“In a world that lives like a fist
mercy is not more than waking
with your hands open.”

“Like is an emotion. Emotions”—he raised a hand, made a fist, clenched it tightly—“are like holding water. You open your hand, there’s nothing there. Better to be a weapon than a woman.”

“We hold each other’s lives in our open hands, not in clenched fists.”

“We will outstretch the hand if you unclench your fist.”

“When you clench your fist, no one can put anything in your hand, nor can your hand pick up anything.”

“There is nothing in the world that renders a man more unlike to a saint, and more like to Satan - than to argue from God's mercy to sinful liberty; from divine goodness to licentiousness.”

“I don't ever want to live in a world where something like mercy… or maybe it's compassion… is thechoice.”

“Seize every opportunity you have to learn. Keep your eyes and ears wide open and seize life — don't let the moments slip through your fingers like a fistful of sand. Be your own teacher. Let life write your textbook.”

“The virtues of forgiveness and mercy must frequently be exercised together. Because we live in a world where there is much harshness, hostility, and meanness, there is also much need for all of us to be more merciful.”

“Hands, that the rod of empire might have swayed,
Or waked to ecstasy the living lyre.”