Quote from Dubliners by James Joyce in “Two Gallants”
“He thought how pleasant it would be to have a warm fire to sit by and a good dinner to sit down to. He had walked the streets long enough with friends and with girls. He knew what those friends were worth: he knew the girls too.
Experience had embittered his heart against the world.
But all hope had not left him. He felt better after having eaten than he had felt before, less weary of his life, less vanquished in spirit.”
Tout comprendre c’est tout pardonner..
“To understand all is to forgive all”
– Evelyn Waugh Brideshead Revisted.
This quote originated somewhere else at an earlier date – Leo Tolstoy in War and Peace; I am inquisitive about it – as to its meaning.
I have reflected that to truly understand (or empathise) one must have suffered a similar situation or to a similar degree. No one would wish that upon anyone. Therefore I consider it important to note that true forgiveness is not about empathy or understanding from our own experiences, it is a giving up of one’s self – our criticisms and doubts and selfish desires – to consider another person more important than oneself. It does not require in-depth understanding but a depth of character that is reflected in Christ’s nature – to reflect the image of God.
Count the stars of heaven 