What does this quote mean?

“To err is human; to forgive, divine.”

Error is treated as ordinary human limitation, while forgiveness requires an additional act of generosity.

Source note: An Essay on Criticism, Part II; Pope warns that shallow learning can produce premature confidence before deeper study tempers judgment.

“Charity suffereth long, and is kind.”

Love is defined partly through patience and kindness, shifting the idea from emotion alone toward repeated behavior under strain.

Source note: 1 Corinthians 13:4 in the King James Version; this is the opening clause of the verse.

“Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.”

The advice combines generosity with judgment: goodwill can be broad while trust remains selective.

Source note: All’s Well That Ends Well, Act 1, Scene 1; the Countess gives Bertram compact advice about conduct before he leaves.

“Allay the anger of your friend by kindness.”

Kindness can lower the temperature of conflict more effectively than matching a friend’s anger with additional anger.

Source note: The Moral Sayings of Publius Syrus, maxim 3, in Darius Lyman’s 1856 English rendering; maxim order can vary across editions.

“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”

The prayer links asking for mercy with practicing mercy toward other people, making forgiveness a reciprocal moral discipline rather than a one-sided demand.

Source note: Matthew 6:12 in the King James Version.

“Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.”

Support becomes concrete when people help carry difficulties that would otherwise be faced alone.

Source note: Galatians 6:2 in the King James Version.