The responsibility of tolerance lies with those who have the wider vision.
—George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans) (1819–80) English Novelist
The greatest and noblest pleasure which men can have in this world is to discover new truths; and the next is to shake off old prejudices.
—Frederick II of Prussia (1712–86) Prussian Monarch
Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions.
—G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936) English Journalist, Novelist, Essayist, Poet
Persecution was at least a sign of personal interest. Tolerance is composed of nine parts of apathy to one of brotherly love.
—Frank Moore Colby (1865–1925) American Encyclopedia Editor, Essayist
Before me, said the Lord, “there is no difference between Jew and Gentile; he that accomplishes good, will I reward accordingly”.
—The Talmud Sacred Text of the Jewish Faith
The highest result of education is tolerance. Long ago men fought and died for their faith; but it took ages to teach them the other kind of courage,—the courage to recognize the faiths of their brethren and their rights of conscience. Tolerance is the first principal of community; it is the spirit which conserves the best that all men think.
—Helen Keller (1880–1968) American Author
Cultivate your own capabilities, your own style. Appreciate the members of your family for who they are, even though their outlook or style may be miles different from yours. Rabbits don’t fly. Eagles don’t swim. Ducks look funny trying to climb. Squirrels don’t have feathers. Stop comparing. There’s plenty of room in the forest.
—Chuck Swindoll (b.1934) American Evangelical Christian Pastor, Author
Be entirely tolerant or not at all; follow the good path or the evil one. To stand at the crossroads requires more strength than you possess.
—Heinrich Heine (1797–1856) German Poet, Writer
No human trait deserves less tolerance in everyday life, and gets less, than intolerance.
—Giacomo Leopardi (1798–1837) Italian Poet, Essayist, Philosopher
I think we have to own the fears that we have of each other, and then, in some practical way, some daily way, figure out how to see people differently than the way we were brought up to.
—Alice Walker (b.1944) American Novelist, Activist
Those wearing tolerance for a label call other views intolerable.
—Phyllis McGinley (1905–78) American Children’s Books Writer, Poet, Writer of Children’s Books
Give to every other human being every right that you claim for yourself.
—Robert G. Ingersoll (1833–99) American Lawyer, Orator, Agnostic
Toleration is the best religion.
—Victor Hugo (1802–85) French Novelist
Support the aged without reference to religion; respect the learned without reference to age.
—The Talmud Sacred Text of the Jewish Faith
No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.
—Nelson Mandela (1918–2013) South African Political leader
Tolerance is a very dull virtue. It is boring. Unlike love, it has always had a bad press. It is negative. It merely means putting up with people, being able to stand things.
—E. M. Forster (1879–1970) English Novelist, Short Story Writer, Essayist
Tolerance becomes a crime when applied to evil.
—Thomas Mann (1875–1955) German Novelist, Short Story Writer, Social Critic, Philanthropist, Essayist
Tolerance is the positive and cordial effort to understand another’s beliefs, practices, and habits without necessarily sharing or accepting them.
—Joshua L. Liebman (1907–48) American Jewish Rabbi, Author
Intolerance is evidence of impotence.
—Aleister Crowley (1875–1947) English Occultist, Mystic, Magician
I always prefer to believe the best of everybody — it saves so much trouble.
—Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936) British Children’s Books Writer, Short story, Novelist, Poet, Journalist
Intolerance betrays want of faith in one’s cause.
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian Hindu Political leader
There is a limit at which forbearance ceases to be a virtue.
—Edmund Burke (1729–97) British Philosopher, Statesman
When we clearly understand that there is no superior sex or superior race, we will have opened the door of communication and laid the foundation for building winning relationships with all people in this global world of ours.
—Zig Ziglar (1926–2012) American Author
Travel teaches tolerance.
—Benjamin Disraeli (1804–81) British Head of State
Intolerance respecting other people’s religion is toleration itself in comparison with intolerance respecting other people’s art.
—Wallace Stevens (1879–1955) American Poet
The Lord who proclaimed the Law of Sinai is the God of all nations.
—The Talmud Sacred Text of the Jewish Faith
Nothing dies so hard, or rallies so often as intolerance.
—Henry Ward Beecher (1813–87) American Clergyman, Writer
In the practice of tolerance, one’s enemy is the best teacher.
—The 14th Dalai Lama (b.1935) Tibetan Buddhist Religious Leader, Civil Rights Leader, Philosopher, Author
Prejudices, it is well known, are most difficult to eradicate from the heart whose soil has never been loosened or fertilized by education; they grow there, firm as weeds among rocks.
—Charlotte Bronte (1816–1855) English Novelist, Poet
Intolerance is the “Do Not Touch” sign on something that cannot bear touching. We do not mind having our hair ruffled, but we will not tolerate any familiarity with the toupee which covers our baldness.
—Eric Hoffer (1902–83) American Philosopher, Author
I have seen great intolerance shown in support of tolerance.
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834) English Poet, Literary Critic, Philosopher
People are very open-minded about new things—as long as they’re exactly like the old ones.
—Charles F. Kettering (1876–1958) American Inventor, Entrepreneur, Businessperson
Through the centuries, the history of peoples is but a lesson in mutual tolerance.
—Emile Zola (1840–1902) French Novelist
Minds are like parachutes—they only function when open.
—Thomas Dewar, 1st Baron Dewar (1864–1930) Scottish Businessperson
When travelling with someone, take large doses of patience and tolerance with your morning coffee
—Helen Hayes (1900–93) American Actor, Philanthropist
Light came to me when I realized that I did not have to consider any racial group as a whole. God made them duck by duck and that was the only way I could see them.
—Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960) American Novelist
Until you have learned to be tolerant with those who do not always agree with you; until you have cultivated the habit of saying some kind word of those whom you do not admire; until you have formed the habit of looking for the good instead of the bad there is in others, you will be neither successful nor happy.
—Napoleon Hill (1883–1970) American Author, Journalist, Attorney, Lecturer
Whenever you hold a fellow creature in distress, remember that he is a man.
—Seneca the Younger (Lucius Annaeus Seneca) (c.4 BCE–65 CE) Roman Stoic Philosopher, Statesman, Tragedian
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit together at the table of brotherhood that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
—Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–68) American Civil Rights Leader, Clergyman
You’ve got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
Of people whose skin is a different shade.
You’ve got to be carefully taught.
—Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960) American Songwriter, Composer, Theater Producer, Writer
World peace, like community peace, does not require that each man love his neighbor—it requires only that they live together with mutual tolerance, submitting their disputes to a just and peaceful settlement.
—John F. Kennedy (1917–63) American Head of State, Journalist
I’m quite sure that … I have no race prejudices, and I think I have no color prejudices nor caste prejudices nor creed prejudices. Indeed, I know it. I can stand any society. All that I care to know is that a man is a human being—that is enough for me he can’t be any worse.
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
We need to promote greater tolerance and understanding among the peoples of the world. Nothing can be more dangerous to our efforts to build peace and development than a world divided along religious, ethnic or cultural lines. In each nation, and among all nations, we must work to promote unity based on our shared humanity.
—Kofi Annan (1938–2018) Ghanaian Statesman, International Diplomat
Do you want a sign that you’re asleep? Here it is: you’re suffering. Suffering is a sign that you’re out of touch with the truth. Suffering is given to you that you might open your eyes to the truth, that you might understand that there’s falsehood somewhere, just as physical pain is given to you so you will understand that there is disease or illness somewhere. Suffering occurs when you clash with reality. When your illusions clash with reality, when your falsehoods clash with truth, then you have suffering. Otherwise there is no suffering.
—Anthony de Mello (1931–87) Indian-born American Theologian
The test of courage comes when we are in the minority. The test of tolerance comes when we are in the majority.
—Ralph Washington Sockman (1889–1970) American United Methodist Pastor
Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one’s own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others.
—John F. Kennedy (1917–63) American Head of State, Journalist
Tolerance is another word for indifference.
—W. Somerset Maugham (1874–1965) British Novelist, Short-Story Writer, Playwright
What is objectionable, what is dangerous, about extremists is not that they are extreme, but that they are intolerant. The evil is not what they say about their cause, but what they say about their opponents.
—Robert F. Kennedy (1925–68) American Politician, Civil Rights Activist
Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.
—Maya Angelou (1928–2014) American Poet
The virtuous of all nations participate in eternal bliss.
—The Talmud Sacred Text of the Jewish Faith