--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Force may subdue, but love gains, and he…" description: "\"Force may subdue, but love gains, and he that forgives first wins the laurel.\" — William Penn" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7b/william-penn-1104_force_force-may-subdue-but-love-gains-and-he-t_1961347.png" --- # Force may subdue, but love gains, and he that forgives… ![“Force may subdue, but love gains, and he that forgives first wins the laurel.” quote by William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7b/william-penn-1104_force_force-may-subdue-but-love-gains-and-he-t_1961347.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7b/william-penn-1104_force_force-may-subdue-but-love-gains-and-he-t_1961347.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7b/william-penn-1104_force_force-may-subdue-but-love-gains-and-he-t_1961347.png) > “Force may subdue, but love gains, and he that forgives first wins the laurel.” [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Force can dominate, but love and forgiveness ultimately bring true honor and lasting success. **In simple terms:** Love and forgiveness outweigh coercion. Key Takeaway Choose compassion over force. Themes compassion forgiveness honor Mood thoughtful hopeful Type ethical inspirational When to use this quote - relationships - team management - personal integrity Key Concepts ethical leadership conflict resolution Questions to Reflect On - When have you chosen love over power? - What does true honor mean to you? A Different Perspective Forgiveness may be seen as weakness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [Let us, then, try what love will do, for if people once see we love them, we should soon find that they would not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/let-us-then-try-what-love-will-do-for-if-people-once-see-we-love-them/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > [Where charity keeps pace with gain, industry is blessed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/where-charity-keeps-pace-with-gain-industry-is-blessed/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > [A brother is one who always loves you whenever you hurt him, he always ignores your bad things and focuses on your good things.He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alister/a-brother-is-one-who-always-loves-you-whenever-you-hurt-him-he-always/) [Alister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alister/) > [Life never forgives weaknesses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/life-never-forgives-weaknesses/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [The man who forgives pays a tremendous price - the price of the evil he forgives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-w-augsburger/the-man-who-forgives-pays-a-tremendous-price-the-price-of-the-evil-he/) [David W Augsburger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-w-augsburger/) > [Scorpio forgives but never forgets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scorpio-forgives-but-never-forgets/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Do not be misled into thinking that God simply forgives and forgets. If that were so, there would be no judgment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduvie-donald/do-not-be-misled-into-thinking-that-god-simply-forgives-and-forgets/) [Eduvie Donald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eduvie-donald/) > [“Experience tells us what not to do again & what to do better. Our heart forgives whilst our mind remembers and becomes the gatekeeper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bluenscottish/experience-tells-us-what-not-to-do-again-what-to-do-better-our-heart/) Bluenscottish > [Jesus forgives sinners, not criminals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/jesus-forgives-sinners-not-criminals/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [God forgives,but he never forgets!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patience/god-forgives-but-he-never-forgets/) Patience > [“Even if God forgives you, you do not forgive yourself. You live in your sorrow like a room of mirrors that reflects on and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-johns/even-if-god-forgives-you-you-do-not-forgive-yourself-you-live-in-your/) Rebecca Johns > [“Sometimes one forgives in order to remain in a relationship with someone she cares about, even if the person has caused her pain and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-jessop/sometimes-one-forgives-in-order-to-remain-in-a-relationship-with/) [Carolyn Jessop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-jessop/) > [“Give me strength to forgive. Because he who forgives is the greatest. And I know I cannot forget.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/me-a-selimovi/give-me-strength-to-forgive-because-he-who-forgives-is-the-greatest/) [Meša Selimović](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/me-a-selimovi/) > [“God forgives. Nowhere did it say that angels had to. I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-r-bedford/god-forgives-nowhere-did-it-say-that-angels-had-to-i/) Erin R. Bedford > [Love yourself love everyone if though you don't like them or if you've done them something Forgives is the key. . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-brown/love-yourself-love-everyone-if-though-you-don-t-like-them-or-if-you/) [Jordan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-brown/) ## More by William Penn > [Love grows. Lust wastes by Enjoyment, and the Reason is, that one springs from an Union of Souls, and the other from an Union…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/love-grows-lust-wastes-by-enjoyment-and-the-reason-is-that-one/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > [Once you've accumulated sufficient knowledge to get by, you're too old to remember it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/once-you-ve-accumulated-sufficient-knowledge-to-get-by-you-re-too-old/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > [If thou wouldn't conquer thy weakness thou must not gratify it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/if-thou-wouldn-t-conquer-thy-weakness-thou-must-not-gratify-it/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > [Religion is the fear of God, and its demonstration good works; and faith is the root of both: For without faith we cannot please…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/religion-is-the-fear-of-god-and-its-demonstration-good-works-and/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > [All excess is ill; but drunkenness is of the worst sort. It spoils health, dismounts the mind, and unmans men. It reveals secrets, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/all-excess-is-ill-but-drunkenness-is-of-the-worst-sort-it-spoils/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > [“Let us then try what love can do to mend a broken world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/let-us-then-try-what-love-can-do-to-mend-a-broken-world/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > ['Tis no sin to be tempted, but to be overcome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/tis-no-sin-to-be-tempted-but-to-be-overcome/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > [Perfect love casteth out fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/perfect-love-casteth-out-fear/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > [By liberty of conscience, we understand not only a mere liberty of the mind, in believing or disbelieving this or that principle or doctrine;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/by-liberty-of-conscience-we-understand-not-only-a-mere-liberty-of-the/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > [Content not thyself that thou art virtuous in the general; for one link being wanting, the chain is defective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/content-not-thyself-that-thou-art-virtuous-in-the-general-for-one/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > [We are apt to be very pert at censuring others, where we will not endure advice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/we-are-apt-to-be-very-pert-at-censuring-others-where-we-will-not/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > [It is admirable to consider how many millions of people come into, and go out of the world, ignorant of themselves and of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/it-is-admirable-to-consider-how-many-millions-of-people-come-into-and/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > [If thou wouldst rule well, thou must rule for God, and to do that, thou must be ruled by him... 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Women will bring this into politics. Home, sweet home, is as powerful on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-ellen-foster/sentiment-is-the-mightiest-force-in-civilization-not-sentimentality/) [Judith Ellen Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-ellen-foster/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [History has often showed us the strength of the forces that are unleashed by the yearning for freedom. It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [Above Coblentz almost every mountain has a ruin and a legend. One feels everywhere the spirit of the past, and its stirring recollections come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayard-taylor/above-coblentz-almost-every-mountain-has-a-ruin-and-a-legend-one/) [Bayard Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayard-taylor/) > [I hope that the Palestinians don't make the mistake of unleashing a new intifada. 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The revolutionary dictatorship of the proletariat is rule won and maintained by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-lenin/dictatorship-is-rule-based-directly-upon-force-and-unrestricted-by/) [Vladimir Lenin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-lenin/) > [The great force for forging a society into a solid mass has always been war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/the-great-force-for-forging-a-society-into-a-solid-mass-has-always/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) > [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. 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