Tag: Thomas R. Ybarra

Thomas R. Ybarra? Contributor to Life Magazine? Victor L. Berger? Anonymous?

Dear Quote Investigator: Individuals who attend church services without sincerity have long been criticized with the following sardonic description:

Those who repent on Sunday,
For what they did on Saturday,
And plan to do again on Monday.

I have been unable to determine who first said this. Would you please help?

Quote Investigator: The earliest close match located by QI was printed in the humor magazine “Life” in 1905, and the author was unidentified:^[1] 1905 December 14, Life, Volume 46, Number 1207, A Definition, Quote Page 746, Column 2, Life Publishing Company, New York. (Google Books Full View) link

A Christian is a man who feels
Repentance on a Sunday
For what he has done on Saturday,
And is going to do on Monday.

This theme has a long history and QI conjectures that the above verse was inspired directly or indirectly by lines in a poem published in the eighteenth century. Details are given below.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading Repentance on a Sunday for What One Has Done on Saturday