Art Quote by William Shakespeare
““Art thou not sorry for these heinous deeds? AARON. Ay, that I had not done a thousand more. Even now I curse the day- and yet, I think, Few come within the compass of my curse- Wherein I did not some notorious ill; As kill a man, or else devise his death; Ravish a maid, or plot the way to do it; Accuse some innocent, and forswear myself; Set deadly enmity between two friends; Make poor men's cattle break their necks; Set fire on barns and hay-stacks in the night, And bid the owners quench them with their tears. Oft have I digg'd up dead men from their graves, And set them upright at their dear friends' door Even when their sorrows almost was forgot, And on their skins, as on the bark of trees, Have with my knife carved in Roman letters 'Let not your sorrow die, though I am dead.' Tut, I have done a thousand dreadful things As willingly as one would kill a fly; And nothing grieves me heartily indeed But that I cannot do ten thousand more.””
About This Quote
A confession of extensive wrongdoing reveals a twisted moral compass, yet the speaker claims a limit to further evil.
In simple terms: Confesses many crimes, yet claims a ceiling.
Even the worst can claim restraint.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- criminal profiling
- literary analysis
- moral philosophy debates
Key Concepts
Practical Applications
- use confession to explore limits of remorse
- examine narratives of redemption
Questions to Reflect On
- What drives a person to enumerate sins?
- Can acknowledgment of evil ever lead to genuine change?
Self‑reported limits may be self‑deception; true restraint is unproven.