Shy. A Daniel come to judgment! Yea, a Daniel!O wise young judge, how do I honor 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 offered 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; Nearest the merchant's heart.-Be merciful: Hath been most sound. I charge you by the law, Por. Why, then, thus it is. 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. Shy. So says the bond.-Doth it not, noble judge?— Nearest his heart; those are the very words. Ay, his breast; Por. It is so. Are there balance here, to weigh The flesh? Shy. I have them ready. 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 expressed; 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 ? Commend me to your honorable wife. Repent not you that you shall lose your friend, Bass. Antonio, I am married to a wife, Here to this devil, to deliver you. Por. Your 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 Shy. These be the Christian husbands. I have a daughter: 'Would any of the stock of Barrabas Had been her husband, rather than a Christian! [Aside. 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.- One drop of Christian blood, thy lands and goods Unto the state of Venice. Gra. O upright judge!-Mark, Jew;-O learned judge! Shy. Is that the law? Por. Thyself shall see the act; For, as thou urgest justice, be assured, 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. Por. Here is the money. Soft; The Jew shall have all justice ;-soft !-no haste ;- Gra. O Jew! An upright judge, a learned judge! Or the division of the twentieth part Of one poor scruple; nay, if the scale do turn. Thou diest, and all thy goods are confiscate. Take thy for Shy. Give me my principal, and let me go. Gra. A Daniel, still say I;-a second Daniel! Shy. Why, then the devil give him good of it! Por. Tarry, Jew; The law hath yet another hold on you. It is enacted in the laws of Venice, If it be proved against an alien, The party, 'gainst the which he doth contrive, Down, therefore, and beg mercy of the duke. Gra. Beg, that thou mayst have leave to hang thyself: And yet, thy wealth being forfeit to the state, Thou hast not left the value of a cord; Therefore, thou must be hanged 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 Antonio. Por. What mercy can you render him, Antonio? Gra. A halter gratis; nothing else, for God's sake 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 Two things provided more.-That, for this favor, The other, that he do record a gift, Here in the court, of all he dies possessed, Unto his son Lorenzo, and his daughter. Duke. He shall do this; or else I do recant The pardon that I late pronounced here. Por. Art thou contented, Jew; what dost thou say? Shy. I am content. Por. Shy. I Clerk, draw a deed of gift. pray you, give me leave to go from hence; I am not well: send the deed after me, And I will sign it. Duke. Get thee gone; but do it. Gra. In christening thou shalt have two god fathers; 1 Antonio's offer has been variously explained. It appears to be "that he will quit his share of the fine, as the duke has already done that portion due to the state, if Shylock will let him have it in use (i. e. at interest) during his life, to render it at his death to Lorenzo” |