"The possible redemption from the predicament of irreversibility──of being unable to undo what one has done──is the faculty of forgiving. The remedy for unpredictability, for the chaotic uncertainty of the future, is contained in the faculty to make and keep promises. Both faculties depend upon plurality, on the presence and acting of others, for no man can forgive himself and no one can be bound by a promise made only to himself."
Forgiving quotes
Forgiving
1.2K quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.
Explore further
Topics related to Forgiving
Browse quotes that often appear alongside forgiving — connected by shared ideas and recurring themes.
Quote collection
Forgiving quotes (page 15 of 62)
Follow a thought to its author, or read the full quote page.
"Don't feel like Satan, but I am to them. And I try to forgive them anyway I can."
"South Africans must recall the terrible past so that we can deal with it, forgiving where forgiveness is necessary but never forgetting."
"You negotiate in bad faith if you do not forgive your adversary."
"Women in love sooner forgive great indiscretions than small infidelities."
"Never forget a Favor, Never forgive a Slight!"
"When you don't forgive you permit your enemies to live rent free in your head -evict them today."
"You saw his weakness, and he will never forgive you."
"She had nothing to do but to forgive herself and be happier than ever."
"it's easier to forgive your enemies than to forgive your friends."
"Do you want to be right, or do you want to be happy? Forgive yourself and stop punishing yourself."
"Throughout history humans have inflicted countless violent, cruel, and hurtful acts on each other, and continue to do so. Are they all to be condemned; are they all guilty? Or are those acts simply expressions of unconsciousness, an evolutionary stage that we are now growing out of? Jesus’ words, “Forgive them for they do not know what they do,” also apply to yourself."
"We never ask God to forgive anybody except when we haven't."
"You must forgive me, for I struggled only for you."
"As the victim, you offer the gift of your forgiving to the perpetrator who may or may not appropriate the gift but it has been offered and thereby it liberates the victim."
"Forgiving is a gift to the forgiver as well as to the perpetrator."
"To forgive is indeed the best form of self-interest since anger, resentment, and revenge are corrosive of that summum bonum, the greatest good."
"To forgive is not just to be altruistic."
"If forgiving depended on the culprit owning up, then the victim would always be at the mercy of the perpetrator. The victim would be bound in the shackles of victimhood."
"Forgiving is not easy. It is not cheap."