Shaw, excess and forgiveness

Last night I heard someone say that American society allows everything and forgives nothing. I googled that and learned that it might just be a derivative of George Bernard Shaw's saying:

Youth, which is forgiven everything, forgives itself nothing: age, which forgives itself everything, is forgiven nothing.
Man and Superman, "Maxims for Revolutionists: Stray Sayings" (1903)

Here's the entire section of that book online and boy is it popped! He inverts and comments on some of Jesus' words in crazy ways. Some of it is novel, some of it stupid.

For an example of hubris-run-wild consider his question: "what is the use of writing anything, if there is not a will which finally moulds chaos itself into a race of gods?"

Tags: George Bernard Shaw, excess, forgiveness