proverb · Words worth keeping
To forget wrong is the greatest revenge.
To forget wrong is the greatest revenge.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The saying favours freeing your attention from a past wrong over answering it with further harm. Moving on can be valuable while remembering what happened and keeping appropriate boundaries.
Example
A contributor whose complaint has been resolved turns to a new project rather than continuing a public quarrel, while keeping the correspondence needed to explain the earlier resolution.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
This wording shares the forget-wrong idea with the related entry that calls it the best revenge. Greatest strengthens the praise but does not supply a separate historical principle. The apparent revenge is the refusal to keep the grievance at the centre of one’s choices. Forgetting should not be read as an obligation to destroy evidence or pretend the wrong did not occur. A response seeking repair can still be reasonable. The useful question is whether the next action addresses a continuing need or mainly repeats a contest with the person involved, and whether another course would better serve the affected person.
When to use it
Use it cautiously when continued retaliation is keeping a resolved grievance central.
Keep in mind
No one must erase a wrong or abandon a continuing need for protection, repair or acknowledgement.
An interpretation of the words, not a claim about their 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
- Date unknown
- Culture
- English