Bassanio. You shall not seal to such a bond for me: I'll rather dwell in my necessity.

Antonio. Why, fear not, man; I will not forfeit it:
Within these two months, that 's a month before
This bond expires, I do expect return

Of thrice three times the value of this bond.

Shylock. O, father Abraham! what these Christians are, Whose own hard dealings teaches them suspect

The thoughts of others! - Pray you, tell me this;
If he should break his day, 2 what should I gain

By the exaction of the forfeiture?

A pound of man's flesh, taken from a man,
Is not so estimable, profitable neither,

As flesh of muttons, beefs, 3 or goats. I say,
To buy his favour I extend this friendship:
If he will take it, so; if not, adieu;

4

And, for my love, I pray you, wrong me not.
Ant. Yes, Shylock, I will seal unto this bond.
Shy. Then meet me forthwith at the notary's.
Give him direction for this merry bond,
And I will go and purse the ducats straight;
See to my house, left in the fearful guard
Of an unthrifty knave, and presently
I will be with you.

Ant.

5

7
Hie thee, gentle Jew.
The Hebrew will turn Christian: he grows kind.
Bass. I like not fair terms, and a villain's mind.
Ant. Come on: in this there can be no dismay,
My ships come home a month before the day.

1. To dwell, in this case, means to remain, to continue: to abide, which is an equivalent expression, has both the senses, of habitation and continuance.

2. If he should fail to perform his contract. To break his day was the current expression, formerly, to imply a breach of contract.

3. The word mutton is now used

only for the meat of the sheep, and consequently not at all in the plural. Beeves, which is the orthography of

[Exit.

[Exeunt.

ACT II.

SCENE I. Belmont. An Apartment in PORTIA's House. Enter the PRINCE OF MOROcco, and his followers; PORTIA, NERISSA, and other of her Train. Flourish of Cornets. Morocco. Mislike me not for my complexion,

The shadow'd livery of the burnish'd sun,

To whom I am a neighbour, and near bred.
Bring me the fairest creature northward born,
Where Phoebus' fire scarce thaws the icicles,
And let us make incision1 for your love,
To prove whose blood is reddest, 2 his or mine.
I tell thee, lady, this aspect of mine
Hath fear'd the valiant: by my love, I swear,
The best regarded virgins of our clime
Have lov'd it too. I would not change this hue,
Except to steal your thought, my gentle queen.

5

Portia. In terms of choice I am not solely led
By nice direction of a maiden's eyes:
Besides, the lottery of my destiny

Bars me the right of voluntary choosing;
But, if my father had not scanted me,

9

And hedg'd be by his wit, to yield myself
His wife who wins me by that means I told you,
Yourself, renowned prince, then stood as fair, 10
As any comer I have look'd on yet,

For my affection.

Mor.

Even for that I thank you:

1. i. e. in our skins: let us cut each other's skins.

2. It must be remembered that red blood is a traditionary sign of courage. Thus Macbeth calls one. of his affrighted soldiers, a lilyliver'd boy; again, in this play, cowards are said to have livers as white as milk; and an effeminate and timorous man is called a milksop."It was customary in the east for lovers to testify the violence of their passion by cutting themselves in the sight of their mistresses; and the fashion seems to have been adopted as a mark of gallantry in Shakspeare's, time, when young men fre

Merchant of Venice,

quently stabbed their arms with daggers, and mingling the blood with wine, drank it off to the healths of their mistresses.

3. i. e. terrified. (See note 6,page16.) 4. The most admired, the noblest. 5. Fair lady. Gentle formerly signified well-born, of ancient family, though not of the nobility. As here used it is merely a title of homage. 6. By the dainty demands. 7. To bar, to shut out, to deny. 8. To scant, to limit.

9. And in his wisdom surrounded me with a defence.

10. Were as likely to succeed in gaining my affection.

2

1

Therefore, I pray you, lead me to the caskets,
To try my fortune. By this scimitar, -
That slew the Sophy, and a Persian prince,
That won three fields of Sultan Solyman,
I would out-stare the sternest eyes that look,
Out-brave the heart most daring on the earth,
Pluck the young sucking cubs from the she-bear,
Yea, mock the lion when he roars for prey,
To win thee, lady. But, alas the while!2
If Hercules and Lichas 3 play at dice,
Which is the better man? the greater throw
May turn by fortune from the weaker hand:
So is Alcides 5 beaten by his page;

And so may I, blind fortune leading me,
Miss that which one unworthier may attain,
And die with grieving.

Portia.

You must take your chance;

And either not attempt to choose at all,

Or swear before you choose, if you choose wrong,

Never to speak to lady afterward

In way of marriage: therefore be advis'd,"

Morocco. Nor will not: come, bring me unto my chance. Por. First, forward to the temple: after dinner

Your hazard shall be made.

Mor.

Good fortune then, [Cornets.

To make me blest, or cursed'st among men!

SCENE II.

Venice. A Street.

Enter LAUNCELOT GOBBO.

[Exeunt.

Launcelot. Certainly, my conscience will serve me to run from this Jew, my master. The fiend is at mine elbow, and tempts me, saying to me, "Gobbo, Launcelot Gobbo, good Launcelot, or good Gobbo, or good Launcelot Gobbo,

1. A renouned captain of Persia. 2. Alas the while! is merely an exclamation, equivalent to it's sad to think, or, unhappily.

3. Lichas, a servant of Hercules, who brought him the poisoned tunic from Dejanira. He is said to have been cast into the sea by his master, and changed by the gods into a rock.

4. May come by chance.

5. A patronymic of Hercules, from his grandfather Alcæus.

6. In way of, concerning, respecting, about.

has the opposite meaning to rash.

7. i. e. be considerate. Advised

8. My conscience justifies me.

3

use your legs, take the start, 1 run away:" My conscience says, "No; take heed, honest Launcelot; take heed, honest Gobbo;" or, as aforesaid, "honest Launcelot Gobbo; do not run; scorn running with thy heels."2 Well, the most courageous fiend bids me pack; "Via!" says the fiend; "away!" says the fiend; "for the heavens, rouse up a brave mind," says the fiend, "and run." Well, my conscience, hanging about the neck of my heart, says very wisely to me "My honest friend Launcelot, being an honest man's son,' or rather an honest woman's son; for, indeed, my father did something smack, something grow to, he had a kind of taste: -well, my conscience says, "Launcelot, budge not." "Budge," says the fiend: "budge not," says my conscience. Conscience, say I, you counsel well, fiend, say I, you counsel well: to be ruled by my conscience I should stay with the Jew my master, who (God bless the mark!) is a kind of devil; and, to run away from the Jew, I should be ruled by the fiend, who, saving your reverence, is the devil himself. Certainly, the Jew is the very devil incarnation; and, in my conscience, my conscience is but a kind of hard conscience to offer to counsel me to stay with the Jew. The fiend gives the more friendly counsel: I will run, fiend; my heels are at your commandment: I will run.

8
Enter Old GOBBO, with a Basket.

Gob. Master, young man, you; I pray you, which is the way to master Jew's?

9

Laun. [Aside.] O heavens! this is my true begotten father, who, being more than sand-blind, high-gravel blind, knows me not: I will try confusions with him. 10

Gob. Master, young gentleman, I pray you, which is the way to master Jew's?

1. Put yourself into motion.

2. It was formerly a figurative manner of expressing a scornful rejection of anything to say, I scorn it with my heels.

3. i. e. by heaven. Al petty oath. 4. To smack, to taste.

5. To budge, to move from the place.

6. The Lord preserve me! God be merciful to me!

7. With all respect be it said.

8. Steevens surmised that as Gobbo is Italian for crook-back, Shakespeare intended the old man to be represented with that deformity.

9. Sand-blind is a term for a peculiar defect in the eyes, by which small particles appear to fly before them. Gravel being coarse sand, high gravel-blind is here used as a superlative of sand-blind.

10. I will have a joke with him.

Launcelot. Turn up on your right hand at the next turning, but at the next turning of all, on your left; marry,1 at the very next turning, turn of no hand, 2 but turn down indirectly to the Jew's house.

Gobbo. By God's sonties, 3 't will be a hard way to hit.* Can you tell me whether one Launcelot, that dwells with him, dwell with him, or no?

Laun. Talk you of master Launcelot ? young Mark me now; now will I raise the waters. 5 Talk you of young master Launcelot?

[Aside.] [To him.]

Gob. No master, Sir, but a poor man's son: his father, though I say it, is an honest exceeding poor man; and, God be thanked, well to live. "

Laun. Well, let his father be what a' will, we talk of young master Launcelot.

Gob. Your worship's friend, and Launcelot, Sir.

Laun. But I pray you, ergo, old man, ergo, I beseech you, talk you of young master Launcelot?

8

Gob. Of Launcelot, an 't please your mastership.

Lauu. Ergo, master Launcelot. Talk not of master Launcelot, father; for the young gentleman (according to fates and destinies, and such odd sayings, the sisters three, and such branches of learning,) is, indeed, or, as you would say, in plain terms, gone to heaven.

Gob. Marry, God forbid! the boy was the very staff of my age, my very prop.

Laun. [Aside.] Do I look like a cudgel, or a hovel-post, a staff, or a prop? [To him.] Do you know me, father? Gob. Alack the day! I know you not, young gentleman; but, I pray you, tell me, is my boy, (God rest his soul!) alive or dead?

1. This interjection, formerly so much used, is said to have been derived from the practice of swearing by the Virgin Mary.

2. Turn on no hand, do not turn at all.

3. Sonties is probably a corrup

6. In good health.

7. The a' here is a corruption of tion of saints, formerly written saunc-he, still in use in some provincial tes. Our ancestors, to avoid profane dialects of England. swearing, often sought to disguise 8. If it please. the words by abbreviations, which ultimately lost even their similarity to the original phrase. We have

9. Alack the day! or, alas the day! or, alas a day! is equivalent to oh! unhappy day!