All men make mistakes, but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong, and repairs the evil. The only crime is pride.

The saying contrasts ordinary human fallibility with moral character. Everyone errs, but the “good man” is defined by responsiveness to truth: he concedes when shown to be wrong and actively works to undo the harm his error caused. The final sentence—“The only crime is pride”—frames stubborn self-importance as the root vice that prevents repentance and repair. In Greek tragic ethics, prideful refusal to bend (often linked with hubris) escalates mistakes into catastrophe, whereas humility enables reconciliation and civic order. The quote thus elevates moral flexibility and restitution over infallibility.