"Injuries may be forgiven, but not forgotten"
About this Quote
Forgiveness is being offered here with one hand while the other quietly keeps score. Aesop’s line has the hard, peasant-smart realism of fables: it’s not a sermon about sainthood, it’s a survival rule for people who live close to consequences. “May be forgiven” signals a social choice - the public act that restores order, keeps the village from splintering into permanent vendetta. “But not forgotten” is the private ledger: the nervous system that remembers what the mind tries to smooth over.
The intent is less moral than strategic. In Aesop’s world, where foxes flatter, wolves bargain, and farmers misjudge storms, trust is a wager with real costs. Forgiving can be wise, even necessary; forgetting is reckless. The line respects the limits of human nature and, more importantly, the limits of human incentives. If harm can be erased by a performance of regret, predators learn that apologies are just another tool. Memory becomes a boundary, not a grudge: you can release the demand for repayment while still updating your model of someone’s character.
The subtext also pricks at power. The injured party is often pressured to “move on” for the comfort of everyone else. Aesop grants permission to do the socially graceful thing without surrendering your own evidence. It’s a compact defense against gaslighting before the word existed: you can accept peace terms and still retain the truth of what happened. Forgiveness, yes. Amnesia, no.
The intent is less moral than strategic. In Aesop’s world, where foxes flatter, wolves bargain, and farmers misjudge storms, trust is a wager with real costs. Forgiving can be wise, even necessary; forgetting is reckless. The line respects the limits of human nature and, more importantly, the limits of human incentives. If harm can be erased by a performance of regret, predators learn that apologies are just another tool. Memory becomes a boundary, not a grudge: you can release the demand for repayment while still updating your model of someone’s character.
The subtext also pricks at power. The injured party is often pressured to “move on” for the comfort of everyone else. Aesop grants permission to do the socially graceful thing without surrendering your own evidence. It’s a compact defense against gaslighting before the word existed: you can accept peace terms and still retain the truth of what happened. Forgiveness, yes. Amnesia, no.
Quote Details
| Topic | Forgiveness |
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