Alexander Pope, 1699-1744 To error is human. To forgive is an option if it is deserved.

To forgive is human too.

Rollie is correct, of course, Alexander Pope, adding the dates of which I was unaware without looking up...thanks, Rollie. In the Lord's Prayer, as most Christians such as myself are aware, there is the pleading to God that He forgive us (me) of our (my) sins (errs) against God, in the same manner that I forgive the sins of those who sin against us/me. I have many times searched my life, and I would forgive, if I knew anyone who did, in fact, sin against me...but I am unable to determine that such person exists. So, I guess I got it kinda easy on my side of the deal. :-)

1) "An Essay on Criticism was the first major poem written by the English writer Alexander Pope (1688-1744). However, despite the title, the poem is not as much an original analysis as it is a compilation of Pope's various literary opinions. A reading of the poem makes it clear that he is addressing not so much the ingenuous reader as the intending writer. It is written in a type of rhyming verse called heroic couplets." "Ah ne'er so dire a Thirst of Glory boast, Nor in the Critick let the Man be lost! Good-Nature and Good-Sense must ever join; To err is human, to forgive divine. [Part II] Lines 322-325. Compare: "To step aside is human ", Robert Burns, Address to the Unco Guid." Source and further information: http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/To_err_is_human "Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 – 30 May 1744) is generally regarded as the greatest English poet of the eighteenth century, best known for his satirical verse and for his translation of Homer. He is the third most frequently quoted writer in the English language, after Shakespeare and Tennyson. Pope was a master of the heroic couplet." Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Pope My opinion is that humans are also sometimes capable of forgiveness. This is beautiful when it happens, but I would not call it "divine" (I am rather from the Atheist kind...) Already the Romans knew that to err is human: 2) "errare humanum est 'to err is human' From Seneca the Younger. The full quote is errare humanum est perseverare diabolicum: 'to err is human; to persist is of the Devil'." Source and further information: "List of Latin phrases" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ex_officio#E "Lucius Annaeus Seneca (often known simply as Seneca, or Seneca the Younger) (c. 4 BC – AD 65) was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and in one work humorist, of the Silver Age of Latin literature. He was tutor and later advisor to emperor Nero." Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seneca_the_Younger 3) "Cuiusvis hominis est errare, nullius nisi insipientis in errore perseverare. Anyone can err, but only the fool persists in his fault — Marcus Tullius Cicero, Philippica XII, ii, 5." Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ex_officio#E "Marcus Tullius Cicero (Classical Latin pronounced [ˈkikeroː], usually pronounced /ˈsɪsəɹəʊ/ in English; January 3, 106 BC – December 7, 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, political theorist, philosopher, and Roman constitutionalist. Cicero is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists. Cicero is generally perceived to be one of the most versatile minds of ancient Rome. He introduced the Romans to the chief schools of Greek philosophy and created a Latin philosophical vocabulary, distinguishing himself as a linguist, translator, and philosopher. An impressive orator and successful lawyer, Cicero probably thought his political career his most important achievement. Today, he is appreciated primarily for his humanism and philosophical and political writings." Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicero

Although known in Latin (humanum est errare, it is human to err) and in earlier English versions, this saying is generally quoted in Pope's words (quot. 1711). Cf. [c 1386 Chaucer Tale of Melibee l. 1264] The proverbe seith that ‘for to do synne is mannyssh, but certes for to persevere longe in synne is werk of the devel’; [1539 R. Morison tr. J. L. Vives' Introduction to Wisdom D7] It is naturally gyuen to al men, to erre, but to no man to perseuer‥therein. To offend is humaine, to repent diuine, and to perseuere diuelish.[1578 H. Wotton tr. J. Yver's Courtly Controversy E3] To erre is humane, to repent is divine, to persevere is Diabolicall.[1659 J. Howell Proverbs (French) 12] Good-Nature and Good-Sense must ever join; To Err is Humane; to Forgive, Divine.[1711 Pope Essay on Criticism l. 525] The modern moralist pardons everything, because he is not certain of anything, except that to err is human. [1908 Times Literary Supplement 27 Mar. 1] To err is human, to forgive divine: and the police have now taken up the role of divinities, making allowances for wrongdoers instead of apprehending them. [2000 T. Dalrymple Life at Bottom (2001) 222] - submitted by Mr. Wilbert A. Nahil >droyvig@yahoo.com<