The quality of mercy is not strained. The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. 2002

Reference > The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy > 4. Idioms

CONTENTS · INDEX · GUIDE · BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. 2002.

The quality of mercy is not strained


Mercy is something that has to be freely given; no one can force someone else to be merciful. (“Strained” is an old form of “constrained,” meaning “forced.”) From The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare.	1

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

CONTENTS · INDEX · GUIDE · BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD

Click here to shop the Bartleby Bookstore.