proverb · Words worth keeping
If you offend, ask for pardon; if offended, forgive.
If you offend, ask for pardon; if offended, forgive.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
An offender asked to seek pardon and an offended person to forgive pair responsibility with mercy. The saying gives both sides a response after harm.
What the words are saying
A responsible reading does not make apology sufficient or forgiveness compulsory. Repair, accountability, distance and boundaries can remain necessary. A useful application can encourage a genuine acknowledgment without assigning the harmed person responsibility for reconciliation or prescribing an emotion.
Everyday example
Someone apologises and offers appropriate repair while respecting the other person’s choice about further contact.
When to use it
Use it to discuss apology and voluntary mercy with accountability retained.
What it does not mean
No duty to forgive, reconcile or accept an apology as complete repair is established.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or 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
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- Contributor-provided wisdom reference (2014 AD)
Supplied reference B; unit 566; PDF page 53; collection label: Assyria/Ethiopia
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- Assyria/Ethiopia