Forgiveness is a virtue of the brave.

The line frames forgiveness not as weakness or mere politeness, but as a demanding moral act that requires courage. To forgive is to absorb injury without retaliating, to relinquish the emotional leverage of grievance, and to risk vulnerability by reopening the possibility of relationship or coexistence. Calling it “a virtue of the brave” suggests that the strongest people are those who can master anger and pride, choosing restraint and reconciliation over revenge. In political terms—often the setting in which Gandhi’s words are quoted—the idea also implies that stable leadership may require magnanimity toward opponents, because cycles of reprisal corrode both personal character and public life.