Anth. Ay, so he says. Por. Anth. 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 ;2 It droppeth, as the gentle rain from heaven 3 Upon the place beneath: It is twice bless'd ;4 It that to be in debt and to be in danger, were synonymous terms. HENLEY. .. Again, in Powel's History of Wales, 1587: -laying for his excuse that he had offended "manie noblemen of England, and therefore would "not come in their danger." MALONE. 2 The quality of mercy is not strain'd;] Strain'd is here used for-forced or constrained; Men cannot be compelled to acts of mercy; they must be voluntary. E. 3 It droppeth, as the gentle rain, &c.] That is freely, without compulsion; confirming what was observed in the preceding line: The comparison, at the same time, contains an allusion to the salutary effects of mercy. E. 66 In composing these beautiful lines, it is probable that Shakspeare recollected the following verse in Ecclesiasticus, xxxv. 20: Mercy is seasonable in "the time of affliction, as clouds of rain in the time "of drought." DOUCE. 4 - -It is twice bless'd; &c.] However admirable this speech may, upon the whole, be justly esteemed, the thought conveyed by these words and those which follow, is inaccuratly expressed, and the active and passive therein oddly confounded: Mercy It blesseth him that gives, and him that 'Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it be The throned monarch better than his c His scepter shews the force 5 of t power, is made both the blesser and the blessed. Th twice used in the same general sense of happy, varying only from passive to active first application, however, mercy is the repre both of the person who exercises that vir also of him who is the object of it; in its se is made a distinct agent from both, and reg conferring happiness upon each. It may, perhaps, help to solve this perpl we consider mercy as personified, and, un notion, conceive her blessed, inasmuch as sh the power of blessing, i. e. rendering happ the giver and receiver: or we may unders word blessed in a signification which it fre bears, that of-addressed or saluted with bene in the first place, (relatively to the passage b on the part of him that gives, for the pleasur he derives from the consciousness of havin mercifully, and again, on the part of him the on account of the benefit communicated by th shown to him. The personification of Mercy supposed here. I am not very well satisfie either of these solutions, but they are the bes to offer. E. 5 His scepter shews the force, &c.] Having a that Mercy -becomes "The throned monarch better than his cro she passes on to the mention of the sceptre, of the ensigns of regal authority, which she o The attribute to awe and majesty, Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings; But mercy is above this scepter'd sway, It is enthroned in the hearts of kings,. It is but the emblem of an inferior characteristic of royalty, viz. temporal power, but "The attribute to awe and majesty," assigned to kings as suited to denote merely those circumstances of their greatness. The word attribute must here, I think, relate to sceptre and not to temporal power, since, though awe and majesty might properly enough be said to be attributes to power, yet, (majesty being, as I take it, not used here to express the whole kingly character, or person of the monarch, as it sometimes is, but rather the pomp, state and ceremony with which it is surrounded) I do not see how power can, with propriety, be called an attribute of them. "Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;" Which awe and majesty are the source of that dread and fear which the presence of kings is apt to inspire. If it should be thought fit to refer attribute to temporal power rather than to sceptre, it will be most natural that the word wherein should have relation to the same; otherwise to-awe and majesty. But mercy is above this scepter'd sway," Mercy is a quality of a higher and more exalted nature than that coercive authority of which the sceptre is considered as the symbol. "It is enthroned in the hearts of kings," The word enthroned is well adapted to the supreme excellence of the quality of mercy, more especially as this latter generally implies-power. The propriety of establishing its throne in the heart is the more striking as it is almost ever the effect of compassion, or connected with it, which affection is commonly It is an attribute to God himself; And earthly power doth then shew likest God's, When mercy seasons justice: 6 Therefore, Jew, Though justice be thy plea, consider this,— That, in the course of justice, none of us Should see salvation: 7 we do pray for mercy; And that same prayer doth teach us all to render The deeds of mercy. I have spoke thus much, To mitigate the justice of thy plea; Which if thou follow, this strict court of Venice Must commonly supposed to be seated in that part. The word heart should, I think, in this place be pronounced with a particular emphasis. E. 6 When mercy seasons justice :] So, in King Edward II. a tragedy, 1596: 7 "And kings approach the nearest unto God, "By giving life and safety unto men." MALONE. in the course of justice, none of us Should see salvation:] Portia referring the Jew to the Christian doctrine of salvation, and the Lord's prayer, is a little out of character. BLACKSTONE. She may refer him only to the nature of prayer in general, a principal object of which is to supplicate for mercy; and that same prayer may signifywhatsoever prayer we use for that purpose. There is however an incorrectness in the construction, as there is no substantive expressed, to which that same prayer may have a relation. E, 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 :8 if that will not suffice, That malice bears down truth.9 And I beseech you, Wrest once the law to your authority: Por. -thrice 8 Yea, twice the sum:] We should readthe sum.- -Portia, a few lines below says, Shylock, there's thrice thy money offer'd thee." And Shylock himself suports the emendation: I take his offer then ;-pay the bond thrice." The editions, indeed, read-this offer; but the alteration that has been proposed ought to be adopted. RITSON. 9 malice bears down truth.] Malice oppresses honesty; a true man in old language is an honest We now call the jury good men and true. man. JOHNSON. I apprehend that the word truth, here denotes that supreme rule of right and equity, by which all human actions ought to be directed. HEATH. |