“Before one blames, one should always find out whether one cannot excuse. To discover little faults has been always the particularity of such brains that are a little or not at all above the average. The superior ones keep quiet or say something against the whole and the great minds transform without blaming.”

— Georg Christoph Lichtenberg

K 39
Variant translation: Before we blame we should first see whether we cannot excuse.
Aphorisms (1765-1799), Notebook K (1789-1793)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

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Georg Christoph Lichtenberg137

German scientist, satirist 1742–1799

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