15

To ANT.] You stand within his danger, do you

not?

Ant. Ay, so he says.

Por.

Ant. I do.

Por.

Do you confess the bond!

Then must the Jew be merciful.
Shy. On what compulsion must I? tell me that.
Por. The quality of mercy is not strain'd;
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath: it is twice bless'd;
It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes:
'Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown:
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, Jew,
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. I have spoke thus much,

16

15 Richardson says, -"In French and old English law, danger seems equivalent to penalty, damages, commissi poena. Thus,Narcissus was a bachelere that love had caught in his daungere; ' that is, within the reach of hurtful, mischievous power. Thus also. In danger hadde he at his owen gise the yonge girles of the dioc'se.' And in R. Brunne, All was in the erle's dangere.' And again,- He was never wedded to woman's danger;' that is, woman's dangerous power." Shakespeare has a like use of the word in his Venus and Adonis: "Come not within his danger by your will."

H.

16 Portia, referring the Jew to the Christian doctrine of Salvation, and the Lord's Prayer, is a little out of character." So says

To mitigate the justice of thy plea;

Which if thou follow, this strict court of Venice Must needs give sentence 'gainst the merchant there. Shy. My deeds upon my head! I crave the

law;

The penalty and forfeit of my bond.

Por. Is he not able to discharge the money ?

Bass. Yes, here I tender it for him in the court; Yea, twice the sum: if that will not suffice,

I will be bound to pay it ten times o'er,
On forfeit of my hands, my head, my heart:
If this will not suffice, it must appear

That malice bears down truth." And, I beseech

you,

Wrest once the law to your authority:
To do a great right, do a little wrong;
And curb this cruel devil of his will.

Por. It must not be: There is no power in Venice Can alter a decree established:

"Twill be recorded for a precedent;

And many an error, by the same example,

Will rush into the state. It cannot be.

Shy. A Daniel come to judgment! yea, a Dan-
iel!

O, wise young judge, how I do honour thee!
Por. I pray you, let me look upon the bond.
Shy. Here 'tis, most reverend doctor; here it is.

the Chiswick editor, following Sir William Blackstone; forgetting that the Lord's Prayer was itself but a compilation, all the petitions in it being taken out of the ancient euchologies or prayerbooks of the Jews. "So far," says Grotius, "was the Lord Himself of the Christian Church from all affectation of unnecessary novelty." So in Ecclesiasticus, xxviii. 2: "Forgive thy neighbour the hurt that he hath done unto thee, so shall thy sins also be forgiven when thou prayest."

H.

That is, honesty. A true man in old language is an hotst
We now call the jury good men and true.

Por. Shylock, there's thrice thy money offer'd

thee.

Shy. An oath, an oath, I have an oath in heaven Shall I lay perjury upon my soul?

No, not for Venice.

Por.

Why, this bond is forfeit; And lawfully by this the Jew may claim A pound of flesh, to be by him cut off Nearest the merchant's heart: Be merciful; Take thrice thy money: bid me tear the bond. Shy. When it is paid according to the tenour. It doth appear you are a worthy judge; You know the law; your exposition Hath been most sound: I charge you by the law, Whereof you are a well-deserving pillar, Proceed to judgment: By my soul, I swear, There is no power in the tongue of man To alter me: I stay here on my bond.

Ant. Most heartily I do beseech the court To give the judgment.

Por.

Why, then, thus it is: You must prepare your bosom for his knife.

Shy. O, noble judge! O, excellent young man! Por. For the intent and purpose of the law Hath full relation to the penalty,

Which here appeareth due upon the bond.

Shy. "Tis very true: O, wise and upright judge! How much more elder art thou than thy looks! Por. Therefore lay bare your bosom.

So

Shy.

Ay, his breast ;

says the bond: - doth it not, noble judge? Nearest his heart: those are the very words. Por. It is so. Are there balance here, to weigh The flesh?

Por. Have by some surgeon, Shylock, on your charge,

To stop his wounds, lest he do bleed to death.
Shy. Is it so nominated in the bond?

Por. It is not so express'd; but what of that? "Twere good you do so much for charity.

Shy. I cannot find it; 'tis not in the bond..
Por. Come, merchant, have you any thing to

say

y?

Ant. But little: I am arm'd, and well pre

par'd.

Give me your hand, Bassanio: fare you well!
Grieve not that I am fallen to this for you;
For herein fortune shows herself more kind
Than is her custom : it is still her use
To let the wretched man out-live his wealth,
To view with hollow eye, and wrinkled brow,
An age of poverty; from which lingering pen

ance

Of such misery doth she cut me off.
Commend me to your honourable wife :
Tell her the process of Antonio's end;
Say how I lov'd you, speak me fair in death;
And, when the tale is told, bid her be judge,
Whether Bassanio had not once a love.
Repent not you that you shall lose your friend.
And he repents not that he pays your debt;
For, if the Jew do cut but deep enough,
I'll pay it instantly with all my heart.

Bass. Antonio, I am married to a wife,
Which is as dear to me as life itself;
But life itself, my wife, and all the world,
Are not with me esteem'd above thy life:
I would lose all, ay, sacrifice them all
Here to this devi to deliver you.

Por. You wife would give you little thanks for

that,

If she were by, to hear you make the offer.

Gra. I have a wife, whom, I protest, I love: I would she were in heaven, so she could Entreat some power to change this currish Jew. Ner. 'Tis well you offer it behind her back; The wish would make else an unquiet house. Shy. [Aside.] These be the Christian husbands' I have a daughter;

'Would any of the stock of Barrabas 18

Had been her husband, rather than a Christian! [TO PORTIA.] We trifle time; I pray thee, pursue

sentence.

Por. A pound of that same merchant's flesh is thine:

The court awards it, and the law doth give it.

Shy. Most rightful judge!

Por. And you must cut this flesh from off his

breast:

The law allows it, and the court awards it.

Shy. Most learned judge! A sentence! Come,

prepare.

Por. Tarry a little : :- there is something else. This bond doth give thee here no jot of blood; The words expressly are, a pound of flesh :

Take, then, thy bond, take thou thy pound of flesh; But, in the cutting it, if thou dost shed

One drop of Christian blood, thy lands and goods Are by the laws of Venice confiscate

Unto the state of Venice.

Gra. O, upright judge! Mark, Jew! -0. learned judge!

18 Shakespeare seems to have followed the pronunciation usual to the theatre, Barabbas being sounded Barabas throughout Marlowe's Jew of Malta.