Let me start of with the meaning of both Justice and Mercy. Justice is just behavior or treatment, and the quality of being fair and reasonable. Mercy is compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm. These two are shown in the Merchant of Venice. The outcome also shows which supersedes the other.
Shylock wanted justice and refused to show mercy at all. Even when given ten times the debt Antonio has to pay, Shylock' s mind was all about killing Antonio. On the other hand, Antonio believed strongly in mercy, and in the end, had the last laugh.
It is clear that Justice is inferior to Mercy. Justice is the belief of having fair treatment. If someone punches you, he is most likely to get punished by law as there is justice. However, justice is a little like revenge, which is wrong. We should just love our enemies and let everything happen naturally. When Mercy is shown, it is double blessing.
Justice can lead to a lot of problems. For example, when a person does not show forgiveness and compassion, the victim might go for revenge and in the end, every party will suffer. If mercy is shown, not only will the victim be blessed, because he is forgiven, the giver is free from possible harm and also feels good as he did something morally upright.
In the end, it all depends on what circumstance it is in. If the bad deed is murder, it is not right to let the criminal go unpunished, as he did something too serious. However, if it is like stealing a small amount of money, I believe mercy should be shown.
This is the clear differentiation between Justice and Mercy, and the decision to show any of them lies with us.
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