This is a collection of pithy pronouncements - aphorisms, bon mots and maxims from literature, recorded speech, light verse, proverbs, epitaphs and many other sources from the Bible to the present day. From temptation to repentence, covering the traditional Seven Deadly Sins along the way, it offers a look at the meaning of sin - a word that sends a frisson of pleasurable horror down the spine of the heathen and the God-fearing alike.