--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Confession is an act of violence against…" description: "\"“Confession is an act of violence against the unoffending.”\" — Tom Stoppard" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da0/tom-stoppard-437_confession_confession-is-an-act-of-violence-against_2796257.png" --- # Confession is an act of violence against the unoffending. ![“Confession is an act of violence against the unoffending.” quote by Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da0/tom-stoppard-437_confession_confession-is-an-act-of-violence-against_2796257.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da0/tom-stoppard-437_confession_confession-is-an-act-of-violence-against_2796257.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da0/tom-stoppard-437_confession_confession-is-an-act-of-violence-against_2796257.png) > ““Confession is an act of violence against the unoffending.”” [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Confession can harm the innocent by imposing guilt or trauma where none existed. **In simple terms:** Confession may hurt the innocent. Key Takeaway Consider impact before revealing secrets. Themes ethics communication psychology Mood serious introspective Type dramatic philosophical When to use this quote - court testimony - personal disclosures - therapy Key Concepts moral injury truth-telling social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - When is silence more ethical than confession? - How to balance honesty with harm? A Different Perspective Potentially suppresses necessary truth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Act Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/act-violence-617248/) [Confession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confession/) [Confession Act](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confession-act-2473102/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence/) [Violence Unoffending](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence-unoffending-1843558/) ## Related quotes > [It is a sound interpretive rule...that anything that cannot be accomplished except with the aid of threats or the actual exercise of violence against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/it-is-a-sound-interpretive-rule-that-anything-that-cannot-be/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [Confession is the act of inviting God to walk the acreage of our hearts. “There is a rock of greed over here, Father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/confession-is-the-act-of-inviting-god-to-walk-the-acreage-of-our/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [Confession is an act of honesty and courage - an act of entrusting ourselves, beyond sin, to the mercy of a loving and forgiving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/confession-is-an-act-of-honesty-and-courage-an-act-of-entrusting/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [I think people are propelled towards violence, and what propels them is much more interesting than the actual act of violence itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-farrell/i-think-people-are-propelled-towards-violence-and-what-propels-them/) [Colin Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-farrell/) > [There are great and terrible consequences to any act of violence, and they reverberate beyond the act itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-g-tremblay/there-are-great-and-terrible-consequences-to-any-act-of-violence-and/) [Paul G. Tremblay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-g-tremblay/) > [War is an act of violence pushed to its utmost limits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/war-is-an-act-of-violence-pushed-to-its-utmost-limits/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [A belligerent state permits itself every such misdeed, every such act of violence, as would disgrace the individual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/a-belligerent-state-permits-itself-every-such-misdeed-every-such-act/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [It takes four generations to recover from every act of violence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-adamson/it-takes-four-generations-to-recover-from-every-act-of-violence/) [Rebecca Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-adamson/) > [War is an act of violence pushed to its utmost bounds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/war-is-an-act-of-violence-pushed-to-its-utmost-bounds/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [The introduction of numbers as coordinates is an act of violence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-weyl/the-introduction-of-numbers-as-coordinates-is-an-act-of-violence/) [Hermann Weyl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-weyl/) > [We know we can't stop every act of violence, every act of evil in the world, but maybe we could try to stop one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/we-know-we-can-t-stop-every-act-of-violence-every-act-of-evil-in-the/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [If a violent act towards a woman takes place, and the inspiration for that act is violence in cinema, the inspiration for that act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-king/if-a-violent-act-towards-a-woman-takes-place-and-the-inspiration-for/) [Richard King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-king/) > [War therefore is an act of violence to compel our opponent to fulfill our will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/war-therefore-is-an-act-of-violence-to-compel-our-opponent-to-fulfill/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [An unjust law in itself is an act of violence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/an-unjust-law-in-itself-is-an-act-of-violence/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“An act of violence, no matter how small, can never be justified if it can be avoided.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/an-act-of-violence-no-matter-how-small-can-never-be-justified-if-it/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) ## More by Tom Stoppard > [If I wanted to change the world, the last thing I would do is write a play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/if-i-wanted-to-change-the-world-the-last-thing-i-would-do-is-write-a/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [If you want to change something by Tuesday, theater is no good. Journalism is what does that. But, if you want to just alter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/if-you-want-to-change-something-by-tuesday-theater-is-no-good/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Childhood is Last Chance Gulch for happiness. After that, you know too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/childhood-is-last-chance-gulch-for-happiness-after-that-you-know-too/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [After all these years, I definitely associate having a pen in my hand with having an ashtray just out of eye line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/after-all-these-years-i-definitely-associate-having-a-pen-in-my-hand/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [The universe is deterministic all right, just like Newton said, I mean it's trying to be, but the only thing going wrong is people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/the-universe-is-deterministic-all-right-just-like-newton-said-i-mean/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [For me, human rights simply endorse a view of life and a set of moral values that are perfectly clear to an eight-year-old child.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/for-me-human-rights-simply-endorse-a-view-of-life-and-a-set-of-moral/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [“What is an artist? For every thousand people there's nine hundred doing the work, ninety doing well, nine doing good, and one lucky bastard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/what-is-an-artist-for-every-thousand-people-there-s-nine-hundred/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Dying is not romantic, and death is not a game which will soon be over... Death is not anything... death is not... It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/dying-is-not-romantic-and-death-is-not-a-game-which-will-soon-be-over/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [I'm not interested in clothes; I just like them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-m-not-interested-in-clothes-i-just-like-them/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [For 10 years of my life, 3 times a day, I thanked the Lord for what I was about to receive and thanked him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/for-10-years-of-my-life-3-times-a-day-i-thanked-the-lord-for-what-i/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [You should not translate for more than two hours at a time. After that, you lose your edge, the language becomes clumsy, rigid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/you-should-not-translate-for-more-than-two-hours-at-a-time-after-that/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [No matter how imperfect things are, if you've got a free press everything is correctable, and without it everything is concealable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/no-matter-how-imperfect-things-are-if-you-ve-got-a-free-press/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [We must be born with an intuition of mortality. Before we know the word for it. Before we know that there are words. Out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/we-must-be-born-with-an-intuition-of-mortality-before-we-know-the/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Eternity's a terrible thought. I mean, where's it all going to end?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/eternity-s-a-terrible-thought-i-mean-where-s-it-all-going-to-end/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [There is truth and falsehood in a comma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/there-is-truth-and-falsehood-in-a-comma/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) [Explore all 559 Tom Stoppard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) ## More Confession quotes > [If You Love Someone, Be Brave Enough To Tell Them., Otherwise Be Brave Enough To Watch Them To Be Loved By Someone Else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bilal-zahoor/if-you-love-someone-be-brave-enough-to-tell-them-otherwise-be-brave/) [Bilal Zahoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bilal-zahoor/) > [A love to Christ which is so cowardly and selfish that it is unwilling to proclaim by a public confession its faith in Him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbott-eliot-kittredge/a-love-to-christ-which-is-so-cowardly-and-selfish-that-it-is/) [Abbott Eliot Kittredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbott-eliot-kittredge/) > [Boys say its great..boys say its fine... 9 months later boys say its not mine..!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simi-ngr/boys-say-its-great-boys-say-its-fine-9-months-later-boys-say-its-not/) [Simi Ngr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simi-ngr/) > [The characters in my novels are my own unrealized possibilities. That is why I am equally fond of them all and equally horrified by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-characters-in-my-novels-are-my-own-unrealized-possibilities-that/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Notoriety and public confession in the literary form is a frazzler of the heart you were born with, believe me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/notoriety-and-public-confession-in-the-literary-form-is-a-frazzler-of/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [In Confession, Jesus welcomes us with all our sinfulness, to give us a new heart, capable of loving as he loves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/in-confession-jesus-welcomes-us-with-all-our-sinfulness-to-give-us-a/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [A man does not have to feel less than human to realize his sin; oppositely, he has to realize that he gets no special…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/a-man-does-not-have-to-feel-less-than-human-to-realize-his-sin/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [“I was going to make a confession. Then I remembered I don't make them very well. We still need to see the monkeys." "You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/i-was-going-to-make-a-confession-then-i-remembered-i-don-t-make-them/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [Yelena, you've driven me crazy. You've caused me considerable trouble and I've contemplated ending your life twice since I've known you." Valek's warm breath…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-v-snyder/yelena-you-ve-driven-me-crazy-you-ve-caused-me-considerable-trouble/) [Maria V. Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-v-snyder/) > [“in other words, his story was part boast, part confession.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-mezrich/in-other-words-his-story-was-part-boast-part-confession/) [Ben Mezrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-mezrich/) > [“I have a confession to make.121 Almost every time I tune in to religious radio or TV, I want to change my religion. I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-d-mclaren/i-have-a-confession-to-make-121-almost-every-time-i-tune-in-to/) [Brian D. McLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-d-mclaren/) > [A catechism is simply a tool for teaching the fundamentals of the faith. Unlike a creed or confession, a catechism uses questions and answers.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-deyoung/a-catechism-is-simply-a-tool-for-teaching-the-fundamentals-of-the/) [Kevin DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-deyoung/) > [“I’m beginning to get the feeling that confession is what we need in order to forgive ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-kuhn/i-m-beginning-to-get-the-feeling-that-confession-is-what-we-need-in/) [Shane Kuhn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-kuhn/) > [“We need repentance. You see, repentance is not only going to a priest and confessing. 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The only difference is, I didn't lie to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-said-i-love-you-i-said-it-too-the-only-difference-is-i-didn-t-lie/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 909 Confession quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confession/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Confession is an act of violence against the unoffending.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Stoppard" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/confession-is-an-act-of-violence-against-the-unoffending/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Confession" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/confession-is-an-act-of-violence-against-the-unoffending/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da0/tom-stoppard-437_confession_confession-is-an-act-of-violence-against_2796257.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da0/tom-stoppard-437_confession_confession-is-an-act-of-violence-against_2796257.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da0/tom-stoppard-437_confession_confession-is-an-act-of-violence-against_2796257.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Confession is an act of violence against the unoffending.” — Tom Stoppard", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Tom Stoppard", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Confession is an act of violence...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/confession-is-an-act-of-violence-against-the-unoffending/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/confession-is-an-act-of-violence-against-the-unoffending/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```