to err is human; to forgive, divine

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Meaning · English

Mistakes are inevitable, but forgiveness is a noble trait.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Lỗi lầm là điều không tránh khỏi, nhưng tha thứ là một đức tính cao cả

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Where it’s used: Used Widespread English
Sources & notes

Listed on Wikipedia “List of proverbial phrases” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.

Common questions

What does “to err is human; to forgive, divine” mean?

Mistakes are inevitable, but forgiveness is a noble trait.

Is “to err is human; to forgive, divine” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

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