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The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.

Mahatma Gandhi

From *All Men Are Brothers* (1929), on moral courage · Checked on 3 March 2026
The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.

Analysis

The quote "The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong" does not appear in any of Gandhi's verified writings or speeches. It is not found in the purported source, *All Men Are Brothers* (1929), which is a Chinese novel unrelated to Gandhi. Reputable quote‑verification sites label the attribution to Gandhi as spurious.

Background

Mahatma Gandhi's extensive body of work on non‑violence and forgiveness contains many statements on the power of forgiveness, but none match this wording. The phrase appears in modern collections of inspirational quotes and is often misattributed to Gandhi without citation. The cited source, *All Men Are Brothers*, is a translation of the Chinese classic *Water Margin*, not a Gandhi text.

Verdict summary

Mahatma Gandhi never made this statement; the attribution is incorrect.

Sources consulted

— https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/gandhi-forgiveness-quote/
— https://quoteinvestigator.com/2017/06/20/strong/
— https://www.gandhiyoga.org/memory-gandhi-quotations-fact-check