Offenders never pardon.
—Common Proverb
The mercy we to others show, Heaven will show to us.
—The Talmud Sacred Text of the Jewish Faith
Children are innocent and love justice, while most adults are wicked and prefer mercy.
—G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936) English Journalist, Novelist, Essayist, Poet
Mercy is like the rainbow, which God hath set in the clouds; it never shines after it is night.—If we refuse mercy here, we shall have justice in eternity.
—Jeremy Taylor
He who judges without mercy will himself be judged.
—The Talmud Sacred Text of the Jewish Faith
When a man has compassion for others, God has compassion for him.
—The Talmud Sacred Text of the Jewish Faith
Computers are like Old Testament gods; lots of rules and no mercy.
—Joseph Campbell (1904–87) American Mythologist, Writer, Lecturer
By compassion we make others’ misery our own, and so, by relieving them, we relieve ourselves also.
—Thomas Browne (1605–82) English Author, Physician
Too much mercy … often resulted in further crimes which were fatal to innocent victims who need not have been victims if justice had been put first and mercy second.
—Agatha Christie (1890–1976) British Novelist, Short-Story Writer, Playwright
Mercifulness makes us equal to the gods.
—Claudian (c.370–c.404 CE) Roman Poet
Blessed are those who show mercy.
They will be treated mercifully.
—The Holy Bible Scripture in the Christian Faith
A God all mercy is a God unjust.
—Edward Young (1683–1765) English Poet
Wilt thou draw near the nature of the gods? Draw near them then in being merciful; sweet mercy is nobility’s true badge.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
To sin because mercy abounds is the devil’s logic; he that sins because of God’s mercy, shall have judgment without mercy.—Mercy is not for them that sin and fear not, but for them that fear and sin not.
—Thomas J. Watson, Sr. (1874–1956) American Business Executive
A merciful person is merciful to their animals.
—The Holy Bible Scripture in the Christian Faith
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:
‘Tis mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown;
His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;
But mercy is above this sceptred sway;
It is enthroned in the hearts of kings,
It is an attribute to God himself;
And earthly power doth then show likest God’s
When mercy seasons justice…
Though justice be thy plea, consider this,
That, in the course of justice, none of us
Should see salvation: we do pray for mercy;
And that same prayer doth teach us all to render
The deeds of mercy…
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy.
—The Holy Bible Scripture in the Christian Faith
As freely as the firmament embraces the world, or the sun pours forth impartially his beams, so mercy must encircle both friend and foe.
—Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805) German Poet, Dramatist
I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice.
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–65) American Head of State
Mercy among the virtues is like the moon among the stars,—not so sparkling and vivid as many, but dispensing a calm radiance that hallows the whole. It is the bow that rests upon the bosom of the cloud when the storm is past. It is the light that hovers above the judgment seat.
—Edwin Hubbell Chapin (1814–80) American Preacher, Poet
Among the attributes of God, although they are all equal, mercy shines with even more brilliancy than justice.
—Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616) Spanish Novelist
The merciful shall obtain mercy.
—The Holy Bible Scripture in the Christian Faith
We shall show mercy, but we shall not ask for it.
—Winston Churchill (1874–1965) British Head of State, Political leader, Historian, Journalist, Author
Clemency is the support of justice.
—Russian Proverb
The greatest attribute of heaven is mercy;
And ’tis the crown of justice, and the glory …
—John Fletcher (1579–1625) English Playwright
The greatest attribute of heaven is mercy.
—Francis Beaumont (1584–1616) English Elizabethan Dramatist
A sensible thanksgiving for mercies received is a mighty prayer in the Spirit of God. It prevails with Him unspeakably.
—John Bunyan (1628–88) English Puritan Writer, Preacher
Being all fashioned of the self-same dust,
Let us be merciful as well as just.
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–82) American Poet, Educator, Academic
The quality of mercy is not strained;
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blessed—
It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
Where Mercy, Love, and Pity dwell
There God is dwelling too.
—William Blake (1757–1827) English Poet, Painter, Printmaker