The Merchant of Venice (Dover Thrift Editions)

  Why sweat they under burdens? Let their beds

  Be made as soft as yours and let their palates

  Be seasoned with such viands98? You will answer

  'The slaves are ours.' So do I answer you:

  The pound of flesh which I demand of him

  Is dearly bought, 'tis mine and I will have it.

  If you deny me, fie upon your law!

  There is no force in the decrees of Venice.

  I stand for104 judgement. Answer: shall I have it?

  DUKE Upon my power I may dismiss this court,

  Unless Bellario, a learned doctor,

  Whom I have sent for to determine this,

  Come here today.

  SALERIO My lord, here stays without109

  A messenger with letters from the doctor,

  New come from Padua.

  DUKE Bring us the letters. Call the messenger.

  BASSANIO Good cheer, Antonio! What, man, courage yet!

  The Jew shall have my flesh, blood, bones and all,

  Ere thou shalt lose for me one drop of blood.

  ANTONIO I am a tainted116 wether of the flock,

  Meetest117 for death. The weakest kind of fruit

  Drops earliest to the ground, and so let me;

  You cannot better be employed, Bassanio,

  Than to live still and write mine epitaph.

  Enter Nerissa [dressed like a law clerk]

  DUKE Came you from Padua, from Bellario?

  NERISSA From both. My lord Bellario greets your

  grace.

  She gives the Duke a letter while

  Shylock whets his knife on his shoe

  BASSANIO Why dost thou whet thy knife so earnestly?

  SHYLOCK To cut the forfeiture from that bankrupt

  there.

  GRATIANO Not on thy sole, but on thy soul, harsh Jew,

  Thou mak'st thy knife keen126. But no metal can,

  No, not the hangman's127 axe, bear half the keenness

  Of thy sharp envy. Can no prayers pierce thee?

  SHYLOCK No, none that thou hast wit enough to make.

  GRATIANO O, be thou damned, inexecrable130 dog!

  And for thy life131 let justice be accused.

  Thou almost mak'st me waver in my faith

  To hold opinion with Pythagoras133,

  That souls of animals infuse themselves

  Into the trunks of men. Thy currish135 spirit

  Governed a wolf who, hanged for human slaughter,

  Even from the gallows did his fell137 soul fleet,

  And, whilst thou lay'st in thy unhallowed138 dam,

  Infused itself in thee, for thy desires

  Are wolvish, bloody, starved and ravenous.

  SHYLOCK Till thou canst rail141 the seal from off my bond,

  Thou but offend'st142 thy lungs to speak so loud:

  Repair143 thy wit, good youth, or it will fall

  To endless ruin. I stand here for law.

  DUKE This letter from Bellario doth commend

  A young and learned doctor in our court;

  Where is he?

  NERISSA He attendeth here hard148 by,

  To know your answer, whether you'll admit him.

  DUKE With all my heart. Some three or four of you

  Go give him courteous conduct to this place.

  [Exeunt some]

  Meantime the court shall hear Bellario's letter.

  'Your grace shall understand that at the receipt of

  Reads

  your letter I am very sick, but in the instant that your

  messenger came, in loving visitation155 was with me a young

  doctor of Rome. His name is Balthasar. I acquainted him

  with the cause in controversy between the Jew and Antonio

  the merchant. We turned o'er many books together. He

  is furnished159 with my opinion, which--bettered with his

  own learning, the greatness whereof I cannot enough

  commend--comes with him, at my importunity161, to fill up

  your grace's request in my stead. I beseech you, let his lack of

  years be no impediment to let him lack a reverend163

  estimation, for I never knew so young a body with so old a

  head. I leave him to your gracious acceptance, whose trial165

  shall better publish166 his commendation.'

  Enter Portia for Balthasar

  Dressed like a lawyer

  You hear the learned Bellario, what he writes,

  And here, I take it, is the doctor come.

  Give me your hand. Came you from old Bellario?

  PORTIA I did, my lord.

  DUKE You are welcome. Take your place.

  Are you acquainted with the difference172

  That holds this present question173 in the court?

  PORTIA I am informed throughly174 of the cause.

  Which is the merchant here, and which the Jew?

  DUKE Antonio and old Shylock, both stand forth.

  PORTIA Is your name Shylock?

  SHYLOCK Shylock is my name.

  PORTIA Of a strange nature is the suit you follow,

  Yet in such rule180 that the Venetian law

  Cannot impugn181 you as you do proceed.--

  You stand within his danger182, do you not?

  ANTONIO Ay, so he says.

  PORTIA Do you confess184 the bond?

  ANTONIO I do.

  PORTIA Then must the Jew be merciful.

  SHYLOCK On what compulsion must I? Tell me that.

  PORTIA The quality of mercy is not strained188,

  It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven

  Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest190:

  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 shows194 the force of temporal power,

  The attribute to awe and majesty,

  Wherein doth sit the dread196 and fear of kings.

  But mercy is above this sceptred sway197,

  It is enthroned in the hearts of kings,

  It is an attribute to God himself;

  And earthly power doth then show likest200 God's

  When mercy seasons201 justice: therefore, Jew,

  Though justice be thy plea, consider this,

  That in the course of justice203, none of us

  Should see salvation. We do pray for mercy,

  And that same prayer doth teach us all to render205

  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 needs give sentence 'gainst the merchant there.

  SHYLOCK My deeds upon my head!210 I crave the law,

  The penalty and forfeit of my bond.

  PORTIA Is he not able to discharge212 the money?

  BASSANIO Yes, here I tender213 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 appear217

  That malice bears down truth218. And I beseech you

  Wrest once219 the law to your authority.

  To do a great right, do a little wrong,

  And curb this cruel devil of his will.

  PORTIA It must not be; there is no power in Venice

  Can alter a decree established.

  'Twill be recorded for224 a precedent,

  And many an error by the same example

  Will rush into the state. It cannot be.

  SHYLOCK A Daniel227 come to judgement! Yea, a Daniel!

  O wise young judge, how do I honour thee!

  PORTIA I pray you let me look upon the bond.

  SHYLOCK Here 'tis, most reverend doctor, here it is.

  Gives
Portia the bond

  PORTIA Shylock, there's thrice thy money offered thee.

  SHYLOCK An oath, an oath, I have an oath in heaven.

  Shall I lay perjury upon my soul?

  No, not for Venice.

  PORTIA 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.

  SHYLOCK When it is paid according to the tenure240.

  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 judgement. By my soul I swear,

  There is no power in the tongue of man

  To alter me. I stay here on my bond.

  ANTONIO Most heartily I do beseech the court

  To give the judgement.

  PORTIA Why then, thus it is:

  You must prepare your bosom for his knife.

  SHYLOCK O noble judge! O excellent young man!

  PORTIA For the intent and purpose of the law

  Hath full relation to254 the penalty,

  Which here appeareth due upon the bond.

  SHYLOCK 'Tis very true. O wise and upright judge!

  How much more elder art thou than thy looks!

  PORTIA Therefore lay bare your bosom.

  SHYLOCK Ay, his breast,

  So says the bond, doth it not, noble judge?

  'Nearest his heart', those are the very words.

  PORTIA It is so. Are there balance262 here to weigh

  The flesh?

  SHYLOCK I have them ready.

  PORTIA Have by265 some surgeon, Shylock, on your charge,

  To stop266 his wounds, lest he should bleed to death.

  SHYLOCK Is it so nominated in the bond?

  PORTIA It is not so expressed, but what of that?

  'Twere good you do so much for charity.

  SHYLOCK I cannot find it, 'tis not in the bond.

  Looking at the bond

  PORTIA Come, merchant, have you anything to say?

  ANTONIO But little. I am armed272 and well prepared.

  Give me your hand, Bassanio. Fare you well.

  Grieve not that I am fall'n to this for you,

  For herein Fortune shows herself more kind

  Than is her custom. It is still276 her use

  To let the wretched man outlive his wealth,

  To view with hollow eye and wrinkled brow

  An age of poverty, from which ling'ring penance

  Of such misery doth she cut me off.

  Commend me to your honourable wife.

  Tell her the process282 of Antonio's end.

  Say how I loved you; speak me fair in death283.

  And when the tale is told, bid her be judge

  Whether Bassanio had not once a love285.

  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 heart289.

  BASSANIO Antonio, I am married to a wife

  Which291 is as dear to me as life itself,

  But life itself, my wife, and all the world,

  Are not with me esteemed above thy life.

  I would lose all, ay, sacrifice them all

  Here to this devil, to deliver295 you.

  PORTIA Your wife would give you little thanks for that,

  If she were by to hear you make the offer.

  GRATIANO 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.

  NERISSA 'Tis well you offer it behind her back,

  The wish would make else302 an unquiet house.

  SHYLOCK These be the Christian husbands. I have a daughter.

  Would304 any of the stock of Barabbas

  Aside?

  Had been her husband rather than a Christian!

  We trifle306 time. I pray thee pursue sentence.

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

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

  SHYLOCK Most rightful judge!

  PORTIA And you must cut this flesh from off his breast.

  The law allows it, and the court awards it.

  SHYLOCK Most learned judge! A sentence! Come, prepare!

  PORTIA 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'.

  Then take 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 confiscate319

  Unto the state of Venice.

  GRATIANO O upright judge! Mark321, Jew. O learned judge!

  SHYLOCK Is that the law?

  PORTIA Thyself shalt see the act,

  For as thou urgest justice, be assured

  Thou shalt have justice, more than thou desirest.

  GRATIANO O learned judge! Mark, Jew: a learned judge!

  SHYLOCK I take this offer, then. Pay the bond thrice

  And let the Christian go.

  BASSANIO Here is the money.

  PORTIA Soft!330

  The Jew shall have all331 justice. Soft, no haste.

  He shall have nothing but the penalty.

  GRATIANO O Jew! An upright judge, a learned judge!

  PORTIA 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

  Or less than a just337 pound, be it so much

  As makes it light or heavy in the substance338,

  Or the division of the twentieth part

  Of one poor scruple340, nay, if the scale do turn

  But in the estimation of a hair341,

  Thou diest and all thy goods are confiscate.

  GRATIANO A second Daniel, a Daniel, Jew!

  Now, infidel, I have thee on the hip344.

  PORTIA Why doth the Jew pause? Take thy forfeiture.

  SHYLOCK Give me my principal346, and let me go.

  BASSANIO I have it ready for thee, here it is.

  PORTIA He hath refused it in the open court.

  He shall have merely349 justice and his bond.

  GRATIANO A Daniel, still say I, a second Daniel!

  I thank thee, Jew, for teaching me that word.

  SHYLOCK Shall I not have barely352 my principal?

  PORTIA Thou shalt have nothing but the forfeiture,

  To be taken so at thy peril, Jew.

  SHYLOCK Why, then the devil give him good355 of it!

  I'll stay356 no longer question.

  Starts to go

  PORTIA Tarry, Jew.

  The law hath yet another hold on you.

  It is enacted in the laws of Venice,

  If it be proved against an alien360

  That by direct or indirect attempts

  He seek the life of any citizen,

  The party gainst the which he doth contrive363

  Shall seize364 one half his goods, the other half

  Comes to the privy coffer365 of the state,

  And the offender's life lies in366 the mercy

  Of the duke only, gainst all other voice367.

  In which predicament, I say, thou stand'st,

  For it appears, by manifest proceeding369,

  That indirectly, and directly too,

  Thou hast contrived against the very life

  Of the defendant, and thou hast incurred

  The danger373 formerly by me rehearsed.

  Down374 therefore, and beg mercy of the duke.


  GRATIANO 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 cord377:

  Therefore thou must be hanged at the state's charge378.

  DUKE That thou shalt see the difference of our spirit,

  I pardon thee thy life before thou ask it.

  For381 half thy wealth, it is Antonio's,

  The other half comes to the general state,

  Which humbleness383 may drive unto a fine.

  PORTIA Ay, for the state, not for Antonio384.

  SHYLOCK Nay, take my life and all. Pardon not that.

  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.

  PORTIA What mercy can you render him, Antonio?

  GRATIANO A halter390 gratis. Nothing else, for God's sake.

  ANTONIO So391 please my lord the duke and all the court

  To quit392 the fine for one half of his goods,

  I am content, so393 he will let me have

  The other half in use394, to render it,

  Upon his death, unto the gentleman

  That lately stole his daughter.

  Two things provided more: that for this favour

  He presently398 become a Christian.

  The other, that he do record a gift

  Here in the court of all he dies possessed400

  Unto his son401 Lorenzo and his daughter.

  DUKE He shall do this, or else I do recant

  The pardon that I late403 pronounced here.

  PORTIA Art thou contented, Jew? What dost thou say?

  SHYLOCK I am content.

  PORTIA Clerk, draw a deed of gift.

  SHYLOCK I 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.

  GRATIANO In christening thou shalt have two godfathers.

  Had I been judge, thou shouldst have had ten more412,

  To bring thee to the gallows, not to the font413.

  Exit [Shylock]

  DUKE Sir, I entreat you home with me to dinner.

  To Portia

  PORTIA I humbly do desire your grace of415 pardon.

  I must away this night toward Padua,

  And it is meet417 I presently set forth.

  DUKE I am sorry that your leisure serves you not418.

  Antonio, gratify419 this gentleman,

  For in my mind you are much bound to him.

  Exit Duke and his train

  BASSANIO Most worthy gentleman, I and my friend

  Have by your wisdom been this day acquitted

  Of grievous penalties, in lieu whereof423,

  Three thousand ducats due unto the Jew

  We freely cope425 your courteous pains withal.

  Offers money

  ANTONIO And stand indebted, over and above,

  In love and service to you evermore.

  PORTIA He is well paid that is well satisfied,

  And I, delivering you, am satisfied

  And therein do account430 myself well paid.

  My mind was never yet more mercenary.

  I pray you know432 me when we meet again.

  I wish you well, and so I take my leave.

  Starts to leave

  BASSANIO Dear sir, of force I must attempt434 you further.

  Take some remembrance of us as a tribute,

  Not as fee. Grant me two things, I pray you:

  Not to deny me, and to pardon me437.

  PORTIA You press438 me far, and therefore I will yield.