Always be a little kinder than necessary.

The line urges a deliberate surplus of kindness—going beyond what politeness, duty, or fairness strictly require. Its force lies in recognizing that we rarely know the full burdens others carry; “a little kinder” functions as a practical moral margin that compensates for our ignorance, impatience, and the everyday abrasions of social life. The phrase also implies that kindness is not merely reactive (earned or deserved) but chosen, habitual, and proactive. In a literary sense, it reflects a humane ethic often associated with Edwardian sentiment, but its enduring appeal is its simplicity: it translates a broad moral ideal into an actionable rule of thumb for daily conduct.