This quote is from Christopher Marlowe's play "The Jew of Malta", and also is spoken by the character Barabas. In the context of the play, Barabas has been caught by authorities and is provided the selection in between admitting to his crimes as well as being executed or denying his guilt and also being hurt up until he admits.
The full quote reads:
" Confess and be hanged!/ Deny, as well as be tortured with tenfold shelfs:/ Then, if you do confess, fatality's mild hand/ Shall close your eyes, as well as silent your repose."
The quote highlights the ruthless nature of justice in Marlowe's time, where confession was frequently removed via torment as well as punished with death. It also shows the theme of revenge in the play, as Barabas looks for to retaliate the wrongs done to him by the government and society at huge.
Generally, the quote illustrates the extreme truths of justice in Marlowe's era and also raises questions about the values of utilizing abuse to remove confessions.
"There is no requirement that police stop a person who enters a police station and states that he wishes to confess a crime or a person who calls the police to offer a confession because volunteered statements of any kind are not barred by the 5th Amendment"
"If I'm gonna go down I'm gonna do it with style. You won't hear me surrender, you won't hear me confess cause you've left me with nothing but I have worked with less"