The 100 All-Time Greatest Quotes About Forgiveness

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1.

Once a woman has forgiven her man, she must not reheat his sins for breakfast.
—Marlene Dietrich

2.

Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.
—Nelson Mandela

3.

To err is human; to forgive, divine.
—Alexander Pope

4.

Always forgive your enemies—nothing annoys them so much.
—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

6.

The ability to forgive is one of man’s greatest achievements.
—Bryant H. McGill

7.

A life lived without forgiveness is a life lived in the past.
—Asa Don Brown

8.

A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers.
—Robert Quillen

9.

If you can’t forgive and forget, pick one.
—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.

11.

Forgiveness is the sweetest revenge.
—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

13.

Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them.
—Bruce Lee

14.

Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.
—Paul Boese

15.

Forgive, not because they deserve forgiveness, but because you deserve peace.
—Author Unknown

16.

The man who forgives is far stronger than the man who fights.
—Nathan Croall

17.

To be wronged is nothing, unless you continue to remember it.
—Confucius

18.

Forgiveness in no way requires that you trust the one you forgive.
—Wm. Paul Young

19.

Forgiveness is a virtue of the brave.
—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

21.

We cannot embrace God’s forgiveness if we are so busy clinging to past wounds and nursing old grudges.
—T. D. Jakes

22.

Forgiving men is so much easier than forgiving women.
—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

24.

A life lived without forgiveness is a prison.
—William Arthur Ward

25.

Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.
—Mark Twain

26.

Sometimes what a person needs most is to be forgiven.
—Jennifer McMahon

27.

It’s one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive. Forgive everybody.
—Maya Angelou

28.

In this life, when you deny someone an apology, you will remember it at time you beg forgiveness.
—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

30.

You are forgiven for your happiness and your successes only if you generously consent to share them.
—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

32.

Forgiveness is the final form of love.
—Reinhold Niebuhr

33.

When you forgive, you in no way change the past—but you sure do change the future.
—Bernard Meltzer

34.

Men who do not forgive women their little faults will never enjoy their great virtues.
—Kahlil Gibran

35.

Forgiveness says you are given another chance to make a new beginning.
—Desmond Tutu

36.

The forgiving state of mind is a magnetic power for attracting good.
—Catherine Ponder

37.

The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naive forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget.
—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

39.

Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.
—John F. Kennedy

40.

A strong gives forgiveness but weak gives permission.
—Santosh Kalwar

41.

The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.
—Mahatma Gandhi

42.

To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.
—Lewis B. Smedes

43.

There is a hard law. When an injury is done to us, we never recover until we forgive.
—Alan Paton

44.

Sweet mercy is nobility’s true badge.
—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

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

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

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

49.

Forgiveness spares the expense of anger, the cost of hatred, the waste of spirits.
—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

51.

Forgiving is easier when we understand that forgiving someone else means that we are freeing ourselves of an unnecessary burden.
—Donna Goddard

52.

There is no revenge so complete as forgiveness.
—Josh Billings

53.

Sometimes people need to know they could be forgiven to have the strength to change.
—J. Leigh Bralick

54.

It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend.
—William Blake

55.

Forgiveness means letting go of the past.
—Gerald G. Jampolsky

56.

Forgiveness is the key to action and freedom.
—Hannah Arendt

57.

Forgiveness is the key to the heart’s shackles.
—Richard Paul Evans

58.

Forgiveness is really just another word for freedom.
—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

60.

Never does the human soul appear so strong as when it foregoes revenge and dares to forgive an injury.
—Edwin Hubbel Chapin

61.

When we forgive, the slave we free is ourselves.
—Edward M. Hallowell

62.

Only the brave know how to forgive… a coward never forgave; it is not in his nature.
—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

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

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

66.

Forgiveness is not to give the other person peace. Forgiveness is for you. Take that opportunity.
—Mackenzie Phillips

67.

When you forgive, you free your soul. But when you say I’m sorry, you free two souls.
—Donald L. Hicks

68.

When a deep injury is done us, we never recover until we forgive.
—Alan Paton

69.

Humanity is never so beautiful as when praying for forgiveness, or else forgiving another.
—Jean Paul

70.

The more you forgive, the stronger you become.
—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

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

73.

One forgives to the degree that one loves.
—Francois de La Rochefoucauld

74.

The first thing that happens when you’re happy is you start forgiving everyone.
—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

76.

Forgive, O Lord, my little jokes on Thee, and I’ll forgive Thy great big joke on me.
—Robert Frost

77.

Love is an endless act of forgiveness.
—Jan Karon

78.

When you are happy you can forgive a great deal.
—Princess Diana

79.

The heart stays heavy if it remains in a state of unforgiveness.
—Aisha Mirza

80.

I think we learn the most from imperfect relationships—things like forgiveness and compassion.
—Andrea Thompson

81.

Forgiveness doesn’t excuse their behavior. It prevents their behavior from destroying your heart.
—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

83.

I will look at the past, but I will not stare at it.
—M. Spio

84.

The practice of forgiveness is our most important contribution to the healing of the world.
—Marianne Williamson

85.

A grudge is like a cesspool; forgiveness like a flowing river.
—Chris Northrup

86.

Forgiveness really is so misunderstood, as well as the power it can release in an individual.
—Jennifer O’Neill

87.

Forgiveness is the process of dropping off your emotional baggage.
—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

89.

Without forgiveness, there’s no future.
—Desmond Tutu

90.

Be happy by forgiving or forgetting or doing both, but we can gain no happiness by holding grudges.
—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

92.

Life’s too short not to forgive.
—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

94.

No one should have to go through life without forgiveness. It’s essential
—C. Kennedy Omorphi

95.

To me, forgiveness is the cornerstone of healing.
—Sylvia Fraser

96.

Tiny Men, hold tall grudges.
—J. Macken

97.

The power of forgiveness is huge; it is really big, and it can save this world.
—Immaculee Ilibagiza

98.

Forgiveness makes you feel better. As soon as you forgive, you’re free.
—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

100.

Anger makes you smaller, while forgiveness forces you to grow beyond who you were.
—Jonathan Anthony Burkett