Greatest Quotations on Kindness | Exemplary Business Ethics & Leadership

— Compiled by Michael Josephson —

My Top 21 Quotes on Kindness Plus A Lot more

A warm smile is the universal language of kindness. – William Arthur Ward
Always be a little kinder than is necessary. — Sir James Matthew Barrie
When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people. – Abraham Joseph Heschel
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
Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust and hostility to evaporate. — Albert Schweitzer
Do all the good you can, /By all the means you can, / In all the ways you can,/In all the places you can,/At all the times you can,/To all the people you can,/As long as ever you can. — John Wesley
Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. — Leo Buscaglia
Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts. — Charles Dickens
No one is so poor that they cannot enrich the lives of others with kindness and compassion as these coins come from the heart, not your purse. — Michael Josephson
When you are kind to others, it not only changes you, it changes the world. — Harold Kushner
Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel in order to be tough. — Franklin Delano Roosevelt
If, after I depart this vale, you ever remember me and have thought to please my ghost, forgive some sinner and wink your eye at some homely girl. — H.L. Mencken
I expect to pass through the world but once. Any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer it or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again. — Stephen Grellet.
If you were arrested for kindness, would there be enough evidence to convict you? If you were paid a dime for every kind word you spoke and paid a nickel for every unkind word would you be rich or poor? — Michael Josephson (adapted)
Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can read. — Mark Twain
Kindness is more important than wisdom, and the recognition of this is the beginning of wisdom. — Theodore Isaac Rubin, M.D.
Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, what are you doing for others? — Martin Luther King, Jr.
No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. – Aesop
We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do. — Mother Teresa
In nothing do men more nearly approach the gods than by doing good to their fellow man. — Cicero
Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. – Philo

Lots More Quotes on Kindness

A kind heart is a fountain of gladness, making everything in its vicinity freshen into smiles. — Washington Irving
A kind word never broke anyone’s mouth. — Irish Proverb
A kind word will keep someone warm for years.
A kindness outside any system of social or religious good…If we think about it, we realize that this private, senseless, incidental kindness is in fact eternal…extended to every living thing, even to a mouse, even to a bent branch that a man straightens as he walks by. — Vasily Grossman
A little kindness from person to person is better than a vast love for all humankind. – Richard Dehmel
All of us are born for a reason, but all of us don’t discover why. Success in life has nothing to do with what you gain in life or accomplish for yourself. It’s what you do for others. — Danny Thomas
All our doings without charity are nothing worth. — Book of Common Prayer
Always, Sir, set a high value on spontaneous kindness. He whose inclination prompts him to cultivate your friendship of his own accord, will love you more than one whom you have been at pains to attach to you. — Samuel Johnson
Always be a little kinder than is necessary. — Sir James Matthew Barrie
An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up. — Proverbs 12:25
And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. — Timothy 2:24
As perfume to the flower, so is kindness to speech. — Katherine Francke
As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands. One for helping yourself, the other for helping others. Ralph Marston
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. — Ephesians 4:32
Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. – Philo
Be nice to people on your way up because you’ll need them on your way down. — W. Migner
Beginning today, treat everyone you meet as if they were going to be dead by midnight. Extend to them all the care, kindness, and understanding you can muster, and do it with no thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same again. — Og Mandino
Being considerate of others will take your children further in life than any college degree. — Marian Wright Edelman
Blessed is he who is kind to the needy. — Proverbs 14:21b
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self—control. Against such things there is no law. — Galatians 5:22-23
Caring means more than a concern for the well—being of others. It is a form of passion that generates commitment and conviction that allows us to endure, persevere and persist until we overcome whatever obstacles may be in our way. – Michael Josephson
Charity is love in action. — Dinah Maria Mulock
Compassion is the basis of all morality. – Arthur Schopenhauer
Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust and hostility to evaporate. — Albert Schweitzer
Do all the good you can, /By all the means you can,/ In all the ways you can,/In all the places you can,/At all the times you can,/To all the people you can,/As long as ever you can. — John Wesley, John Wesley’s Rule.
Do good and care not to whom. — Italian Proverb
Do not feel badly if your kindness is rewarded with ingratitude; it is better to fall from your dream clouds than from a third—story window. — Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis
Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world. — Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Don’t wait for people to be kind, show them how. — Unknown
Each person has inside a basic decency and goodness. If he acts on it and listens to it, he is giving a great deal of what the world needs most. It is not complicated but it takes courage. It takes courage for a person to listen to his own goodness and act upon it. — Pablo Casales
For attractive lips, speak words of kindness. / For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people. / For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry. / For beautiful hair, let a child run his fingers through it once a day. / For poise, walk with the knowledge you’ll never walk alone — Unknown
Forget injuries; never forget kindness. — Confucius
Genuine kindness is not an act of weakness or capitulation, but rather a powerful demonstration of confidence in your purpose. Not at all naïve or unrealistic, kindness is a sign of true strength. — Unknown
Giving our time and possessions without any desire or expectation of anything except the hope that it will give comfort or a moment of happiness to another is the highest expression of human morality. — Michael Josephson
Goodness is the only investment which never fails. — Henry David Thoreau
Goodwill is the mightiest practical force in the universe. – Charles F. Dole
Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts. — Charles Dickens
Have you had a kindness shown? Pass it on; ‘Twas not given for thee alone, Pass it on; Let it travel down the years, Let it wipe another’s tears, Till in Heaven the deed appears, Pass it on. — Henry Burton
He that has done you a kindness will be more ready to do you another, than he whom you yourself have obliged. — Benjamin Franklin
He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done. — Proverbs 19:17
He who sees a need and waits to be asked for help is as unkind as if he had refused it. — Dante
How beautiful a day can be when kindness touches it. – George Elliston
How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a weary world. — William Shakespeare
How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these. — George Washington Carver
Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel in order to be tough. — Franklin Delano Roosevelt
I believe in the equality of man; and I believe that religious duties consist in doing justice, loving mercy, and endeavoring to make our fellow-creatures happy. — Thomas Paine (1737–1809)
I care is not just a nice phrase – it is a two—word recipe for excellence, success and fulfillment. – Bob Moawad
I expect to pass through the world but once. Any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer it or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again. — Stephen Grellet.
I feel no need for any other faith than my faith in the kindness of human beings. — Pearl Buck
I learned that it is the weak who are cruel, and that gentleness is to be expected only from the strong. — Leo Rosten
I love thee for a heart that’s kind— Not for the knowledge in thy mind. — W. H. Davies
I prefer you to make mistakes in kindness than work miracles in unkindness. — Mother Teresa
If you have not often felt the joy of doing a kind act, you have neglected much, and most of all yourself. — A. Nielen
If you think about what you ought to do for other people, your character will take care of itself. — Woodrow Wilson
If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion. — The Dalai Lama
If you were arrested for kindness, would there be enough evidence to convict you? — Unknown
If you were busy being kind, / Before you knew it you would find / You’d soon forget to think ’twas true / That someone was unkind to you. / If you were busy being glad, / And cheering people who are sad, / Although your heart might ache a bit… — R. Foreman
If your words are soft and sweet, they won’t be as hard to swallow if you have to eat them. —— Unknown
If you’re naturally kind, you attract a lot of people you don’t like. — William Feather
If, after I depart this vale, you ever remember me and have thought to please my ghost, forgive some sinner and wink your eye at some homely girl. — H.L. Mencken
Ignorant kindness may have the effect of cruelty; but to be angry with it as if it were direct cruelty would be an ignorant unkindness. — George Elliot
In charity there is no excess. — Francis Bacon
In nothing do men more nearly approach the gods than by doing good to their fellow man. — Cicero
In the sick room, ten cents’ worth of human understanding equals ten dollars’ worth of medical science. — Martin H. Fischer.
In this world, there is nothing softer or thinner than water. But to compel the hard and unyielding, it has no equal. That the weak overcomes the strong, that the hard gives way to the gentle – this everyone knows. Yet no one asks accordingly. — Lao-tse
It becomes still more difficult to find / Words at once true and kind, / Or not untrue and not unkind. — Philip Larkin
It is a terrible thing, this kindness that human beings do not lose. Terrible because when we are finally naked in the dark and cold, it is all we have. We who are so rich, so full of strength, wind up with that small change. We have nothing else to give. — Ursula K. Le Guin
It is difficult to give away kindness. It keeps coming back to you. — Cort Flint
It is futile to judge a kind deed by its motives. Kindness can become its own motive. We are made kind by being kind. — Eric Hoffer
It is kindness to refuse immediately what you intend to deny. — Publilius Syrus (1st century B.C.)
It is nice to be important but it is more important to be nice. — John Marks Templeton
It is our special duty, that if anyone needs our help, we should give him such help to the utmost of our power. — Cicero
It’s a sign of moral maturity when your concern for others is strong enough to compete with your concern for yourself. — Michael Josephson
Just do what must be done. This may not be happiness, but it is greatness. — George Bernard Shaw
Kind hearts are more than coronets, / And simple faith than Norman blood. — Alfred Tennyson
Kind hearts are the gardens, Kind thoughts are the roots, Kind words are the flowers, Kind deeds are the fruits. Take care of your garden, And keep out the weeds, Fill it with sunshine Kind words and kind deeds. — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Kind words are the music of the world. They have power that seems to be beyond natural causes, as if they were some angel’s song that had lost its way and come to earth. – Frederick William Faber
Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless. — Mother Teresa
Kind words do not cost much. Yet they accomplish much. — English Proverb
Kindness and generosity form the true morality of human actions. — Madame de Stael
Kindness and honesty can be expected only from the strong. — Unknown
Kindness can become its own motive. We are made kind by being kind. Eric Hoffer
Kindness does not mean allowing others to take advantage of you or of anyone else. Kindness means doing what you know is right and creating real, substantial, lasting value for those around you. — Michael Josephson
Kindness gives birth to kindness. — Sophocles (447 BC)
Kindness in words creates confidence; kindness in thinking creates profoundness; kindness in feeling creates love. — Lao Tzu
Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can read. Mark Twain
Kindness is always fashionable. — Amelia E. Barr
Kindness is for all times in all situations – not just when it suits you. — Audrey Landrum
Kindness is in our power, even when fondness is not. — Samuel Johnson
Kindness is loving people more than they deserve. — Joseph Joubert
Kindness is more effective than severity. — Aesop, Fables (6th B.C.).
Kindness is more important than wisdom, and the recognition of this is the beginning of wisdom. — Theodore Isaac Rubin, M.D.
Kindness is more than deeds. It is an attitude, an expression, a look, a touch. It is anything that lifts another person. — C. Neil Strait
Kindness is never wasted. If it has no effect on the recipient, at least it benefits the bestower. – S. H. Simmons
Kindness is not something that becomes depleted when it is used. The more true, unconditional kindness you offer, the more you will have to offer, and the more there will be for everyone – Ralph Marston
Kindness is the golden chain by which society is bound together. – Johann von Goethe
Kindness is the inability to remain at ease in the presence of another person who is ill at ease, the inability to remain comfortable in the presence of another who is uncomfortable, the inability to have peace of mind when one’s neighbor is troubled. — Rabbi Samuel H. Holdenson
Kindness is the kingpin of success in life; it is the prime factor in overcoming friction and making the human machinery run smoothly. — Andrew Chapman
Kindness is wisdom. — Phillip J. Bailey
Let there be PEACE on Earth — and let it begin with me! — Unknown
Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, What are you doing for others? — Martin Luther King, Jr.
Live and act with kindness, and the value of each action is multiplied many, many times over. Live with kindness and you live with the power to make a difference in every life you touch. — Ralph Marston
Live with kindness and you live with the power to make a difference in every life you touch. — Ralph Marston
Mankind’s true moral test, its fundamental test (which lies deeply buried from view), consists of its attitude towards those who are at its mercy: animals. And in this respect mankind has suffered a fundamental debacle, a debacle so fundamental that all others stem from it. — Milan Kundera
Men are rich only as they give. He who gives great service gets great returns. — Elbert Hubbard
My religion is simple; my religion is kindness. — Dalai Llama
Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. — King James Bible Matthew, 25:35-36
Nature in giving tears to man confessed that he had a tender heart. This is our noblest quality. — Juvenal (c. 100).
Neither genius, fame, nor love show the greatness of the soul. Only kindness can do that. — Jean Baptiste Henri Lacordaire
No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. – Aesop
No one is so poor that they cannot enrich the lives of others with kindness and compassion as these coins come from the heart, not your purse. — Michael Josephson
No one needs a smile as much as a person who fails to give one. — Unknown
One can always be kind to people about whom one cares nothing. — Oscar Wilde
One can pay back the loan of gold, but one lies forever in debt to those who are kind. — Malaysian Proverb
One kind word can warm three winter months. — Japanese proverb.
One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child. — Carl Gustav Jung
One of the most important powers we have is the power to do good things for others. – Michael Josephson
One who knows how to show and to accept kindness will be a friend better than any possession. — Sophocles
People pay the doctor for his trouble; for his kindness they still remain in his debt. — the Younger Seneca, Lucius Annaeus (4 BC – 65 AD)
People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed … and redeemed and redeemed and redeemed …Never throw out anybody.
Perhaps we’re too embarrassed to change or too frightened of the consequences of showing that we actually care. But why not risk it anyway? BEGIN TODAY! Carry out an act of kindness, with no expectation of reward or punishment. Safe in the knowledge that one day, someone somewhere might do the same for you. — Princess Diana
Recompense injury with justice, and recompense kindness with kindness. — Confucius (551 BC – 479 BC) Chinese philosopher, administrator, and moralist. — Analects
Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment. — Benjamin Franklin
Remember there’s no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end. — Scott Adams
Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant with the weak and the wrong. Sometime in life you will have been all of these. – Bob Goddard
So many gods, so many creeds, / So many paths that wind and wind. / While just the art of being kind / Is all the sad world needs. — Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Spread love everywhere you go. First of all in your own house … let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm greeting. — Mother Teresa
Strive to be first: first to nod, first to smile, first to compliment, and first to forgive. — Unknown
Sympathy is two hearts tugging at one load. — Charles H. Parkhurst
The best portion of a good man’s life is his little, nameless unremembered acts of kindness and of love. — William Wadsworth
The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up. — Mark Twain
The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. — Gandhi
The everyday kindness of the back roads more than makes up for the acts of greed in the headlines. — Charles Kuralt
The flower of kindness will grow. /Maybe not now, but it will someday. / And in kind that kindness will flow, / For kindness grows in this way. — Robert Alan
The golden rule is of no use whatsoever unless you realize that it is your move. – Dr. Frank Crane
The great mind knows the power of gentleness. — Robert Browning
The greatest pleasure I know is to do a good action by stealth, and to have it found out by accident. — Charles Lamb
The kindness and affection from the public have carried me through some of the most difficult periods, and always your love and affection have eased the journey. — Princess of Wales Diana
The less an act of kindness seems to be appreciated, the more it is needed, and the more of a positive difference it can make. — Ralph Marston
The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention. —H. Jackson Brown
The smallest good deed is better than the grandest good intention. — Duguet
The whole worth of a kind deed lies in the love that inspires it. — Anonymous
There is nothing in life but refraining from hurting others, and comforting those that are sad. – Olive Schreiner
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. — Colossians 3:12
There’s no use doing a kindness if you do it a day too late. — Charles Kingsley
This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness. — Dalai Llama
Those graceful acts, /Those thousand decencies, that daily flow /From all her words and actions, mixed with love/ And sweet compliance, which declare unfeigned /Union of mind, or in us both one soul. — John Milton
Those thoughts and deeds that become a permanent part of you are the ones that are repeated again and again. A single act of kindness is good, yet one kindness after another after another makes kindness a valuable and unceasing part of you. A single disciplined effort will bring its positive reward. And much more so will a habit of focus and discipline bring a lifetime of achievement after valuable achievement. If you hear, or read, or see something once you may very well forget it. When you are exposed to it over and over again, it finds a permanent place within you. It’s a simple technique that’s available to anyone, and used by those who are most consistently successful. When you want to instill something into your life, keep on repeating it until it is securely and enduringly there. If you can do it once, you can do it again. Keep doing it long enough, and it will become a part of you. — Ralph Marston
Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others, cannot keep it from themselves. — James M. Barrie
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
To cultivate kindness is a valuable part of the business of life. — Samuel Johnson
To give without any reward or any notice, has a special quality of its own. — Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Today I bent the truth to be kind, and I have no regrets, for I am far surer of what is kind that I am of what is true. – Robert Brault
Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. — Leo Buscaglia
True kindness presupposes the faculty of imagining as one’s own the suffering and joys of others. — André Gide (1869–1951), French author. Pretexts, Portraits and Aphorisms (1903).
We are made kind by being kind. — Eric Hoffer
We live by encouragement and die without it – slowly, sadly, angrily. — Celeste Holm
We must be the change we wish to see in the world. — Gandhi
We must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ — Apostle Paul, Acts 20:35
We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do. — Mother Teresa
What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness? – Jean-Jacques Rousseau
When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people. – Abraham Joseph Heschel
When kindness has left people, even for a few moments, we become afraid of them as if their reason had left them. When it has left a place where we have always found it, it is like shipwreck; we drop from security into something malevolent and bottomless. — Willa Cather
When you are kind to others, it not only changes you, it changes the world. — Harold Kushner
When you are young you take the kindness people show you as your right. — Somerset Maugham
Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for kindness. — Seneca
Whoever is kind to the needy honors God. — Proverbs 14:31b
Wise sayings often fall on barren ground, but a kind word is never thrown away. – Arthur Helps
Without kindness, there can be no true joy. – Thomas Carlyle
You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late. — Ralph Waldo Emerson
You have not lived a perfect day, even though you have earned your money, unless you have done something for someone who will never be able to repay you. — Ruth Smeltzer
You must give some time to your fellow men. Even if it’s a little thing, do something for others – something for which you will get no pay but the privilege of doing it. — Albert Schweitzer