I would rather make mistakes in kindness and compassion than work miracles in unkindness and hardness.

The saying contrasts two kinds of “success”: outward achievement (“work miracles”) versus the moral quality of one’s manner. It argues that ethical intention and humane treatment matter more than flawless results. By preferring “mistakes” made in kindness, the speaker elevates compassion as a guiding principle even when it leads to imperfect outcomes, while warning that brilliance or effectiveness pursued through hardness can be spiritually corrosive. The line also implies humility: human beings will err, but they can choose the spirit in which they act. In a broader moral register, it frames kindness not as sentimentality but as a standard by which actions should be judged.