too.

  Winston Churchill

  War, Attributes

  "Churchill By Himself".

  9 Copy quote

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• There is no shame in confusion or fear. "There was only shame in the silence fear had produced. . . . It was the silence that betrayed us."

  Barack Obama

  Confusion, Silence, Grace

  5 Copy quote

• There's no shame in enjoying a quiet life. And that's been the realization of the past few years for me.

  Daniel Radcliffe

  Past, Years, Realization

  "Daniel Radcliffe reveals recent drinking problem" by Jocelyn Vena, www.mtv.com. July 5, 2011.

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• You know policy is driven purely in self interest. The Federal Reserve Bank and the commercial banks and the Wall Street banks are not acting in the interests of the population at large, they're acting purely in their own self-interest, which is a shame because they're actions dictate the reality for 300 million Americans. But they don't see it that way, they see it only as a way to preserve their own self-interest.

  Max Keiser

  Wall, Reality, Acting

  Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

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• Guilt says I've done something wrong; ... shame says there is something wrong with me. Guilt says I've made a mistake; ... shame says I am a mistake. Guilt says what did was not good; ... shame says I am no good.

  John Bradshaw

  Mistake, Umpires, Guilt

  John Bradshaw (1988). “Bradshaw On--The Family: A Revolutionary Way of Self-Discovery”, Hci

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• If we can share our story with someone who responds with empathy and understanding, shame can't survive.

  Brené Brown

  Empathy, Understanding, Stories

  Brené Brown (2012). “Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead”, p.68, Penguin

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• Whatever is begun in anger ends in shame.

  Benjamin Franklin

  Wise, 4th Of July, Anger

  Benjamin Franklin (2008). “The Way to Wealth and Poor Richard's Almanac”, p.36, Nayika Publishing

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• Once we realize that imperfect understanding is the human condition there is no shame in being wrong, only in failing to correct our mistakes.

  George Soros

  Mistake, Failure, Understanding

  George Soros, Byron Wien, Krisztina Koenen (1995). “Soros on Soros: Staying Ahead of the Curve”, p.11, John Wiley & Sons

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• The point is, I can’t tell you how to succeed. But I can tell you how not to: Give in to the shame of being rejected and put your manuscript—or painting, song, voice, dance moves, [insert passion here]—in the coffin that is your bedside drawer and close it for good. I guarantee you that it won’t take you anywhere. Or you could do what this writer did: Give in to your obsession instead.

  Kathryn Stockett

  Song, Moving, Passion

  6 Copy quote

• Shame is a soul eating emotion.

  Carl Jung

  Inspirational, Soul, Emotion

  23 Copy quote

• We need never be ashamed of our tears.

  Charles Dickens

  Sad, Break Up, Breakup

  Charles Dickens (2016). “Great Expectations”, Xist Publishing

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• Love is not something we give or get; it is something that we nurture and grow, a connection that can only be cultivated between two people when it exists within each one of them- we can only love others as much as we love ourselves. Shame, blame, disrespect, betrayal, and the withholding of affection damage the roots from which love grows. Love can only survive these injuries if they are acknowledged, healed, and rare.

  Brené Brown

  Betrayal, Love Is, Two

  Brené Brown (2012). “Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead”, p.93, Penguin

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• Survival is your strength not your shame.

  T. S. Eliot

  Survival

  145 Copy quote

• Having been poor is no shame, but being ashamed of it, is.

  Benjamin Franklin

  Money, Liberty, Poverty

  Benjamin Franklin (2007). “Poor Richard's Almanack”, p.24, Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.

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• Everyone needs a sense of shame, but no one needs to feel ashamed.

  Friedrich Nietzsche

  Needs, Ashamed, Feels

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• It shames the average man to be valued below his own estimate of his worth.

  Mark Twain

  Self Esteem, Men, Average

  Mark Twain (2016). “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court”, p.324, Mark Twain

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• There is no shame in not knowing something. The shame is in not being willing to learn.

  Alison Croggon

  Knowing, Willing To Learn, Not Knowing

  22 Copy quote

• Shame is always easier to handle if you have someone to share it with.

  Craig Thompson

  Share, Easier, Handle

  8 Copy quote

• The basis of shame is not some personal mistake of ours, but the ignominy, the humiliation we feel that we must be what we are without any choice in the matter, and that this humiliation is seen by everyone.

  Milan Kundera

  Mistake, Choices, Matter

  94 Copy quote

• Where shame is, there is also fear.

  John Milton

  17 Copy quote

• Shame is the most powerful, master emotion. It's the fear that we're not good enough.

  Brené Brown

  Powerful, Not Good Enough, Emotion

  25 Copy quote