'Tis vain to flee; till gentle Mercy show
Her better eye, the farther off we go,
The read more

'Tis vain to flee; till gentle Mercy show
Her better eye, the farther off we go,
The swing of Justice deals the mightier blow.

Think not the good,
The gentle deeds of mercy thou hast done,
Shall die forgotten all; the read more

Think not the good,
The gentle deeds of mercy thou hast done,
Shall die forgotten all; the poor, the prisoner,
The fatherless, the friendless, and the widow,
Who daily owe the bounty of thy hand,
Shall cry to Heaven, and pull a blessing on thee.

To hide the fault I see:
That mercy I to others show,
That mercy show to me.

To hide the fault I see:
That mercy I to others show,
That mercy show to me.

Mercy is not itself, that oft looks so;
Pardon is still the nurse of second woe.

Mercy is not itself, that oft looks so;
Pardon is still the nurse of second woe.

Being all fashioned of the self-same dust,
Let us be merciful as well as just.

Being all fashioned of the self-same dust,
Let us be merciful as well as just.

Hate shuts her soul when dove-eyed mercy pleads.

Hate shuts her soul when dove-eyed mercy pleads.

Mercy often inflicts death.
[Lat., Mortem misericors saepe pro vita dabit.]

Mercy often inflicts death.
[Lat., Mortem misericors saepe pro vita dabit.]

Nothing emboldens sin so much as mercy.

Nothing emboldens sin so much as mercy.

The quality of mercy is not strain'd; It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath. It read more

The quality of mercy is not strain'd; It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest: It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.