---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To be right and overruled is not forgiven…"
description: "\"To be right and overruled is not forgiven to persons in responsible positions.\" — Barbara Tuchman"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/503/barbara-tuchman-3945_forgiven_to-be-right-and-overruled-is-not-forgive_1989610.png"
---

#  To be right and overruled is not forgiven to persons in…

![“To be right and overruled is not forgiven to persons in responsible positions.” quote by Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/503/barbara-tuchman-3945_forgiven_to-be-right-and-overruled-is-not-forgive_1989610.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/503/barbara-tuchman-3945_forgiven_to-be-right-and-overruled-is-not-forgive_1989610.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/503/barbara-tuchman-3945_forgiven_to-be-right-and-overruled-is-not-forgive_1989610.png)

> “To be right and overruled is not forgiven to persons in responsible positions.”

[Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

People in power often make decisions that are technically correct but lack forgiveness or empathy for those affected.

**In simple terms:** Right decisions can be unkind.

Key Takeaway

Balance correctness with compassion.

Themes

leadership responsibility ethics

Mood

serious reflective

Type

advice philosophical

When to use this quote

- policy making
- management
- team leadership

Key Concepts

Moral philosophy decision making

Questions to Reflect On

- How can leaders ensure fairness while being right?
- What safeguards prevent rigid rule‑following?

A Different Perspective

Correctness without empathy can erode trust.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Forgiveness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgiveness/)

## Related quotes

> [“To be right and overruled is not forgiven to persons in responsible positions, and Michel duly paid for his clairvoyance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-w-tuchman/to-be-right-and-overruled-is-not-forgiven-to-persons-in-responsible-2/)

[Barbara W. Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-w-tuchman/)

> [“Three Guys and a Goat is not a good name for a bed and breakfast. I know, because my two partners overruled my name…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/three-guys-and-a-goat-is-not-a-good-name-for-a-bed-and-breakfast-i/)

[Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/)

> [“My need to be around Abby Abernathy overruled any rational thought. It had always been that way, and I imagined it always would.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-mcguire/my-need-to-be-around-abby-abernathy-overruled-any-rational-thought-it/)

[Jamie McGuire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-mcguire/)

> [We think the Dred Scott decision is erroneous. We know the court that made it has often overruled its own decisions, and we shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/we-think-the-dred-scott-decision-is-erroneous-we-know-the-court-that/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

> [Everybody makes bad decisions. I am sure I have made my share of them over 40 years of service. Or I have made good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/everybody-makes-bad-decisions-i-am-sure-i-have-made-my-share-of-them/)

[Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/)

> [It lies not in our power to love or hate, for will in us is overruled by fate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/it-lies-not-in-our-power-to-love-or-hate-for-will-in-us-is-overruled/)

[Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/)

> [Do not delegate an assignment and then attempt to manage it yourself - you will make an enemy of the overruled subordinate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wess-roberts/do-not-delegate-an-assignment-and-then-attempt-to-manage-it-yourself/)

[Wess Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wess-roberts/)

> [How could one comfort a disturbed person? He is already assailed with doubts about his faith. He would have to despair with such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-f-w-walther/how-could-one-comfort-a-disturbed-person-he-is-already-assailed-with/)

[C. F. W. Walther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-f-w-walther/)

> [I have forgiven all the old actors for dying. A new one comes on with the same lines, like large white growths, in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-have-forgiven-all-the-old-actors-for-dying-a-new-one-comes-on-with/)

[Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/)

> [The thing that awakens the deepest fountain of gratitude in a human being is that God has forgiven his sin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/the-thing-that-awakens-the-deepest-fountain-of-gratitude-in-a-human/)

[Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/)

> [The incorruptible things are all within the narrow gate. The peace of God which passed all understanding - the bright hope of good things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-incorruptible-things-are-all-within-the-narrow-gate-the-peace-of/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The Tao is the center of the universe, the good man's treasure, the bad man's refuge. Honors can be bought with fine words, respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-tao-is-the-center-of-the-universe-the-good-man-s-treasure-the-bad/)

[Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/)

> [Without being forgiven, released from the consequences of what we have done, our capacity to act would, as it were, be confined to one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/without-being-forgiven-released-from-the-consequences-of-what-we-have/)

[Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/)

> [To forgive and to be forgiven are the two points of holy magnificence and holy modesty; round these two centres the whole doctrine of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-williams/to-forgive-and-to-be-forgiven-are-the-two-points-of-holy-magnificence/)

[Charles Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-williams/)

> [You'd be forgiven for thinking that climate change means we'll have to sacrifice our creature comforts. But it doesn't have to be that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lynas/you-d-be-forgiven-for-thinking-that-climate-change-means-we-ll-have/)

[Mark Lynas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lynas/)

## More by Barbara Tuchman

> [While husbands and lovers in the stories are of all kinds, ranging from sympathetic to disgusting, women are invariably deceivers: inconstant, unscrupulous, quarrelsome, querulous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/while-husbands-and-lovers-in-the-stories-are-of-all-kinds-ranging/)

[Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/)

> [Doctrine tied itself into infinite knots over the realities of sex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/doctrine-tied-itself-into-infinite-knots-over-the-realities-of-sex/)

[Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/)

> [The fleet sailed to its war base in the North Sea, headed not so much for some rendezvous with glory as for rendezvous with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/the-fleet-sailed-to-its-war-base-in-the-north-sea-headed-not-so-much/)

[Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/)

> [Learning from experience is a faculty almost never practiced](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/learning-from-experience-is-a-faculty-almost-never-practiced/)

[Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/)

> [War is the unfolding of miscalculations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/war-is-the-unfolding-of-miscalculations/)

[Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/)

> [The poets have familiarized more people with history than have the historians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/the-poets-have-familiarized-more-people-with-history-than-have-the/)

[Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/)

> [Money was the crux. Raising money to pay the cost of war was to cause more damage to 14th century society than the physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/money-was-the-crux-raising-money-to-pay-the-cost-of-war-was-to-cause/)

[Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/)

> [Misgovernment is of four kinds, often in combination. They are: 1) tyranny or oppression, of which history provides so many well-known examples that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/misgovernment-is-of-four-kinds-often-in-combination-they-are-1/)

[Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/)

> [The power to command frequently causes failure to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/the-power-to-command-frequently-causes-failure-to-think/)

[Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/)

> [We seem to be afflicted by a widespread and eroding reluctance to take any stand on any values, moral, behavioral or esthetic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/we-seem-to-be-afflicted-by-a-widespread-and-eroding-reluctance-to/)

[Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/)

> [ The clergy \[in the 14th century\] on the whole were probably no more lecherous or greedy or untrustworthy than other men, but because they… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/the-clergy-in-the-14th-century-on-the-whole-were-probably-no-more/)

[Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/)

> [Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/without-books-history-is-silent-literature-dumb-science-crippled/)

[Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/)

> [Words are seductive and dangerous material, to be used with caution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/words-are-seductive-and-dangerous-material-to-be-used-with-caution/)

[Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/)

> [“German soldiers, posted as informers, were found dressed as peasants, even as peasant women. The latter were discovered, presumably in the course of non-military…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/german-soldiers-posted-as-informers-were-found-dressed-as-peasants/)

[Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/)

> [I ask myself, have nations ever declined from a loss of moral sense rather than from physical reasons or the pressure of barbarians? I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/i-ask-myself-have-nations-ever-declined-from-a-loss-of-moral-sense/)

[Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/)

[Explore all 119 Barbara Tuchman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/)

## More Forgiven quotes

> [You'd be forgiven for thinking that climate change means we'll have to sacrifice our creature comforts. But it doesn't have to be that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lynas/you-d-be-forgiven-for-thinking-that-climate-change-means-we-ll-have/)

[Mark Lynas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lynas/)

> [To forgive and to be forgiven are the two points of holy magnificence and holy modesty; round these two centres the whole doctrine of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-williams/to-forgive-and-to-be-forgiven-are-the-two-points-of-holy-magnificence/)

[Charles Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-williams/)

> [Without being forgiven, released from the consequences of what we have done, our capacity to act would, as it were, be confined to one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/without-being-forgiven-released-from-the-consequences-of-what-we-have/)

[Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/)

> [The Tao is the center of the universe, the good man's treasure, the bad man's refuge. Honors can be bought with fine words, respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-tao-is-the-center-of-the-universe-the-good-man-s-treasure-the-bad/)

[Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/)

> [The incorruptible things are all within the narrow gate. The peace of God which passed all understanding - the bright hope of good things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-incorruptible-things-are-all-within-the-narrow-gate-the-peace-of/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The thing that awakens the deepest fountain of gratitude in a human being is that God has forgiven his sin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/the-thing-that-awakens-the-deepest-fountain-of-gratitude-in-a-human/)

[Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/)

> [I have forgiven all the old actors for dying. A new one comes on with the same lines, like large white growths, in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-have-forgiven-all-the-old-actors-for-dying-a-new-one-comes-on-with/)

[Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/)

> [How could one comfort a disturbed person? He is already assailed with doubts about his faith. He would have to despair with such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-f-w-walther/how-could-one-comfort-a-disturbed-person-he-is-already-assailed-with/)

[C. F. W. Walther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-f-w-walther/)

> [“Maybe it’s about who can do what to whom and be forgiven for it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/maybe-it-s-about-who-can-do-what-to-whom-and-be-forgiven-for-it/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [Make your past to be forgiven in peace. Forget thy heart breaking moments you had to go through. God will heal you out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bigheartedperson/make-your-past-to-be-forgiven-in-peace-forget-thy-heart-breaking/)

BigHeartedPerson

> [It is by forgiving that one is forgiven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/it-is-by-forgiving-that-one-is-forgiven/)

[Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/)

> [“To Graduate from the "School of Life" you need to have met the following criteria: Found your life purpose, know how the egoic mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-g-roussou/to-graduate-from-the-school-of-life-you-need-to-have-met-the/)

[Marina G. Roussou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-g-roussou/)

> [I'm washed, I'm forgiven, I'm whole, and I'm healed. I'm cleansed and I'm glory bound. I am only a sojourner on the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-munroe/i-m-washed-i-m-forgiven-i-m-whole-and-i-m-healed-i-m-cleansed-and-i-m/)

[Myles Munroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-munroe/)

> [“Some enemies are not worthy of being forgiven, even if they are forgiven a million times.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fahad-basheer/some-enemies-are-not-worthy-of-being-forgiven-even-if-they-are/)

[Fahad Basheer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fahad-basheer/)

> [“Nobody's perfect, Horace. But you're forgiven for assuming.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-sanders/nobody-s-perfect-horace-but-you-re-forgiven-for-assuming/)

Ted Sanders

Browse all 785 Forgiven quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "To be right and overruled is not forgiven to persons in responsible positions.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Barbara Tuchman"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/to-be-right-and-overruled-is-not-forgiven-to-persons-in-responsible/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Forgiven"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/to-be-right-and-overruled-is-not-forgiven-to-persons-in-responsible/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/503/barbara-tuchman-3945_forgiven_to-be-right-and-overruled-is-not-forgive_1989610.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/503/barbara-tuchman-3945_forgiven_to-be-right-and-overruled-is-not-forgive_1989610.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/503/barbara-tuchman-3945_forgiven_to-be-right-and-overruled-is-not-forgive_1989610.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“To be right and overruled is not forgiven to persons in responsible positions.” — Barbara Tuchman",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Barbara Tuchman",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "To be right and overruled is...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/to-be-right-and-overruled-is-not-forgiven-to-persons-in-responsible/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/to-be-right-and-overruled-is-not-forgiven-to-persons-in-responsible/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
