W. Somerset Maugham Quotes

My experience of people is that they are infinitely forgivable.

I just don't know that shame and fear need to be our teachers; rather, compassion, understanding, and love should be our guides.

You are not angry with people when you laugh at them. Humor teaches tolerance.

One should never condemn what one cannot understand.

No emergency excuses you from exercising tolerance.

Instead of condemning people, let's try to understand them. Let's try to figure out why they do what they do. That's a lot more profitable and intriguing than criticism; and it breeds sympathy, tolerance and kindness.

What the world most needs today are negative virtues - not minding people, not being huffy, touchy, irritable or revengeful.

You hate evil, but you don't hate the people that do evil. So, hate has to go out the window.

We have to have a deep, patient compassion for the fears of others and irrational mania of those who hate or condemn us.

Believe the best about people. Pray for their short comings. You are not the standard. We all need grace.

Hating people isn’t a productive way of living. So what’s the point in hating anyone? There’s enough hate in the world as it is, without me adding to it.

You've got to let people be just, you know, people. Everyone does bad things sometimes, for all sorts of reasons. You've got to at least understand.

There would be very little to dislike in other people if we refused to bring to them all of our own judgements and petty grievances.

I have begun to sympathetically understand Paul, though I don't like him much.

Tolerance, compromise, understanding, acceptance, patience - I want those all to be very sharp tools in my shed.

I've gotten really good at not judging characters.

I can't approach a character with judgment.

Perhaps the greatest charity comes when we are kind to each other, when we don’t judge or categorize someone else, when we simply give each other the benefit of the doubt or remain quiet. Charity is accepting someone’s differences, weaknesses, and shortcomings; having patience with someone who has let us down; or resisting the impulse to become offended when someone doesn’t handle something the way we might have hoped. Charity is refusing to take advantage of another’s weakness and being willing to forgive someone who has hurt us. Charity is expecting the best of each other

When you're frustrated with people, when they've made you angry, it just may be because you haven't given them enough time.

Compassion and tolerance are not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength.

The more patient we are, the more understanding we become.

We should not let our response to the people who disagree with us be dictated by what they say about us or even how they treat people we care for. There has to be a chance that we can find love.

Love happens when people forgive.

Patience helps us to view imperfections in others more generously to the end that we may learn to be more wise than they have been.

I think we ought to give ourselves more time. We should be more patient with ourselves and with each other.