proverb · Words worth keeping
Forgiveness hides a pleasure that you can’t get from revenge.
Forgiveness hides a pleasure that you can’t get from revenge.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Forgiveness said to contain a pleasure absent from revenge values releasing or revising a hostile response. The saying offers an alternative source of satisfaction.
What the words are saying
A responsible reading does not prescribe an emotion or require forgiveness after harm. Accountability, distance and boundaries can remain necessary, and people respond differently. A useful application can consider a chosen response without treating the injured person as responsible for reconciliation.
Everyday example
Someone chooses to let go of a retaliatory plan while retaining a boundary and seeking fair repair.
When to use it
Use it to discuss voluntary forgiveness without compulsory reconciliation.
What it does not mean
No guaranteed pleasure or duty to forgive a harmful person is established.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- Contributor-provided wisdom reference (2014 AD)
Supplied reference B; unit 525; PDF page 49; collection label: Persia/Iran
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- Persia/Iran