“We forgive the wicked for being wicked; we do not forgive them for making us suffer.”Luc de Vauvenargues · Reflecții și maxime · 1746 · Maxima 386
We forgive evil as an idea, but not the pain that touched us.
The remark splits forgiveness in two: as a species, we tolerate the existence of evil — people are flawed, that's human nature. But when evil touches us personally, philosophical tolerance collapses, because pain is not a concept. We condemn corruption in general with indifference, yet a clerk who personally blocks our file ignites our fury.
Why it matters It helps explain why forgiveness is easy in theory and hard in practice, and why abstract morality is not enough.