Por. It must not be; there is no power in senger came, in loving visitation was with Duke. You hear the learn'd Bellario, what he And here, I take it, is the doctor come.- Por. I did, my lord. Duke. You are welcome: take your place. Por. Is your name Shylock? Shy. Shylock is my name. Por. Of a strange nature is the suit you follow; Ant. Ay, so he says. Por. Do you confess the bond? Por. Then must the Jew be merciful. Shy. On what compulsion must I tell me that. Por. The quality of mercy is not strain'd; there. Shy. My deeds upon my head! I crave the The penalty and forfeit of my bond. [law, Por. Is he not able to discharge the money? wise young judge, how do I honour thee ! Por. I pray you, let me look upon the bond. Shy. Here 'tis, most reverend doctor, here it is. Por. Shylock, there's thrice thy money offer'd thee. Shy. An oath, an oath, I have an oath in Shall I lay perjury upon my soul? Por. Why, this bond is forfeit ; Shy. When it is paid according to the tenor.- Ant. Most heartily I do beseech the court Por. Why then, thus it is, You must prepare your bosom for his knife: Which here appeareth due upon the bond. How much more elder art thou than thy looks! So says the bond;-Doth it not, noble judge ?— Shy. I have them ready. Por. Have by some surgeon, Shylock, on your cbarge, To stop his wounds, lest he do bleed to death. Shy. I cannot find it; 'tis not in the bond. Ant. But little; I am arm'd, and well pre par'd. Give me your hand, Bassanio; fare you well! Than is her custom: it is still her use, Bass. Antonio, I am married to a wife, Por. Your wife would give you little thanks If she were by to hear you make the offer. 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 fsh; 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 Gra. 0 upright judge!-Mark, Jew ;-0 learned judge! Shy. Is that the law? Por. Thyself shalt see the act: For, as thou urgest justice, be assur'd, Thou shalt have justice more than thou desir'st. Gra. O learned judge !-Mark, Jew ;-a learned judge! Shy. I take this offer then ;-pay the bond thrice, And let the Christian go. Bass. Here is the money. (haste ;The Jew shall have all justice ;-soft!-no He shall have nothing but the penalty. Gra. O Jew! an upright judge, a learned judge! Por. Therefore, prepare thee to cut off the flesh. Shed thou no blood; nor cut thou less, nor more, But just a pound of flesh if thou tak'st more, Por. Why doth the Jew pause? take the forfeiture. Shy. Give me my principal, and let me go. Bass. I have it ready for thee; here it is. Por. He hath refus'd it in the open court; He shall have merely justice and his bond. Gra. A Daniel, still say 1; a second Daniel I thank thee, Jew, for teaching me that word. Shy. Shall I not have barely my principal ? Por. Thou shalt have nothing but the forfeiture To be so taken at thy peril, Jew. In which predicament, I say, thou stand'st: thyself: And yet, thy wealth being forfeit to the state, Thou hast not left the value of a cord: Therefore, thou must be hang'd at the state's charge. Duke. That thou shalt see the difference of our spirit, I pardon thee thy life before thou ask it: Por. Ay, for the state; not for Autouio. You take my house, when you do take the prop That doth sustain my house; you take my life, When you do take the means whereby I live. Por. What mercy can you reuder him, An tonio ? Gra. A halter gratis; nothing else; for God'ssake. Ant. So please my lord the duke, and all the court, To quit the fine for one half of his goods; I am content, so he will let me have He presently become a Christian; Duke. He shall do this; or else I do recant Shy. I am content. Por. Clerk, draw a deed of gift, Shy. I pray you, give me leave to go from hence; I am not well; send the deed after me, Duke. Get thee gone, but do it. Gra. In christening thou shalt have two godfathers; Had I been judge, thou should'st have had ten more. To bring thee to the gallows, not the font. [Exit SHYLOCK. Duke. Sir, I entreat you home with me to dinner. Por. I humbly do desire your grace of pardon; I must away this night toward Padua, And it is meet, I presently set forth. Duke. I am sorry, that your leisure serves you not. Antonio, gratify this gentleman; For, in my mind, you are much bound to him. [Exeunt DUKE, Magnificoes, and Train. Bass. Most worthy gentleman, I and my friend, Have, by your wisdom, been this day acquitted Shy. Why then the devil give him good of it! Of grievous penalties; in lieu whereof, I'll stay no longer question. Por. Tarry, Jew; The law bath yet another hold on you. It is enacted in the laws of Venice, If it be prov'd against an alien, That by direct or indirect attempts, He seek the life of any citizen, The party, 'gainst the which he doth contrive, Shall seize one half his goods; the other half Three thousand ducats, due unto the Jew, In love and service to you evermore. I pray you, know me, when we meet again; I wish you well, and so I take my leave. Bass. Dear Sir, of force I must attempt you further; And you in love shall not deny me this. Bass. This ring, good Sir,-alas, it is a trifle, I will not shame myself to give you this. Por. I will have nothing else but only this ; And now, methinks, I have a mind to it. Bass. There's more depends on this, than on the value. The dearest ring in Venice will I give you, Only for this, I pray, you, pardon me. Por. I see, Sir, you are liberal in offers: You taught me first to beg; and now, methinks, You teach me how a beggar should be answer'd. Bass. Good Sir, this ring was given me by my wife; And, when she put it on, she made me vow, That I should neither sell, nor give, nor lose it. Por. That 'scuse serves many men to save their gifts. And if your wife be not a mad woman, Let his deservings, and my love withal, Bass. Go, Gratiano, run and overtake him, Give him the ring; and bring him, if thou can'st, Unto Antonio's house :-away, make haste. [Exeunt. SCENE II.-The same.-A Street. Enter PORTIA and NERISSA. maid. Por. Inquire the Jew's house out, give him pray you, is my master yet return'd? this deed, And let him sign it; we'll away to-night, And be a day before our husbands bome: This deed will be well welcome to Lorenzo. Enter GRATIANO. Gra. Fair Sir, you are well overtaken : My lord Bassanio, upon more advice, * Hath sent you here this ring, and doth entreat Your company at dinner. Por. That cannot be: This ring I do accept most thankfully, I pray you, show my youth old Shylock's house. Gra. That will I do. Ner. Sir, I would speak with you :I'll see if I can get my husband's ring, [TO PORTIA. Which I did make him swear to keep for ever. Por. Thou may'st, I warrant: We shall have old swearing, That they did give the rings away to men; Ner. Come, good Sir, will you show me to • Reflection. Lor. He is not, nor we have not heard from him. But go we in, I pray thee, Jessica, Some welcome for the mistress of the house. Is thick inlaid with patines of bright gold; There's not the smallest orb, which thou be hold'st, But in his motion like an angel sings, Come, ho, and wake Diana with a hymn; Jes. I am never merry, when I hear sweet music. [Music. Lor. The reason is, your spirits are attentive: For do but note a wild and wanton herd, Or race of youthful and unhandled colts, Fetching mad bounds, bellowing, and neighing loud, Which is the hot condition of their blood; Since nought so stockish, hard, and full of rage, Nor is not mov'd with concord of sweet sounds, Enter PORTIA and NERISSA at a distance. Por. So doth the greater glory dim the less: When neither is attended; and, think, Lor. That is the voice, [Music ceases. Or I am much deceiv'd, of Portia. Lor. Year husband is at hand, I hear bis trumpet; We are no tell-tales, madam; fear you not. Por. This night, methinks, is but the day light sick, It looks a little paler; 'tis a day, Such as the day is, when the sun is hid. Enter BASSANIO, ANTONIO, GRATIANO, and their Followers. Bass. We should hold day with the Antipodes, If you would walk in absence of the sun. For a light wife doth make a heavy husband, Bass. I thank you, madam: give welcome to my friend. This is the man, this is Antonio, To whom I am so infinitely bound. Por. You should in all sense be much bound to him, For, as I hear, he was much bound for you. In faith, I gave it to the judge's clerk : Gra. About a hoop of gold, a paltry ring Ner. What, talk you of the posy, or the value ? Gave it a judge's clerk !-but well I know, The clerk will ne'er wear hair on his face that had it. Gra. He will, an if he live to be a man. Ner. Ay, if a woman, live to be a man. Gra. Now, by this hand, I gave it to a youth,A kind of boy; a little scrubbed boy, No higher than thyself, the judge's clerk; A prating boy, that begg'd it as a fee; I could not for my heart deny it him. Por. You were to blame, I must be plain with you, To part so slightly with your wife's first gift; Por. He knows me, as the blind man knows I gave my love a ring, and made him swear the cuckoo, By the bad voice. Lor. Dear lady, welcome home. Por. We have been praying for our husbands' welfare, Which speed, we hope, the better for our words. Are they return'd? Lor. Madam, they are not yet; But there is come a messenger before, Por. Go in, Nerissa, Give order to my servants that they take [A tuckett sounds. A small flat dish, used in the administration of the Eucharist-or, according to Warburton, plates of gold borne in heraldry. + A flourish on a trumpet. Never to part with it; and here he stands; Bass. Why, I were best to cut my left hand And swear, I lost the ring defending it. [off, [Aside. Gra. My lord Bassanio gave his ring away Por. What ring gave you, my lord? ↑ Regardfua I would deny it; but you see, my finger Por. Even so void is your false heart of truth. Ner. Nor I in your's, Till I again see mine. Bass. Sweet Portia, If you did know to whom I gave the ring, When naught would be accepted but the ring, sure. Por. If you had known the virtue of the ring, Or half her worthiness that gave the ring, Or your own honour to contain the ring, You would not then have parted with the ring. What man is there so much unreasonable, If you had pleas'd to have defended it With any terms of zeal, wanted the modesty To urge the thing held as a ceremony ? Nerissa teaches me what to believe; I'll die for't, but some woman had the ring. Bass. No, by mine honour, madam, by my soul, No woman had it, but a civil doctor, Which did refuse three thousand ducats of me, Ant. I once did lend my body for his wealth ;* Which, but for him that bad your husband's ring, [TO PORTIA. Had quite miscarried: I dare be bound again, Por. Then you shall be his surety: Give him this; And bid him keep it better than the other. Ant. Here, lord Bassanio; swear to keep this ring. Bass. By heaven, it is the same I gave the doctor! Por. I had it of him: pardon me, Bassanio; For by this ring the doctor lay with me. Ner. And pardon me, my gentle Gratiano; For that same scrubbed boy, the doctor's clerk, In lieu of this, last night did lie with me. Gra. Why, this is like the mending of high ways In summer, where the ways are fair enough; What! are we cuckolds, ere we have deserv'd it? Por. Speak not so grossly.-You are all Here is a letter, read it at your leisure; Of my dear friend. What should I say, sweet And I have better news in store for you, lady? I was enforc'd to send it after him; I was beset with shame and courtesy ; My honour would not let ingratitude So much besmear it: Pardon me, good lady; The ring of me to give the worthy doctor. Por. Let not that doctor e'er come near my house; Since he hath got the jewel that I lov'd, I'll not deny him any thing I have, Lie not a night from home; watch me, like If you do not, if I be left alone, Now, by mine honour, which is yet my own, Ner. And I his clerk; therefore be well advis'd, How you do leave me to mine own protection. Gra. Well, do you so let me not take him then; For, if I do, I'll mar the young clerk's pen. Ant. I am the unhappy subject of these quarrels. Por. Sir, grieve not you; You are welcome notwithstanding. Bass. Portia, forgive me this enforced wrong; And, in the hearing of these many friends, Por. Mark you but that! In both my eyes he doubly sees himself: Bass. Nay, but hear me : Pardon this fault, and by my son I swear, Than you expect: unseal this letter soon; Ant. I am dumb. Bass. Were you the doctor, and I knew you not? Gra. Were you the clerk, that is to make me cuckold? Ner. Ay; but the clerk that never means to do it, Unless he live until he be a man. Bass. Sweet doctor, you shall be my bedfellow; When I am absent, then lie with my wife. For here I read for certain, that my ships Por. How now, Lorenzo? My clerk hath some good comforts too for you. Lor. Fair ladies, you drop manna in the way Of starved people. Por. It is almost morning, Gra. Let it be so: The first intergatory • Advantage. [Exeunt. |