Plato
Philosopher
"I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing."
Apology quotes
Apology
536 quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.
Benjamin Franklin
Inventor, Statesman, Author
"Never ruin an apology with an excuse."
Emma Goldman
Anarchist, Political Activist, Writer
"The most absurd apology for authority and law is that they serve to diminish crime. Aside from the fact that the State is itself the greatest criminal, breaking every written and natural law, stealing in the form of taxes, killing in the form of war and capital punishment, it has come to an absolute standstill in coping with crime. It has failed utterly to destroy or even minimize the horrible scourge of its own creation."
John F. Kennedy
Politician
"I am sorry to say that there is too much point to the wisecrack that life is extinct on other planets because their scientists were more advanced than ours."
Kobe Bryant
Professional Basketball Player
"You're my backbone. You're a blessing. You're a piece of my heart. You're the air I breathe. And you're the strongest person I know, and I'm so sorry for having to put you through this and having to put our family through this."
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Browse quotes that often appear alongside apology — connected by shared ideas and recurring themes.
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Apology quotes (page 1 of 27)
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"Read widely, and without apology. Read what you want to read, not what someone tells you you should read."
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"I'm sorry my existence is not very noble or sublime."
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"I have many regrets, and I'm sure everyone does. The stupid things you do, you regret... if you have any sense, and if you don't regret them, maybe you're stupid."
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"I know some people might think it odd - unworthy even - for me to have written a cookbook, but I make no apologies. The U.S. poet laureate Billy Collins thought I had demeaned myself by writing poetry for Hallmark Cards, but I am the people's poet so I write for the people."
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"Maturity is the ability to reap without apology and not complain when things don't go well."
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"I do not regret one professional enemy I have made. Any actor who doesn't dare to make an enemy should get out of the business."
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"Chocolate says "I'm sorry" so much better than words."
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"Dear future generations: Please accept our apologies. We were rolling drunk on petroleum."
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"Eat less than you think you want, eat with your intelligence, not your stomach. Never get up from the table with an inward, silent apology for being a pig."
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"I am very conscious that I am not wise at all."
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"I started to write an apology, but I don't have anything to say I'm sorry for."
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"I will not yield to any man contrary to what is right, for fear of death, even if I should die at once for not yielding."
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"Every young sculptor seems to think that he must give the world some specimen of indecorous womanhood, and call it Eve, Venus, a Nymph, or any name that may apologize for a lack of decent clothing."
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"Simply see that you are at the center of the universe, and accept all things and beings as parts of your infinite body. When you perceive that an act done to another is done to yourself, you have understood the great truth."
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"Thinkers do not accept the inevitable; they turn their efforts toward changing it."
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"There is no better test of a man's ultimate chivalry and integrity than how he behaves when he is wrong... A stiff apology is a second insult."
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"Let every fart count as a peal of thunder for liberty. Let every fart remind the nation of how much it has let pass out of its control. It is a small gesture, but one that can be very effective - especially in a large crowd. So fart, and if you must, fart often. But always fart without apology. Fart for freedom, fart for liberty - and fart proudly."
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"The first thing the intellect does with an object is to class it along with something else. But any object that is infinitely important to us and awakens our devotion feels to us also as if it must be sui generis and unique. Probably a crab would be filled with a sense of personal outrage if it could hear us class it without ado or apology as a crustacean, and thus dispose of it. 'I am no such thing,' it would say; 'I am MYSELF, MYSELF alone."
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"The greatest form of maturity is at harvest time. This is when we must learn how to reap without complaint if the amounts are small and how to reap without apology if the amounts are big."
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"When you do your best you learn to accept yourself"
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