Daily Inspiration Quote by Plutarch

"For to err in opinion, though it be not the part of wise men, is at least human"

Plutarch, Philosopher

About this Quote

A clean bit of classical jujitsu: Plutarch grants the ideal (wise men should get things right) only to undercut the impulse to weaponize that ideal against everyone else. The line pivots on a carefully balanced concession. “To err in opinion” sounds like a moral failure in miniature, the kind of mistake that in public life gets treated as evidence of corruption or stupidity. Plutarch narrows it: not a crime, not even a vice, just an error of judgment. Then he widens it: it’s “at least human.” That “at least” matters. It’s both consolation and rebuke, insisting that fallibility isn’t an embarrassing exception but the baseline condition.

The intent is less permissive than it first appears. Plutarch isn’t excusing sloppy thinking; he’s disarming the cruelty of perfectionism. By separating wisdom from humanity, he sketches a realistic ladder of aspiration: wisdom is a discipline, humanity is the given. The subtext takes aim at the social theater of certainty. People cling to opinions as status signals; admitting error risks humiliation. Plutarch offers a cultural permission slip to revise yourself without self-erasure.

Contextually, this sits comfortably in the moralist tradition Plutarch helped define: ethical self-correction through character, not through punitive shame. In a civic world built on rhetoric, reputation, and faction, “error” could be fatal currency. His line argues for a softer, sturdier ethics: accountability without annihilation. If even the wise can’t guarantee infallibility, then the decent response to wrong opinions is not scorn but patience, persuasion, and the quiet expectation that minds can change.

Quote Details

Topic	Wisdom
Source	Verified source: Moralia: Against Colotes (Plutarch) Text match: 95.00% Provider: Cross-Reference Evidence: For to err in opinion, though it be not the part of wise men, is at least human; but to impute to others the errors and offences they commit themselves, how can any one declare what it is, if he forbears to give it the name it deserves? (§ 32 (traditional Moralia pagination often given as 1126A in some editions; verify in your edition)). This wording appears in Plutarch’s essay commonly titled “Against Colotes” (Greek: Πρὸς Κωλώτην), which is part of Plutarch’s Moralia. The quote is not a standalone proverb in Plutarch; it is the first clause of a longer sentence. IMPORTANT re: “first published/spoken”: Plutarch wrote in antiquity (1st–early 2nd century CE). Exact composition/publication year is not securely known, and ancient works weren’t ‘published’ in the modern sense; the best you can usually do is attribute it to Plutarch’s Moralia treatise “Against Colotes,” composed sometime during his lifetime (commonly c. 46–c. 120 CE). If you need a modern print ‘publication year’ and page number, tell me which edition/translator you are using (e.g., Loeb Classical Library, Babbitt, Goodwin, etc.), because pagination varies by edition; many classical references instead use the internal section number (§32) and/or the standard ‘Moralia’ Stephanus-style page/letter reference used by that edition tradition. Other candidates (1) Plutarch's Morals, tr. by several hands. Corrected and re... (Plutarchus, 1874) compilation95.0% ... For to err in opinion , though it be not the part of wise men , is at least human ; but to impute to others the e...
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