Mar
02
Be Kinder Than Necessary
By“Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.”
It’s a great quote, but it’s unclear who said it. It actually seems to be an amalgamation of two separate quotations. Author James M. Barrie, of Peter Pan fame, said “Be kinder than necessary.” But his advice stops there. Plato is quoted as saying “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”
Whoever pushed these two together actually created a more thoughtful and salient point. It’s worth remembering the next time you find yourself about to be ungracious with someone.
[...] -from David M. Perkins’ web site: http://www.dmperkins.com/2010/03/be-kinder-than-necessary/ [...]
Hello David,
Thank you for this.
I’ve just posted your findings on this quote to one of my own blogs, and credited you.
http://kindnessuntouched.wordpress.com/2010/09/01/the-kindness-theme-of-this-blog-continues/
Be well,
Sheryl
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I understand that it most likely comes from a 1902 J. M. Barrie book called The Little White Bird; or Adventures in Kensington Garden:
“And if not an unkindness, still might he not sometimes have been a little kinder?
Shall we make a new rule of life from tonight: always to try to be a little kinder than is necessary?”