When a child can be brought to tears, not from fear of punishment, but from repentance for his offence, he needs no chastisement. When the tears begin to flow from grief at one's own conduct, be sure there is an angel nestling in the bosom.

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Source, in full

p. 116; sometimes paraphrased as: "When a child can be brought to tears, and not from fear of punishment, but from repentance he needs no chastisement. When the tears begin to flow from the grief of their conduct you can be sure there is an angel nestling in their heart.

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Horace Mann (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.