“It is easier to forgive an Enemy than to forgive a Friend.”

— William Blake

Source: 1800s, Jerusalem The Emanation of The Giant Albion (c. 1803–1820), Ch. 4, plate 91, line 1

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Nov. 2, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "It is easier to forgive an Enemy than to forgive a Friend." by William Blake?

William Blake 249

English Romantic poet and artist 1757–1827

Related quotes

“Forgiving men is so much easier than forgiving women.”

Margaret Atwood (1939) Canadian writer

Source: CAT'S EYE.

“It's easier to ask forgiveness than to beg for permission.”

Lora Leigh (1965) American writer

Source: Lion's Heat

“Isn't it easier to forgive than to hate?
-Eriond”

David Eddings (1931–2009) American novelist

Source: Sorceress of Darshiva

“It is always easier to get forgiveness than permission.”

Lois McMaster Bujold Vorkosigan Saga

This seems to be derived from a statement attributed to Rear Admiral Grace Hopper, and which she regularly used in her public addresses: "It's easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission."
Vorkosigan Saga, A Civil Campaign (1999)

“It's easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission.”

Grace Hopper (1906–1992) American computer scientist and United States Navy officer

As quoted in the U.S. Navy's Chips Ahoy magazine (July 1986)
As quoted in Built to Learn: The Inside Story of How Rockwell Collins Became a True Learning Organization (2003) by Cliff Purington, Chris Butler, and Sarah Fister Gale, p. 171
The future: Hardware, Software, and People in Carver https://books.google.com/books?id=5Q7uAAAAMAAJ, 1983
Actually attested since mid-19th century.
Variant: If it's a good idea, go ahead and do it. It is much easier to apologize than it is to get permission.
Variant: That brings me to the most important piece of advice that I can give to all of you: if you've got a good idea, and it's a contribution, I want you to go ahead and DO IT. It is much easier to apologize than it is to get permission.
Source: https://quoteinvestigator.com/2018/06/19/forgive/