Meaning & Analysis
To take an action for which the subsequent feeling of regret is an excessively high price to pay for any temporary benefit gained. It frames a poor decision as a transaction with a terrible return.
Insights
The High Cost of Impulsivity
The proverb serves as a powerful warning against impulsive actions driven by short-term desire. It suggests that acting without foresight is akin to making a purchase without considering its true cost, which is ultimately paid in emotional suffering.
The Value of Foresight
It metaphorically underscores the value of prudence and careful consideration. By avoiding rash decisions, one avoids having to 'purchase' the painful experience of repentance, making foresight a form of preventative wisdom.
Irreversible Consequences
The act of 'buying' repentance implies an irreversible transaction. The proverb suggests that some mistakes cannot be undone; once the 'price' of regret is paid, the consequences must be lived with, highlighting the finality of poor choices.
Economic Metaphor for Morality
The proverb frames moral choice in the language of commerce ('buy', 'dear'), a powerful technique in the early modern period when market economies were expanding. It reframes a personal failing as a bad investment, making an abstract concept (regret) tangible and quantifiable.
Humanist and Classical Roots
Its classical origin, cited by Erasmus ('Non emo tanti poenitere'), highlights its endorsement by Renaissance humanism, which valued prudence and rational judgment. The proverb serves as a concise lesson in worldly wisdom, cautioning against the kind of passion that leads to costly errors.
The Psychology of Regret
Psychologically, the proverb captures the painful feeling of cognitive dissonance that arises after a poor decision. The 'buyer's remorse' is not for a faulty product, but for a flawed action, where the lingering emotional cost far outweighs the fleeting benefit of the original choice.
Wisdom and Suffering
This proverb is philosophically linked to the idea that wisdom is often gained through suffering ('Bought wit is dear'). However, it emphasizes that such a 'purchase' is a poor bargain, advocating for foresight as a 'cheaper' alternative to learning from devastating mistakes.
Rhetorical Devices
Extended Metaphor
The central metaphor reframes the abstract concept of regret as a commodity ('repentance') that is 'bought' at a 'dear' price, making the consequences of a poor decision feel tangible and economically foolish.
Economic Diction
The use of commercial language ('buy', 'dear') grounds a moral caution in the practical, everyday world of trade and value. This economic diction makes the proverb's warning both accessible and memorable.
Aphoristic Structure
The phrase is structured as an infinitive ('To buy'), presenting the action as a general, timeless folly that one should avoid, giving it the quality of a universal maxim or warning.
Transcription
Quotations
Non emo tanti poenitere.
He answered that his lernynge was not to bye penaunce so dere.
Buying that with a pound, which he cannot sell againe for a penny, repentaunce.
She will buy repentance too deare.
You will (at last) buy repentance with too deare a price.
Buy not repentance too deare.
They buy repentance too deare.
Repentance I'd not buy At that high rate, ten thousand times to dye.
Cross References
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
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