Question

pls whats the correct form of saying to err is human and to forgive is divine and is it an idiom?

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

It is a quote from Alexander Pope's Essay on Criticism:

If Wit so much from Ign'rance undergo,
Ah let not Learning too commence its Foe!
Of old, those met Rewards who cou'd excel,
And such were Prais'd who but endeavour'd well:
Tho' Triumphs were to Gen'rals only due,
Crowns were reserv'd to grace the Soldiers too.
Now, they who reached Parnassus' lofty Crown,
Employ their Pains to spurn some others down;
And while Self-Love each jealous Writer rules,
Contending Wits becomes the Sport of Fools:
But still the Worst with most Regret commend,
For each Ill Author is as bad a Friend.
To what base Ends, and by what abject Ways,
Are Mortals urg'd thro' Sacred **** of praise!
Ah ne'er so dire a Thirst of Glory boast,
Nor in the Critick let the Man be lost!
Good-Nature and Good-Sense must ever join;
To err is Humane; to Forgive, Divine.

CalifJim · Answer

Anonymous pls whats the correct form of saying to err is human and to forgive is divine and is it an idiom?

From http://www.quotecounterquote.com/2010/12/to-err-is-human-to-forgive-divine.html

“To err is human; to forgive, divine.”
Alexander Pope (1688-1744)
English poet
An Essay on Criticism, Part II (written in 1709, first published in 1711)
This first major work by Pope presents his thoughts on critics, writers and poetry. He called it an “essay” but it’s actually a poem, written in the rhyming heroic couplet format. “To err is human; to forgive, divine” is one of three well-known quotes from the poem. The others are “a little learning is a dangerous thing” and “fools rush in where angels fear to tread.” Pope didn’t coin the phrase “to err is human.” That’s the traditional English translation of the ancient Latin proverb “Errare humanum est.” However, by adding “to forgive, divine” to this old saying, he created a famous quotation that is still commonly used, adapted and spoofed today.
The basic meaning of Pope’s line is that any human can make a mistake, so we should try to forgive them, just as *** is said to show divine mercy and forgive sinners. When An Essay on Criticism was published in 1711, the English spelling of the word human was humane and it was common to capitalize the first letter of many words. Thus, in its original form, Pope’s line about erring humans was: “To err is Humane; to Forgive, Divine.”

CJ

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