Repentance costs very dear.
Repentance costs very dear.
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.
Edsverb editorial interpretation · agent reviewed · 2026-10-05. This explains the saying; it does not establish its historical origin.
- Source
- A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs (1857)
Printed page 33; French section, paragraph 661; source wording: Le repentir coûte bien cher.
Read the original context ↗ - Attribution confidence
- traditional · historical anthology
Preserved as printed; independently unverified. - Historical coordinate
- Undated
No reliable date supplied by the collection. - Rights & edition
- Public domain (United States)
Translations and rights may differ elsewhere.
Provenance and licences ↗