FOR NO REASON

Kindness Quotes: 40 Sayings With Real Sources (and 6 Famous Misattributions)

By The Chief · · 8 min read · sources checked

A blue bowl full of cherries and strawberries
Photo: Iwona Łach, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Kindness quotes are everywhere: on mugs, classroom walls, wedding cards and a million social media posts. The trouble is that many of the most famous ones were never said by the person whose name is attached.

This list is different. Every quote below has a source, and where the origin is uncertain or the attribution is wrong, we say so. At the end are the most common misattributions, and a simple way to turn a quote into a kind act today.

Kindness quotes from scripture and sacred texts

  1. "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another." Ephesians 4:32 (King James Version).
  2. "The merciful man doeth good to his own soul." Proverbs 11:17 (King James Version).
  3. "Kind speech and forgiveness are better than charity followed by injury." Qur'an 2:263 (Sahih International translation).
  4. "Allah is kind and loves kindness in all matters." Hadith reported by Aisha, in Sahih al-Bukhari (no. 6927) and Sahih Muslim.
  5. "Kindness is not found in anything except that it beautifies it, and it is not removed from anything except that it disgraces it." Hadith in Sahih Muslim (no. 2594).
  6. "Even as a mother protects with her life her child, her only child, so with a boundless heart should one cherish all living beings." The Buddha, Karaniya Metta Sutta (Sutta Nipata 1.8), in a common English translation.

Kindness quotes from philosophers

  1. "Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness." Seneca, On the Happy Life (De Vita Beata), chapter 24. Wording varies by translation.
  2. "Kindness is invincible, provided it is sincere." Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book 11, section 18. Wording varies by translation.
  3. "A kindness is never wasted." The moral of The Lion and the Mouse in The Aesop for Children (1919). The fable is ancient; this short moral is from that edition.

Kindness quotes from poets and novelists

  1. "That best portion of a good man's life, / His little, nameless, unremembered, acts / Of kindness and of love." William Wordsworth, Lines Written a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey (1798).
  2. "Yet do I fear thy nature; / It is too full o' the milk of human kindness." William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 5. (Lady Macbeth means it as a criticism.)
  3. "Kindness in women, not their beauteous looks, / Shall win my love." William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew, Act 4, Scene 2.
  4. "Three things in human life are important: the first is to be kind; the second is to be kind; and the third is to be kind." Henry James, as remembered by his nephew Billy James after a visit in 1902 and repeated in later biographies. Second-hand, so the exact wording is uncertain (Quote Investigator, 2018).
  5. "God damn it, you've got to be kind." Kurt Vonnegut, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (1965), from a baby's baptism speech in the novel.

Kindness quotes from modern writers

  1. "What I regret most in my life are failures of kindness." George Saunders, convocation speech at Syracuse University (2013), later published as Congratulations, by the way (2014).
  2. "Err in the direction of kindness." George Saunders, the same speech.
  3. "Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty." Anne Herbert, writer, who reportedly first wrote it on a placemat in a California restaurant in the early 1980s; it became the source of the phrase "random acts of kindness".

Widely attributed, source not found

These are popular and lovely, but we could not trace a reliable original source. Use them as anonymous wisdom.

  1. "Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible." Widely attributed to the Dalai Lama.
  2. "You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late." Widely attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson.
  3. "No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." Usually credited to Aesop; it is a modern rewording of the fable's moral (see quote 9).

Kindness for no reason is our whole philosophy. If you want a tribe that lives it daily: request to join.

Short kindness quotes for cards and classrooms

Short lines from the list above, plus simple sayings with no famous owner:

  1. "Err in the direction of kindness." (George Saunders)
  2. "Kindness is invincible." (Marcus Aurelius, short form)
  3. "A kindness is never wasted." (The Aesop for Children)
  4. "Be kind one to another." (Ephesians 4:32)
  5. "Little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness." (Wordsworth)
  6. "Kind words cost nothing." (Traditional proverb)
  7. "Be the reason someone smiles today." (Modern saying, anonymous)
  8. "In a world where you can be anything, be kind." (Modern saying; author unknown)

Kindness quotes from The Chief

Original lines from the For No Reason journal. Use them freely.

  1. "Help for no reason. No price, no score, no favour owed."
  2. "Kindness is the shortest road between two strangers."
  3. "The smallest kindness is louder than the biggest intention."
  4. "Be kind to people in a way you can keep up, and include yourself."
  5. "A kind word is a door. You never know who will walk through it."
  6. "Your kindness probably means more than you think. The research agrees."
  7. "Do one kind thing today and tell no one. That is the whole secret."
  8. "Kindness that waits for a reason waits too long."
  9. "We are one tribe. Act like it."
  10. "Be gentle with the person who forgot to be gentle with you. They may be fighting your battle too."
  11. "Strength is how much you can carry. Kindness is how much you help others carry."
  12. "If you cannot fix it, sit with it. Presence is a kindness too."

6 famous kindness quotes that are misattributed

  1. "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." Often credited to Plato or Philo of Alexandria. No such line has been found in their works. The earliest known version is from the Scottish minister and author Ian Maclaren (John Watson) in 1897: "Be pitiful, for every man is fighting a hard battle."
  2. "Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see." Often credited to Mark Twain. No source exists in his writings; versions circulated without his name in the 19th century.
  3. "People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." Widely credited to Maya Angelou. An earlier version is attributed to Carl W. Buehner (1971); Angelou may have repeated it, but she did not originate it.
  4. "Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love." Credited to Lao Tzu. It does not appear in standard translations of the Tao Te Ching.
  5. "No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." Credited to Aesop. Aesop's fables were passed down for centuries and their morals were rewritten by later editors; this exact wording is modern.
  6. "Three things in human life are important..." Sometimes credited to Fred Rogers. He may have quoted it, but the line is reported from Henry James decades earlier (Quote Investigator, 2018).

Why does it matter? Because kindness includes honesty. Crediting the right person, or saying "we do not know", respects the people who really said it.

Why kindness is worth more than a quote

Research suggests that kind acts lift the giver's wellbeing (Curry et al., 2018) and that we underestimate how much our kindness means to the person receiving it (Kumar & Epley, 2023). The same is true of compliments: people expect them to be more awkward and less welcome than they are (Zhao & Epley, 2021).

So a quote is a start. The act is the point.

How to turn a quote into a kind act

  1. Pick one quote from this page that moved you.
  2. Write it where you will see it tomorrow morning: the fridge, the mirror, the lock screen.
  3. Tie it to one act today: a message, a coffee, a compliment, a call.
  4. Do it quietly.
  5. Repeat for 30 days with the 30-day kindness challenge.

Need ideas? Our complete guide, Kindness: 200 ideas and why it matters, has 200 of them. Or let the free random act of kindness generator choose one. World Kindness Day is on 13 November; our World Kindness Day guide has plans for the day.

A task for today

Choose quote 16: "Err in the direction of kindness." Today, in one moment where you could go either way (a reply, a queue, a disagreement), choose the kinder way. Tonight, notice how it felt.

If you want to practise kindness for no reason, every day, with people who do the same: request to join.

Walking beside you,

The Chief

Sources

Related reading: Kindness: 200 ideas · Benefits of kindness · Self-discipline quotes

Questions

What is the best quote about kindness?

Many people choose 'Three things in human life are important: the first is to be kind; the second is to be kind; and the third is to be kind', reported from Henry James. Others prefer Seneca's idea that wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for kindness.

Who said 'Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle'?

It is often credited to Plato or Philo of Alexandria, but researchers have found no such line in their works. The earliest known version is from the Scottish minister and author Ian Maclaren (John Watson) in 1897: 'Be pitiful, for every man is fighting a hard battle.'

Did Mark Twain say 'Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see'?

There is no reliable source in Twain's writings. The line circulated in 19th-century collections before it was linked to Twain, so it is best treated as anonymous.

What is a short kindness quote?

Short options include 'Err in the direction of kindness' (George Saunders, 2013), 'Kindness is invincible' (from Marcus Aurelius, Meditations), and 'A kindness is never wasted' (moral of The Lion and the Mouse in The Aesop for Children, 1919).

What does the Bible say about kindness?

One well-known verse is Ephesians 4:32: 'And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another' (King James Version). Proverbs 11:17 says 'The merciful man doeth good to his own soul.'

General information for wellbeing, not medical, psychological or financial advice. If you are struggling, see crisis help.