To forget a wrong is the best revenge.
Meaning: Holding onto grievance poisons the grudge-bearer while freeing the offender from further harm.
Origin: Recorded in A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases, an undated collection published in London by Whittaker & Co. around 1880 and credited to Thomas Preston. Its earlier history hasn't been traced.
More proverbs about Morality
- He that sings on Friday shall weep on Sunday. — Premature celebration invites misfortune; joy separated from caution courts sorrow.
- Though good be good yet better carries it. — Excellence demands continuous improvement; settling for mere goodness invites complacency…
- Good harvests make men prodigal, bad ones provident. — Abundance breeds carelessness; scarcity teaches careful resource management through hard…
- It is no use throwing good money after bad. — Pouring additional resources into a failing project only multiplies losses instead of sal…
- A man may lose his goods for want of demanding them. — Passivity in protecting one's own interests invites others to encroach upon or deny right…
- God reacheth us good things with our own hands. — Our own efforts transform divine blessings into tangible benefits we can truly possess.
From our idioms
- ein Esel schimpft den andern Langohr — A person criticizes another for the same fault they themselves possess.
- außer Rand und Band geraten — To lose control and behave wildly or unruly.
- nah am Wasser gebaut — Someone who cries easily or is prone to tears.