Being able to forgive is one of the healthiest emotions in the world. At times, we even need to forgive ourselves. These forgiveness quotes will show you how to start.
Forgiveness is a conscious, deliberate decision to release feelings of resentment or vengeance toward someone who has harmed you, whether they deserve it or not.
Your capacity for forgiveness often says much more about you than the person you are forgiving.
Forgiveness doesn’t have to mean reconciliation.
When we are wronged by a friend or family member, our relationship may be damaged beyond repair, but letting go of resentment and moving on with our lives is a much healthier outcome.
Here are the best forgiveness quotes to inspire you to be forgiving. Whether you’ve just been slighted, or want to let go of long-held resentment, you’ll find the perfect quote to sum up your feelings and help you to move on.
Forgiveness Quotes

The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.
Mahatma Gandhi
The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naive forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget.
Thomas Szasz
Any fool knows men and women think differently at times, but the biggest difference is this. Men forget, but never forgive; women forgive, but never forget.
Robert Jordan
It is important that we forgive ourselves for making mistakes. We need to learn from our errors and move on.
Steve Maraboli
True forgiveness is when you can say, ‘Thank you for that experience.’
Oprah Winfrey

The truth is, unless you let go, unless you forgive yourself, unless you forgive the situation, unless you realize that the situation is over, you cannot move forward.
Steve Maraboli
To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.
C.S. Lewis
Forgiveness has nothing to do with absolving a criminal of his crime. It has everything to do with relieving oneself of the burden of being a victim–letting go of the pain and transforming oneself from victim to survivor.
C.R. Strahan
To love means loving the unlovable. To forgive means pardoning the unpardonable. Faith means believing the unbelievable. Hope means hoping when everything seems hopeless.
G.K. Chesterton
It’s one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive. Forgive everybody.
Maya Angelou

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.
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
To understand somebody else as a human being, I think, is about as close to real forgiveness as one can get.
David Small
Beware of the man who does not return your blow: he neither forgives you nor allows you to forgive yourself.
George Bernard Shaw
Never forget the three powerful resources you always have available to you: love, prayer, and forgiveness.
H. Jackson Brown Jr.

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned.
Francis of Assisi
Forgive me my nonsense, as I also forgive the nonsense of those that think they talk sense.
Robert Frost
Because forgiveness is like this: a room can be dank because you have closed the windows, you’ve closed the curtains. But the sun is shining outside, and the air is fresh outside. In order to get that fresh air, you have to get up and open the window and draw the curtains apart.
Desmond Tutu
Children begin by loving their parents; after a time they judge them; rarely, if ever, do they forgive them.
Oscar Wilde
Not forgiving is like drinking rat poison and then waiting for the rat to die.
Anne Lamott

Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.
Mark Twain
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 G. Jampolsky
Dumbledore says people find it far easier to forgive others for being wrong than being right.
J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart.
Corrie Ten Boom
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

When you forgive, you love. And when you love, God’s light shines upon you.
John Krakauer
Forgiveness is not always easy. At times, it feels more painful than the wound we suffered, to forgive the one that inflicted it. And yet, there is no peace without forgiveness.
Marianne Williamson
Forgive those who have hurt you.
Les Brown
Nothing inspires forgiveness quite like revenge.
Scott Adams
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

And you know, when you’ve experienced grace and you feel like you’ve been forgiven, you’re a lot more forgiving of other people. You’re a lot more gracious to others.
Rick Warren
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 Hammarskjold
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
One of the secrets of a long and fruitful life is to forgive everybody everything every night before you go to bed.
Bernard Baruch

Sins cannot be undone, only forgiven.
Igor Stravinsky
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
I shall be an autocrat: that’s my trade. And the good Lord will forgive me: that’s his.
Catherine the Great
Humanity is never so beautiful as when praying for forgiveness, or else forgiving another.
Jean Paul
To confer dignity, forgive. To express contempt, forget.
Mason Cooley

The ineffable joy of forgiving and being forgiven forms an ecstasy that might well arouse the envy of the gods.
Elbert Hubbard
Man has two great spiritual needs. One is for forgiveness. The other is for goodness.
Billy Graham
Selfishness must always be forgiven you know, because there is no hope of a cure.
Jane Austen
One forgives to the degree that one loves.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Forgiveness must be immediate, whether or not a person asks for it. Trust must be rebuilt over time. Trust requires a track record.
Rick Warren

I wondered if that was how forgiveness budded; not with the fanfare of epiphany, but with pain gathering its things, packing up, and slipping away unannounced in the middle of the night.
Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner
Forgiveness is giving up the hope that the past could have been any different.
Oprah Winfrey
I could easily forgive his pride, if he had not mortified mine.
Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
But if you forgive someone for something they did to you, it doesn’t mean you agree with what they did or believe it was right. Forgiving that person means you have chosen not to dwell on the matter anymore; you have moved on with your life.
Idowu Koyenikan
We don’t forgive people because they deserve it. We forgive them because they need it—because we need it.
Bree Despain

I think that if God forgives us we must forgive ourselves. Otherwise, it is almost like setting up ourselves as a higher tribunal than Him.
C.S. Lewis
Forgiveness is God’s greatest gift
Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code
The practice of forgiveness is our most important contribution to the healing of the world.
Marianne Williamson
Forgiveness means it finally becomes unimportant that you hit back. You’re done.
Anne Lamott
Every year during their High Holy Days, the Jewish community reminds us all of our need for repentance and forgiveness.
Billy Graham

Forgiveness is not to give the other person peace. Forgiveness is for you. Take that opportunity.
Mackenzie Phillips
If there are dreams about a beautiful South Africa, there are also roads that lead to their goal. Two of these roads could be named Goodness and Forgiveness.
Nelson Mandela
It’s far easier to forgive an enemy after you’ve got even with him.
Jewel
Forgiveness is that subtle thread that binds both love and friendship. Without forgiveness, you may not even have a child one day.
George Foreman
Forgiveness to the injured does belong; but they ne’er pardon who have done wrong.
John Dryden

Just knowing you don’t have the answers is a recipe for humility, openness, acceptance, forgiveness, and an eagerness to learn – and those are all good things.
Dick Van Dyke
See, forgiveness doesn’t happen all at once. It’s not an event — it’s a process. Forgiveness happens while you’re asleep, while you’re dreaming, while you’re inline at the coffee shop, while you’re showering, eating, farting… It happens in the back of your mind, and then one day you realize that you don’t hate the person anymore, that your anger has gone away somewhere. And you understand. You’ve forgiven them. You don’t know how or why. It sneaked up on you. It happened in the small spaces between thoughts and in the seconds between ideas and blinks. That’s where forgiveness happens.
Barry Lyga

We often forgive those who bore us, but we cannot forgive those whom we bore.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Most of us can forgive and forget; we just don’t want the other person to forget that we forgave.
Ivern Ball
As long as you don’t forgive, who and whatever it is will occupy a rent-free space in your mind.
Isabelle Holland
The remarkable thing is that we really love our neighbor as ourselves: we do unto others as we do unto ourselves. We hate others when we hate ourselves. We are tolerant toward others when we tolerate ourselves. We forgive others when we forgive ourselves. We are prone to sacrifice others when we are ready to sacrifice ourselves.
Eric Hoffer
A broken friendship that is mended through forgiveness can be even stronger than it once was.
Stephen Richards

I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice.
Abraham Lincoln
Forgive others not because they deserve forgiveness, but because you deserve peace.
Jonathan Huie
Forgiveness is the final form of love.
Reinhold Niebuhr
God pardons like a mother, who kisses the offense into everlasting forgiveness.
Henry Ward Beecher
Choosing forgiveness opens the door of your heart and makes way for a miracle in your life.
Victoria Osteen

Forgiveness is about empowering yourself, rather than empowering your past.
T.D. Jakes
I like cast iron coated with enamel for longevity and forgiveness if I happen to take my eyes off the prize while pouring Chianti.
Mario Batali
Forgiveness takes time. It is the last step of the grieving process.
Elin Nordegren
There is freedom in forgiveness, and it’s not that hard to do once you get into the habit.
Dana Perino
As we know, forgiveness of oneself is the hardest of all the forgivenesses.
Joan Baez

Can you really forgive if you can’t forget?
Sarah Jessica Parker
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
Acceptance and tolerance and forgiveness, those are life-altering lessons.
Jessica Lange
Forgiveness really is so misunderstood, as well as the power it can release in an individual.
Jennifer O’Neill
You will know that forgiveness has begun when you recall those who hurt you and feel the power to wish them well.
Lewis B. Smedes

Forgiveness is not something you do for someone else; it’s something you do for yourself. To forgive is not to condone, it is to refuse to continue feeling bad about an injury.
Jim Beaver
Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hatred. It is a power that breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness.
Corrie Ten Boom
Life is grace. Sleep is forgiveness. The night absolves. Darkness wipes the slate clean, not spotless to be sure, but clean enough for another day’s chalking.
Frederick Buechner
It’s far easier to forgive an enemy after you’ve got even with him.
Olin Miller
God’s forgiveness allows us to be honest with ourselves. We recognize our imperfections, admit our failures, and plead to God for clemency.
Jonathan Sacks

Forgive many things in others; nothing in yourself.
Ausonius
We read that we ought to forgive our enemies; but we do not read that we ought to forgive our friends.
Sir Francis Bacon
Forgiveness isn’t approving what happened. It’s choosing to rise above it.
Robin Sharma
To forgive is the highest, most beautiful form of love. In return, you will receive untold peace and happiness.
Robert Muller
The act of forgiveness takes place in our own mind. It really has nothing to do with the other person.
Louise L. Hay

To be wronged is nothing, unless you continue to remember it.
Confucius
Forgiveness is a sign that the person who has wronged you means more to you than the wrong they have dealt.
Ben Greenhalgh
We win by tenderness. We conquer by forgiveness.
Frederick William Robertson
When a deep injury is done us, we never recover until we forgive.
Alan Paton
To understand is to forgive, even oneself.
Alexander Chase

I believe in forgiveness; I believe in trying to work with people.
John Lewis
All major religious traditions carry basically the same message; that is love, compassion and forgiveness the important thing is they should be part of our daily lives.
Dalai Lama
The only vice that cannot be forgiven is hypocrisy.
William Hazlitt
It is surely better to pardon too much, than to condemn too much.
George Eliot
Forgiveness is too easy. I can forget by indifference, but not forgive. I prefer revenge.
Karl Lagerfeld

You can’t forgive without loving. And I don’t mean sentimentality. I don’t mean mush. I mean having enough courage to stand up and say, ‘I forgive. I’m finished with it.’
Maya Angelou
Without forgiveness life is governed by an endless cycle of resentment and retaliation.
Roberto Assagioli
Forgive, forget. Bear with the faults of others as you would have them bear with yours.
Philips Brooks
Forgotten is forgiven.
F. Scott Fitzgerald
There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love.
Bryant H. McGill

Forgiveness is the remission of sins. For it is by this that what has been lost, and was found, is saved from being lost again.
St. Augustine
How unhappy is he who cannot forgive himself.
Publilius Syrus
America loves a forgiveness story. America is the land of second chances.
Michael Caputo
I’m all about preaching forgiveness and compassion.
Michel de la Montaigne
Forgiveness is for yourself because it frees you. It lets you out of that prison you put yourself in.
Louise L. Hay

Forgiveness is the sweetest revenge.
Isaac Friedmann
True forgiveness is not an action after the fact, it is an attitude with which you enter each moment.
David Ridge
If you can’t forgive and forget, pick one.
Robert Brault
Throughout life people will make you mad, disrespect you and treat you bad. Let God deal with the things they do, cause hate in your heart will consume you too.
Will Smith

Once a woman has forgiven her man, she must not reheat his sins for breakfast.
Marlene Dietrich
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.
Katherine Ponder
Wise man say: forgiveness is divine, but never pay full price for late pizza.
Michelangelo, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
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

I think the first step is to understand that forgiveness does not exonerate the perpetrator. Forgiveness liberates the victim. It’s a gift you give yourself.
T.D. Jakes
People have to forgive. We don’t have to like them, we don’t have to be friends with them, we don’t have to send them hearts in text messages, but we have to forgive them, to overlook, to forget. Because if we don’t we are tying rocks to our feet, too much for our wings to carry!
C. Joybell C.
A life lived without forgiveness is a prison.
William Arthur Ward
Anger makes you smaller, while forgiveness forces you to grow beyond what you are.
Cherie Carter Scott

We hope you’ve enjoyed these forgiveness quotes!
Wherever you are on your road to forgiveness, keep focusing on how good it feels to let go of your resentment and release yourself and others.