Welcome to our collection of Forgiveness Quotes, where words of wisdom from various thinkers, authors, and leaders resonate on the profound act of forgiveness. Forgiveness, a concept as old as humanity itself, holds immense power to heal, transform, and liberate the human spirit from the shackles of resentment and anger. In a world often filled with strife and discord, forgiveness stands as a beacon of hope, offering a pathway to reconciliation, inner peace, and growth.
Throughout history, countless individuals have grappled with the complexities of forgiveness, offering insights that inspire and provoke introspection. From ancient philosophers to modern-day influencers, each voice contributes to our understanding of this fundamental aspect of the human experience. Whether it’s forgiving others, oneself, or seeking forgiveness, these quotes illuminate the transformative journey that forgiveness entails, highlighting its capacity to mend relationships, mend hearts, and foster empathy and understanding. As you explore this collection, may you find solace, inspiration, and perhaps, a renewed perspective on the power of forgiveness.
To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you. Lewis B. Smedes
If you haven’t forgiven yourself something, how can you forgive others. Dolores Huerta
Beauty is merciless. You do not look at it, it looks at you and does not forgive. Nikos Kazantzakis
It takes one person to forgive, it takes two people to be reunited. Lewis B. Smedes
Parents forgive their children least readily for the faults they themselves instilled in them. Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach
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
There are techniques of Buddhism, such as meditation, that anyone can adopt. And, of course, there are Christian monks and nuns who already use Buddhist methods in order to develop their devotion, compassion, and ability to forgive. Dalai Lama
Let us not listen to those who think we ought to be angry with our enemies, and who believe this to be great and manly. Nothing is so praiseworthy, nothing so clearly shows a great and noble soul, as clemency and readiness to forgive. Marcus Tullius Cicero
One can’t relive one’s life. Forgiveness is not what’s difficult; one’s always too ready to forgive. And it does no good, that’s obvious. Louis-Ferdinand Celine
I can forgive, but I cannot forget, is only another way of saying, I will not forgive. Forgiveness ought to be like a cancelled note – torn in two, and burned up, so that it never can be shown against one. Henry Ward Beecher
I believe forgiveness is the best form of love in any relationship. It takes a strong person to say they’re sorry and an even stronger person to forgive. Yolanda Hadid
To know all is not to forgive all. It is to despise everybody. Quentin Crisp
The day the child realizes that all adults are imperfect, he becomes an adolescent; the day he forgives them, he becomes an adult; the day he forgives himself, he becomes wise. Alden Nowlan
It is very east to forgive others their mistakes; it takes more grit and gumption to forgive them for having witnessed your own. Jessamyn West
We all like to forgive, and love best not those who offend us least, nor who have done most for us, but those who make it most easy for us to forgive them. Samuel Butler
I think forgiveness is probably one of the greatest forms of self-love there is because you don’t do forgiveness for anybody else. My captors will never care if I forgive them… It will not make a day of difference to them at all, but it will make a huge difference to me. Elizabeth Smart
The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naive forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget. Thomas Szasz
To err is human; to forgive, divine. Alexander Pope
Always forgive your enemies – nothing annoys them so much. Oscar Wilde
The public seldom forgive twice. Johann Kaspar Lavater
The remedy for life’s broken pieces is not classes, workshops or books. Don’t try to heal the broken pieces. Just forgive. Iyanla Vanzant
Instead of hating, I have chosen to forgive and spend all of my positive energy on changing the world. Camryn Manheim
Many promising reconciliations have broken down because while both parties come prepared to forgive, neither party come prepared to be forgiven. Charles Williams
I shall be an autocrat: that’s my trade. And the good Lord will forgive me: that’s his. Catherine the Great
Children begin by loving their parents; after a time they judge them; rarely, if ever, do they forgive them. Oscar Wilde
I don’t want to forgive myself. That’s why I hate psychoanalysis I think if you’re guilty of something you should live with it. Get rid of it – how can you get rid of a real guilt? I think people should live with it, face up to it. Orson Welles
My father is my hero. No matter what, I’ll always forgive him. Kali Uchis
It’s said in Hollywood that you should always forgive your enemies – because you never know when you’ll have to work with them. Lana Turner
Nothing enables us to forgive like knowing in our hearts that we have been forgiven. Lewis B. Smedes
I am someone who can’t hold on to negativity or hold on to grudges. I might feel something at a certain point, but I get tired after that. I don’t carry it with me. I forgive and forget very easily, and that’s the only way to be happy and peaceful. Deepika Padukone
Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names. John F. Kennedy
It’s far easier to forgive an enemy after you’ve got even with him. Olin Miller
Society can overlook murder, adultery or swindling; it never forgives preaching of a new gospel. Edmund Burke
Of course God will forgive me; that’s His job. Heinrich Heine
Forgive, son; men are men; they needs must err. Euripides
God will forgive me. It’s his job. Heinrich Heine
I forgive all personal weaknesses except egomania and pretension. Herb Kelleher
How unhappy is he who cannot forgive himself. Publilius Syrus
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
Beware of the man who does not return your blow: he neither forgives you nor allows you to forgive yourself. George Bernard Shaw
I forgive my mom for being a psycho and my dad for being a loser. Nikki Sixx
If I owe Smith ten dollars and God forgives me, that doesn’t pay Smith. Robert Green Ingersoll
Forgive many things in others; nothing in yourself. Ausonius
The best way to get along is never to forgive an enemy or forget a friend. Walter Winchell
Force may subdue, but love gains, and he that forgives first wins the laurel. William Penn
When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realised that the Lord doesn’t work that way so I stole one and asked Him to forgive me. Emo Philips
I do not bring forgiveness with me, nor forgetfulness. The only ones who can forgive are dead; the living have no right to forget. Chaim Herzog
If you’re going to sin, sin against God, not the bureaucracy; God will forgive you but the bureaucracy won’t. Hyman Rickover
I never forget. I never forgive. I can wait. I find it very easy to harbor a grudge. I have scores to settle. Tom Wolfe
I’ve looked on many women with lust. I’ve committed adultery in my heart many times. God knows I will do this and forgives me. Jimmy Carter
Forgive, O Lord, my little jokes on Thee, and I’ll forgive Thy great big joke on me. Robert Frost
Carrying a grudge is a heavy burden. As you forgive, you will feel the joy of being forgiven. Henry B. Eyring
There’s no control in life, is there? There’s only one who’s in control, and He’ll take me when He wants me. I don’t want to know about it. It’s none of my business. But when it happens, I just ask that it won’t be painful and that He forgives me my sins. Chris Farley
One of the secrets of a long and fruitful life is to forgive everybody everything everynight before you go to bed. Bernard Baruch
God will not forgive us if we fail. Leonid I. Brezhnev
He that cannot forgive others, breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass if he would ever reach heaven; for everyone has need to be forgiven. George Herbert
If I say, ‘I forgive you,’ I have implicitly said you have done something wrong to me. But what forgiveness is at its heart is both saying that justice has been violated and not letting that violation count against the offender. Miroslav Volf
Everyone can relate to love, hurt, pain, learning how to forgive, needing to get over, needing the power of God in their life. Tyler Perry
Did I offer peace today? Did I bring a smile to someone’s face? Did I say words of healing? Did I let go of my anger and resentment? Did I forgive? Did I love? These are the real questions. I must trust that the little bit of love that I sow now will bear many fruits, here in this world and the life to come. Henri Nouwen
Choose to be kind. Choose to forgive. Let your love grow and shine so that people may look at the example of your life and glorify God in Heaven. Victoria Osteen
The one process now going on that will take millions of years to correct is the loss of genetic and species diversity by the destruction of natural habitats. This is the folly our descendants are least likely to forgive us. E. O. Wilson
Throwing money at something doesn’t really create – forgive me that onerous word – art. Harold Prince
We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light. Plato
We think that forgiveness is weakness, but it’s absolutely not; it takes a very strong person to forgive. T. D. Jakes
I like second chances. I’ve given people second chances. You have fall-outs with friends, and forgiveness is a great thing to have. It’s not easy to forgive. I definitely don’t forget, but I do forgive. Odette Annable
It’s a horrible idea that God, this paragon of wisdom and knowledge, power, couldn’t think of a better way to forgive us our sins than to come down to Earth in his alter ego as his son and have himself hideously tortured and executed so that he could forgive himself. Richard Dawkins
If, after I depart this vale, you ever remember me and have thought to please my ghost, forgive some sinner and wink your eye at some homely girl. H. L. Mencken
I can have peace of mind only when I forgive rather than judge. Gerald Jampolsky
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.
Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you. Love me and I may be forced to love you. William Arthur Ward
I pray for my enemies, that God would forgive them. Ruby Bridges
When women love us, they forgive us everything, even our crimes; when they do not love us, they give us credit for nothing, not even our virtues. Honore de Balzac
God may forgive your sins, but your nervous system won’t. Alfred Korzybski
A good wife always forgives her husband when she’s wrong. Milton Berle
You’ve got to give your past attention, but you’ve got to forgive yourself, acknowledge what you did wrong, and be a man, taking responsibility. You can’t not fly anymore because of the things you’ve been through. You’ve got to believe in a brighter future, that better version of yourself. Jon Jones
When a deep injury is done us, we never recover until we forgive. Alan Paton
When you are happy you can forgive a great deal. Princess Diana
A wise man will make haste to forgive, because he knows the true value of time, and will not suffer it to pass away in unnecessary pain. Samuel Johnson
To forgive oneself? No, that doesn’t work: we have to be forgiven. But we can only believe this is possible if we ourselves can forgive. Dag Hammarskjold
Only the brave know how to forgive… a coward never forgave; it is not in his nature. Laurence Sterne
Understand that it is often unwise to forgive face to face. This tends to make the other person feel ‘put down’ and make you look holier-than-thou. Charles Stanley
To punish the oppressors of humanity is clemency; to forgive them is cruelty. Maximilien Robespierre
If there are occasions when my grape turned into a raisin and my joy bell lost its resonance, please forgive me. Charge it to my head and not to my heart. Jesse Jackson
Speak the truth. People will forgive an honest mistake; they won’t forgive you if you lie. Mark Goulston
There is no injustice in the grace of God. God is as just when He forgives a believer as when He casts a sinner into hell. Charles Spurgeon
Most laws condemn the soul and pronounce sentence. The result of the law of my God is perfect. It condemns but forgives. It restores – more than abundantly – what it takes away. Jim Elliot
The first step in forgiveness is the willingness to forgive. Marianne Williamson
One forgives to the degree that one loves. Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Two persons cannot long be friends if they cannot forgive each other’s little failings. Jean de la Bruyere
It is a lie that our anger justifies our impulse to hurt or ignore our antagonists. We are to forgive to be forgiven. To wait for them to repent before we forgive and repent is to allow them to choose for us a delay which could cost us happiness here and hereafter. Henry B. Eyring
Ordinary readers, forgive my paradoxes: one must make them when one reflects; and whatever you may say, I prefer being a man with paradoxes than a man with prejudices. Jean-Jacques Rousseau
I tried to manipulate and control people, and I harbored resentment. I wanted to be forgiven, but I wouldn’t forgive others. Lauryn Hill
Before we can forgive one another, we have to understand one another. Emma Goldman
Forgive yourself for your faults and your mistakes and move on. Les Brown
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
Many times, the decisions we make affect and hurt your closest friends and family the most. I have a lot of regrets in that regard. But God has forgiven me, which I am very thankful for. It has enabled me to forgive myself and move forward one day at a time. Lex Luger
It’s one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive. Forgive everybody. Maya Angelou
I don’t have a twin, but I do have a brother and sisters, and I do know that there is a special bond there that is – I’m going to say – closer. It’s different. It’s closer than having a best friend. It’s easier to forgive them. I think it’s also easier to get mad at them. You feel a little piece of yourself in them. Justin Hartley
I really don’t think life is about the I-could-have-beens. Life is only about the I-tried-to-do. I don’t mind the failure but I can’t imagine that I’d forgive myself if I didn’t try. Nikki Giovanni
‘Tis the most tender part of love, each other to forgive. John Sheffield
