The quality of mercy is not strained

¹

1. 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.

The quality of mercy is not strained

²

1. A line from the play The Merchant of Venice, by William Shakespeare. Strained means “constrained,” or “forced”; the speaker is telling Shylock that mercy must be freely given, and is inviting him to show mercy to the title character.

Example Sentences

The croutons come when a lightbulb goes off in someone’s head — when the quality of mercy is not strained.

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“The quality of mercy is not strained,” Portia tells Shylock in “The Merchant of Venice.”

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“The quality of mercy is not strained,” I said.

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The quality of mercy is not strained, It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath.

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“The quality of mercy is not strained,” she said.

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