ense of
refraining from harshness or cruelty toward those who are in one's power
without fault of their own; as, they besought the robber to have
_mercy_. _Clemency_ is a colder word than _mercy_, and without its
religious associations, signifying _mildness_ and moderation in the use
of power where severity would have legal or military, rather than moral
sanction; it often denotes a habitual _mildness_ of disposition on the
part of the powerful, and is matter rather of good nature or policy than
of principle. _Leniency_ or _lenity_ denotes an easy-going avoidance of
severity; these words are more general and less magisterial than
_clemency_; we should speak of the _leniency_ of a parent, the
_clemency_ of a conqueror. Compare PITY.

Antonyms:

cruelty, implacability, punishment, rigor, sternness,
hardness, justice, revenge, severity, vengeance.
harshness, penalty,

Prepositions:

The mercy _of_ God _to_ or _toward_ sinners; have mercy _on_ or _upon_
one.

* * * * *

METER.

Synonyms:

euphony, measure, rhythm, verse.

_Euphony_ is agreeable linguistic sound, however produced; _meter_,
_measure_, and _rhythm_ denote agreeable succession of sounds in the
utterance of connected words; _euphony_ may apply to a single word or
even a single syllable; the other words apply to lines, sentences,
paragraphs, etc.; _rhythm_ and _meter_ may be produced by accent only,
as in English, or by accent and quantity combined, as in Greek or
Italian; _rhythm_ or _measure_ may apply either to prose or to poetry,
or to music, dancing, etc.; _meter_ is more precise than _rhythm_,
applies only to poetry, and denotes a measured _rhythm_ with regular
divisions into _verses_, stanzas, strophes, etc. A _verse_ is strictly a
metrical line, but the word is often used as synonymous with stanza.
_Verse_, in the general sense, denotes metrical writing without
reference to the thought involved; as, prose and _verse_. Compare
MELODY; POETRY.

* * * * *

MIND.

Synonyms:

brain, instinct, reason, spirit,
consciousness, intellect, sense, thought,
disposition, intelligence, soul, understanding.

_Mind_, in a general sense, includes all the powers of sentient being
apart from the physical factors in bodily faculties and activities; in a
limited sense, _mind_ is nearly synonymous with _intellect_, but
inclu