We can forgive people who bore us, but never those whom we bore.

[Nous pardonnons souvent à ceux qui nous ennuient, mais nous ne pouvons pardonner à ceux que nous ennuyons.]

François VI, duc de La Rochefoucauld (1613–1680) French epigrammatist, memoirist, noble
Réflexions ou sentences et maximes morales [Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims], ¶304 (1665-1678) [tr. Heard (1917), ¶311]
    (Source)

This first appeared in the 3rd (1671) edition.

(Source (French)). Other translations:

We often forgive those that have Injured us, but we can never Pardon those that we have Injured.
[tr. Stanhope (1694), ¶304]

We often forgive those who tire us, but cannot forgive those whom we tire.
[pub. Donaldson (1783), ¶481]

We easily forgive those who weary us; but we never forgive those who are wearied by us.
[ed. Carvill (1835), ¶408]

We often pardon those who weary us, but we cannot pardon those whom we weary.
[ed. Gowens (1851), ¶314]

We may forgive those who bore us, we cannot forgive those whom we bore.
[tr. Bund/Friswell (1871), ¶304]

We often forgive those who bore us; but we cannot forgive those whom we bore ourselves.
[tr. Stevens (1939), ¶304]

We often forgive those who bore us, but that others should find us boring is quite unforgiveable.
[tr. FitzGibbon (1957), ¶304]

We often forgive those who bore us; we cannot forgive those whom we bore.
[tr. Kronenberger (1959), ¶304]

We often forgive those who bore us, but we cannot forgive those who find us boring.
[tr. Tancock (1959), ¶304]

We often forgive those who bore us; but never can we forgive those we have bored.
[tr. Whichello (2016) ¶304]


 
Added on 1-Feb-04 | Last updated 17-Jul-26
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