The 100 All-Time Greatest Quotes About Forgiveness
"Once a woman has forgiven her man, she must not reheat his sins for breakfast." —Marlene Dietrich
1.
Once a woman has forgiven her man, she must not reheat his sins for breakfast.
—Marlene Dietrich
—Marlene Dietrich
2.
Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.
—Nelson Mandela
—Nelson Mandela
3.
To err is human; to forgive, divine.
—Alexander Pope
—Alexander Pope
4.
Always forgive your enemies—nothing annoys them so much.
—Oscar Wilde
—Oscar Wilde
5.
Being forgiven is like having all the worst bits of yourself stuffed into a balloon and then having that balloon set free.
—Shannon Wiersbitzky
—Shannon Wiersbitzky
6.
The ability to forgive is one of man’s greatest achievements.
—Bryant H. McGill
—Bryant H. McGill
7.
A life lived without forgiveness is a life lived in the past.
—Asa Don Brown
—Asa Don Brown
8.
A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers.
—Robert Quillen
—Robert Quillen
9.
If you can’t forgive and forget, pick one.
—Robert Brault
—Robert Brault
10.
We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.
—Martin Luther King, Jr.
—Martin Luther King, Jr.
11.
Forgiveness is the sweetest revenge.
—Isaac Friedmann
—Isaac Friedmann
12.
Grudges are for those who insist that they are owed something; forgiveness, however, is for those who are substantial enough to move on.
—Criss Jami
—Criss Jami
13.
Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them.
—Bruce Lee
—Bruce Lee
14.
Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.
—Paul Boese
—Paul Boese
15.
Forgive, not because they deserve forgiveness, but because you deserve peace.
—Author Unknown
—Author Unknown
16.
The man who forgives is far stronger than the man who fights.
—Nathan Croall
—Nathan Croall
17.
To be wronged is nothing, unless you continue to remember it.
—Confucius
—Confucius
18.
Forgiveness in no way requires that you trust the one you forgive.
—Wm. Paul Young
—Wm. Paul Young
19.
Forgiveness is a virtue of the brave.
—Indira Gandhi
—Indira Gandhi
20.
We don’t forgive people because they deserve it. We forgive them because they need it—because we need it.
—Bree Despain
—Bree Despain
21.
We cannot embrace God’s forgiveness if we are so busy clinging to past wounds and nursing old grudges.
—T. D. Jakes
—T. D. Jakes
22.
Forgiving men is so much easier than forgiving women.
—Margaret Atwood
—Margaret Atwood
23.
I learned a long time ago that some people would rather die than forgive. It’s a strange truth, but forgiveness is a painful and difficult process. It’s not something that happens overnight. It’s an evolution of the heart.
—Sue Monk Kidd
—Sue Monk Kidd
24.
A life lived without forgiveness is a prison.
—William Arthur Ward
—William Arthur Ward
25.
Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.
—Mark Twain
—Mark Twain
26.
Sometimes what a person needs most is to be forgiven.
—Jennifer McMahon
—Jennifer McMahon
27.
It’s one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive. Forgive everybody.
—Maya Angelou
—Maya Angelou
28.
In this life, when you deny someone an apology, you will remember it at time you beg forgiveness.
—Toba Beta
—Toba Beta
29.
We think that forgiveness is weakness, but it’s absolutely not; it takes a very strong person to forgive.
—T. D. Jakes
—T. D. Jakes
30.
You are forgiven for your happiness and your successes only if you generously consent to share them.
—Albert Camus
—Albert Camus
31.
It’s not an easy journey, to get to a place where you forgive people. But it is such a powerful place, because it frees you.
—Tyler Perry
—Tyler Perry
32.
Forgiveness is the final form of love.
—Reinhold Niebuhr
—Reinhold Niebuhr
33.
When you forgive, you in no way change the past—but you sure do change the future.
—Bernard Meltzer
—Bernard Meltzer
34.
Men who do not forgive women their little faults will never enjoy their great virtues.
—Kahlil Gibran
—Kahlil Gibran
35.
Forgiveness says you are given another chance to make a new beginning.
—Desmond Tutu
—Desmond Tutu
36.
The forgiving state of mind is a magnetic power for attracting good.
—Catherine Ponder
—Catherine Ponder
37.
The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naive forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget.
—Thomas Szasz
—Thomas Szasz
38.
We all love best not those who offend us least, nor those who have done most for us, but those who make it most easy for us to forgive them.
—Samuel Butler
—Samuel Butler
39.
Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.
—John F. Kennedy
—John F. Kennedy
40.
A strong gives forgiveness but weak gives permission.
—Santosh Kalwar
—Santosh Kalwar
41.
The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.
—Mahatma Gandhi
—Mahatma Gandhi
42.
To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.
—Lewis B. Smedes
—Lewis B. Smedes
43.
There is a hard law. When an injury is done to us, we never recover until we forgive.
—Alan Paton
—Alan Paton
44.
Sweet mercy is nobility’s true badge.
—William Shakespeare
—William Shakespeare
45.
We learn our lessons; we get hurt; we want revenge. Then we realize that actually, happiness and forgiving people is the best revenge.
—Madonna
—Madonna
46.
He that cannot forgive others breaks the bridge over which he must pass himself; for every man has need to be forgiven.
—Thomas Fuller
—Thomas Fuller
47.
Forgiveness is the answer to the child’s dream of a miracle by which what is broken is made whole again, what is soiled is made clean again.
—Dag Hammarskjöld
—Dag Hammarskjöld
48.
Inner peace can be reached only when we practice forgiveness. Forgiveness is letting go of the past, and is therefore the means for correcting our misperceptions.
—Gerald Jampolsky
—Gerald Jampolsky
49.
Forgiveness spares the expense of anger, the cost of hatred, the waste of spirits.
—Hannah More
—Hannah More
50.
In the Bible it says they asked Jesus how many times you should forgive, and he said 70 times 7. Well, I want you all to know that I’m keeping a chart.
—Hillary Clinton
—Hillary Clinton
51.
Forgiving is easier when we understand that forgiving someone else means that we are freeing ourselves of an unnecessary burden.
—Donna Goddard
—Donna Goddard
52.
There is no revenge so complete as forgiveness.
—Josh Billings
—Josh Billings
53.
Sometimes people need to know they could be forgiven to have the strength to change.
—J. Leigh Bralick
—J. Leigh Bralick
54.
It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend.
—William Blake
—William Blake
55.
Forgiveness means letting go of the past.
—Gerald G. Jampolsky
—Gerald G. Jampolsky
56.
Forgiveness is the key to action and freedom.
—Hannah Arendt
—Hannah Arendt
57.
Forgiveness is the key to the heart’s shackles.
—Richard Paul Evans
—Richard Paul Evans
58.
Forgiveness is really just another word for freedom.
—Julie Lessman
—Julie Lessman
59.
If there were two enemies hating each other for a long time, to me, the winner would be the one who finally has the courage to forgive.
—Primadonna Angela
—Primadonna Angela
60.
Never does the human soul appear so strong as when it foregoes revenge and dares to forgive an injury.
—Edwin Hubbel Chapin
—Edwin Hubbel Chapin
61.
When we forgive, the slave we free is ourselves.
—Edward M. Hallowell
—Edward M. Hallowell
62.
Only the brave know how to forgive… a coward never forgave; it is not in his nature.
—Laurence Sterne
—Laurence Sterne
63.
Forgiveness is the one gift you don’t give to others. Rather, it is the gift you give yourself, so you can finally be free.
—Shannon L. Alder
—Shannon L. Alder
64.
One of the secrets of a long and fruitful life is to forgive everybody everything every night before you go to bed.
—Bernard Baruch
—Bernard Baruch
65.
I’m a good enough person to forgive you, and you should be a good enough person to not do it again.
—Annette Thomas
—Annette Thomas
66.
Forgiveness is not to give the other person peace. Forgiveness is for you. Take that opportunity.
—Mackenzie Phillips
—Mackenzie Phillips
67.
When you forgive, you free your soul. But when you say I’m sorry, you free two souls.
—Donald L. Hicks
—Donald L. Hicks
68.
When a deep injury is done us, we never recover until we forgive.
—Alan Paton
—Alan Paton
69.
Humanity is never so beautiful as when praying for forgiveness, or else forgiving another.
—Jean Paul
—Jean Paul
70.
The more you forgive, the stronger you become.
—Kevin Keenoo
—Kevin Keenoo
71.
It’s toughest to forgive ourselves. So it’s probably best to start with other people. It’s almost like peeling an onion. Layer by layer, forgiving others, you really do get to the point where you can forgive yourself.
—Patty Duke
—Patty Duke
72.
Forgiving other people does not mean that they will get away with what they did to you, it means that You are set free from the pain they have caused you. Forgiveness is the hardest lesson we are here to learn to master, but it is possible with time and patience.
—Jeanette Coron
—Jeanette Coron
73.
One forgives to the degree that one loves.
—Francois de La Rochefoucauld
—Francois de La Rochefoucauld
74.
The first thing that happens when you’re happy is you start forgiving everyone.
—Marty Rubin
—Marty Rubin
75.
When you hold resentment toward another, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and get free.
—Catherine Ponder
—Catherine Ponder
76.
Forgive, O Lord, my little jokes on Thee, and I’ll forgive Thy great big joke on me.
—Robert Frost
—Robert Frost
77.
Love is an endless act of forgiveness.
—Jan Karon
—Jan Karon
78.
When you are happy you can forgive a great deal.
—Princess Diana
—Princess Diana
79.
The heart stays heavy if it remains in a state of unforgiveness.
—Aisha Mirza
—Aisha Mirza
80.
I think we learn the most from imperfect relationships—things like forgiveness and compassion.
—Andrea Thompson
—Andrea Thompson
81.
Forgiveness doesn’t excuse their behavior. It prevents their behavior from destroying your heart.
—Hemant Smarty
—Hemant Smarty
82.
The ineffable joy of forgiving and being forgiven forms an ecstasy that might well arouse the envy of the gods.
—Elbert Hubbard
—Elbert Hubbard
83.
I will look at the past, but I will not stare at it.
—M. Spio
—M. Spio
84.
The practice of forgiveness is our most important contribution to the healing of the world.
—Marianne Williamson
—Marianne Williamson
85.
A grudge is like a cesspool; forgiveness like a flowing river.
—Chris Northrup
—Chris Northrup
86.
Forgiveness really is so misunderstood, as well as the power it can release in an individual.
—Jennifer O’Neill
—Jennifer O’Neill
87.
Forgiveness is the process of dropping off your emotional baggage.
—Tim Fargo
—Tim Fargo
88.
Forgiveness: It’s not because they deserve it; it’s because you do. Sometimes forgiveness is about loving yourself enough to move on.
—Steve Maraboli
—Steve Maraboli
89.
Without forgiveness, there’s no future.
—Desmond Tutu
—Desmond Tutu
90.
Be happy by forgiving or forgetting or doing both, but we can gain no happiness by holding grudges.
—Dinesh Kumar Radhakrishnan
—Dinesh Kumar Radhakrishnan
91.
Forgiveness is that subtle thread that binds both love and friendship. Without forgiveness, you may not even have a child one day.
—George Foreman
—George Foreman
92.
Life’s too short not to forgive.
—Miranda Kenneally
—Miranda Kenneally
93.
Forgiveness is for yourself because it frees you. It lets you out of that prison you put yourself in.
—Louise L. Hay
—Louise L. Hay
94.
No one should have to go through life without forgiveness. It’s essential
—C. Kennedy Omorphi
—C. Kennedy Omorphi
95.
To me, forgiveness is the cornerstone of healing.
—Sylvia Fraser
—Sylvia Fraser
96.
Tiny Men, hold tall grudges.
—J. Macken
—J. Macken
97.
The power of forgiveness is huge; it is really big, and it can save this world.
—Immaculee Ilibagiza
—Immaculee Ilibagiza
98.
Forgiveness makes you feel better. As soon as you forgive, you’re free.
—Karen Kingsbury
—Karen Kingsbury
99.
Our history is an inevitable component of our being. One thing only can release us from the grip of our history. That one thing is forgiveness.
—Lewis B. Smedes
—Lewis B. Smedes
100.
Anger makes you smaller, while forgiveness forces you to grow beyond who you were.
—Jonathan Anthony Burkett
—Jonathan Anthony Burkett
