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. Therefore,...
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.

SHAKESPEARE: _Merchant of Venice_, Act 4, Sc. 1.

* * * * *

RESULTS AND DUTIES OF MAN'S SUPREMACY.


And in that primeval account of Creation which the second chapter of
Genesis gives us, the first peculiar characteristic of the Human Being is
that he assumes the rank of the Guardian and Master of every fowl of the
air and every beast of the field. They gather round him, he names them, he
classifies them, he seeks for companionship from them. It is the fit
likeness and emblem of their relation to him in the course of history. That
"earnest expectation of the creature" which the Apostle describes, that,
"stretching forth the head" of the whole creation towards a brighter and
better state as ages have rolled on, has received even here a fulfilment