“I advocate training in arms for those who believe in the method of violence. I would rather have India resort to arms in order to defend her honor than that she should in a cowardly manner become or remain a helpless witness to her own dishonor. But I believe that nonviolence is infinitely superior to violence, forgiveness is more manly than punishment, forgiveness adorns a soldier. But abstinence is forgiveness only when there is the power to punish, it is meaningless when it pretends to proceed from a helpless creature. A mouse hardly forgives a cat when it allows itself to be torn to pieces by her. I do not believe myself to be a helpless creature. Only I want to use India's and my strength for better purpose. Let me not be misunderstood. Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.”
Share this quote
About this quote
Restraint only counts when you had the power to hit back; a creature with no choice isn't forgiving, just helpless. And the strength that makes real choice possible sits not in the muscles but in an inner will that can't be broken. Build that resolve, and both courage and mercy become genuine options.
When to use it
- Someone recovering from a bad injury pushes through months of rehab on sheer resolve, not raw athleticism.
- A person who could easily humiliate a rude coworker chooses to let it go, and it means something because he had the upper hand.
- A founder outlasts far better-funded rivals through relentless will rather than deeper pockets.