Own or Confess? The verb to own means to possess, but it has borrowed the additional and objectionable meaning of to confess, to acknowledge; as, He owned his crime. A man owns a house, but confesses a larceny, or a murder, neither of which offenses is hardly susceptible of ownership. [ Pure English, Hackett And Girvin, 1884 ]

The productions of the press, fast as steam can make and carry them, go abroad through all the land, silent as snowflakes, but potent as thunder. It is an additional tongue of steam and lightning, by which a man speaks his first thought, his instant argument or grievance, to millions in a day. [ Chapin ]

It is in the time of trouble, when some to whom we may have looked for consolation and encouragement regard us with coldness, and others, perhaps, treat us with hostility, that the warmth of the friendly heart and the support of the friendly hand acquire increased value and demand additional gratitude. [ Bishop Mant ]