by Fonda Ippolito

Created on: November 03, 2009   Last Updated: November 04, 2009

"To err is human, to forgive divine."

This quote from Alexander Pope is so well-known that it has become an idiom, often used and thought of when we find ourselves in a situation where we are troubled by someone's transgression against us. We feel angry, betrayed and resentful and we search for a way to ease our resentment, to forgive. Taken out of the context of the original work, most people interpret the line to mean that all humans make mistakes and we should strive to forgive them since it is the right and godly thing to do.

I disagree.

Alexander Pope, a brilliant 18th century poet and satirist, being the third most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations (Oxford University Press, 5th ed., 1999), is today renowned for his wit and wisdom. In his "Essay on Criticism", Pope does offer advice on forgiveness with his infamous line, however, it is not as straightforward as it is often construed; an actuality which is fortunate, since the common interpretation actually offers no advice whatsoever on "how" to forgive only that it is divine.

This excerpt from the couplet in which the line is presented allows us to delve further into Pope's actual meaning, and to extract from it sound advice on forgiving the unforgivable (An Essay on Criticism by Alexander Pope/ http://poetry.eserver.org/essay-on-criticism.html).

To what base Ends, and by what abject Ways,
Are Mortals urg'd thro' Sacred Lust of praise!
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 Humane; to Forgive, Divine.

In this excerpt, Pope is saying that humans are driven by praise and glory, placing too much emphasis on our successes that we forget the importance of failure. He is speaking specifically about critics and how bad criticism hurts writers. In this couplet he is admonishing writers who write only what critics will like, and critics who give undue praise to writing that is bad, however by understanding Pope's mindset and intentions it allows us to better interpret his meaning in the last line of the couplet.

"To err is human." To err, to make mistakes, to transgress, to slip up, to blunder, to go astray, is human. It is human. It is not only what makes us human but is what defines us as human. It is our responsibility to make mistakes, it is what we as mortals are required to do in order to change, learn and grow. Pope goes even further in stating that it is also our responsibility

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