And earthly power doth then show likest God's, When mercy seasons justice. Therefore, Jew, Though justice be thy plea, consider this,That, in the course of justice, none of us Should see salvation: 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 needs give sentence 'gainst the merchant 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? Bass. Yes, here I tender 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 appear That malice bears down truth. And I beseech Wrest once the law to your authority: To do a great right, do a little wrong; And curb this cruel devil of his will.

[you,

[Venice

Por. It must not be; there is no power in Can alter a decree established: 'Twill be recorded for a precedent; And many an error, by the same example, Will rush into the state: it cannot be.

Shy. A Daniel come to judgement! yea, a Daniel!

O wise young judge, how do I honour thee! Por. I pray you, let me look upon the bond. Shy. Here'tis, most reverend doctor, hereit is. Por. Shylock, there's thrice thy money offer'd 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;
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.
Shy. When it is paid according to the tenor.-
It doth appear, you are a worthy judge;
You know the law, your exposition

Hath been most sound: I charge you by the
Whereof you are a well-deserving pillar, [law,
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.

Ant. Most heartily I do beseech the court

To give the judgement.

Por. Why then, thus it is.

You must prepare your bosom for his knife:
Shy. O noble judge! O excellent young man!
Por. For the intent and purpose of the law
Hath full relation to the penalty,
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. Ay, his breast:

So says the bond; -Doth it not, noble judge!-
Nearest his heart, those are the very words.
Por. It is so.

The flesh.

Are there balance here, to

Shy. I have them ready.

[weigh

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 express'd; But what of
"Twere good you do so much for charity. [that?
Shy. I cannot find it; 'tis not in the bond.

Por. Come, merchant, have you any thing to say?

Ant. But little; I am arm'd, and well prepar'd.

[ance

Give me your hand, Bassanio; fare you well!
Grieve not that I am fallen to this for you;
For herein fortune shows herself more kind
Than is her custom: it is still her use,
To let the wretched man out-live his wealth,
To view with hollow eye, and wrinkled brow,
An age of poverty; from which lingering pen-
Of such a misery doth she cut me off.
Commend me to your honourable wife :
Tell her the process of Antonio's end,
Say, how I lov'd you, speak me fair in death;
And, when the tale is told, bid her be judge,
Whether Bassanio had not once a love.
Repent not you that you shall lose your friend,
And he repents not that he pays your debt;
For, if the Jew do but cut deep enough,
I'll pay it instantly with all my heart.
Bass. Antonio, I am married to a wife,
Which is as dear to me as life itself;
But life itself, my wife, and all the world,
Are not with me esteem'd above thy life:
I would lose all, ay, sacrifice them all
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 Entreat some power to change this currish Jew. Ner. 'Tis well you offer it behind her back; The wish would make else an unquiet house. 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;

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 just pound, be it but so much As makes it light, or heavy, in the substance, Or the division of the twentieth part

Of one poor scruple; nay, if the scale do turn But in the estimation of a hair,

Thou diest, and all thy goods are confiscate. Gra. A second Daniel, a Daniel, Jew!

Now, infidel, I have thee on the hip.

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 I; a second Daniel!— I thank thee, Jew, for teaching me that word. Shy. Shall I not have barely my principal? 'To be so taken at thy peril, Jew. Por. Thou shalt have nothing but the forfei[ture Shy. Why then the devil give him good of it! I'll stay no longer question.

Por. Tarry, Jew;

The law hath 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
Comes to the privy coffer of the state;
And the offender's life lies in the mercy
Of the duke only, 'gainst all other voice.
In which predicament, I say, thou stand'st:
For it appears by manifest proceeding,
That indirectly, and directly too,
Thou hast contriv'd against the very life
Of the defendant; and thou hast incurr'd
The danger formerly by me rehears'd.
Down, therefore, and beg mercy of the duke.
Gra. Beg, that thon may'st 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 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:
For half thy wealth, it is Antonio's;
The other half comes to the general state,
Which humbleness may drive unto a fine.
Por. Ay, for the state; not for Antonio.
Shy. 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.
Por. What mercy can you render him, An-
tonio ?

Gra. A halter gratis; nothing else; for God's

sake.

I am content, so he will let me have The other half in use, to render it, Upon his death, unto the gentleman

That lately stole his daughter:

I am not well; send the deed after me, And I will sign it.

fathers;

Duke. Get thee gone, but do it. Gra. In christening thou shalt have two god[more, Had I been judge, thou should'st have had ten To bring thee to the gallows, not the font. [Exit SHYLOCк.

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
Of grievous penalties; in lieu whereof,
Three thousand ducats, due unto the Jew,
We freely cope your courteous pains withal.
Ant. And stand indebted, over and above,
In love and service to you evermore.

Por. He is well paid, that is well satisfied;
And I, delivering you, am satisfied,
And therein do account myself well paid;
My mind was never yet more mercenary.
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;

Take some remembrance of us, as a tribute, Not as a fee: grant me two things, I pray you, Not to deny me, and to pardon me. Por. You press me far, and therefore I will yield. [sake; Give me your gloves, I'll wear them for your And, for your love, I'll take this ring from you :[more; Do not draw back your hand; I'll take no 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,
And find it out by proclamation;
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,

She would not hold out enemy for ever,
For giving it to me. Well, peace be with you!
[Exeunt PORTIA and NERISSA.
Ant. My Jord Bassanio, let him have the

ring;

By the sweet power of music: Therefore, the
poet
[floods;
Did feign that Orpheus drew trees, stones, and
Since nought so stockish, hard, and full of rage,
But music for the time doth change his nature:
The man that hath no music in himself,
Nor is not mov'd with concord of sweet sounds,
Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils;
The motions of his spirit are dull as night,
And his affections dark as Erebus:

Let no such man be trusted. -Mark the music,

Enter PORTIA and NERISSA, at a distance. Por. That light we see, is burning in my hall. How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty world.

Ner. When the moon shone, we did not see the candle.

Por. So doth the greater glory dim the less: A substitute shines brightly as a king, Until a king be by; and then his state Empties itself, as doth an inland brook Into the main of waters. Music! hark!

Ner. It is your music, madam, of the house. Por. Nothing is good, I see, without respect; Methinks, it sounds much sweeter than by day. Ner. Silence bestows that virtue on it, madam. Por. The crow doth sing as sweetly as the When neither is attended; and, I think, [lark, The nightingale, if she should sing by day, When every goose is cackling, would be thought

No better a musician than the wren.

How many things by season season'd are
To their right praise and true perfection!-
Peace, hoa! the moon sleeps with Endymion,
And would not be awak'd!
[Music ceases.

Lor. That is the voice,

Or I am much deceiv'd, of Portia.

Por. He knows me, as the blind man knows

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,
To signify their coming.
Por. Go in, Nerissa,

Give order to my servants, that they take
No note at all of our being absent hence ;-
Nor you, Lorenzo;-Jessica, nor you.

[A tucket sounds.

Lor. Your husband is at hand, I hear his

trumpet:

We are no tell-tales, madam; fear you not.

Por. This night, methinks, is but the daylight 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. Por. Let me give light, but let me not be

light;

For a light wife doth make a heavy husband, And never be Bassanio so for me;

But God sort all!-You are welcome home,

my lord.

Bass. I thank you, madam: give welcome to my friend.

A flourish on a trumpet.

Gra. About a hoop of gold, a paltry ring That she did give me; whose posy was For all the world, like cutler's poetry Upon a knife, Love me, and leave me not.

Ner. What talk you of the posy, or the value? You swore to me, when I did give it you, That you would wear it till your hour of death; And that it should lie with you in your grave: Though not for me, yet for your vehement oaths, You should have been respective, and have kept it.

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;
A thing stuck on with oaths upon your finger,
And riveted so with faith unto your flesh.
I gave my love a ring, and made him swear
Never to part with it; and here he stands;
I dare be sworn for him, he would not leave it,
Nor pluck it from his finger, for the wealth
That the world masters. Now, in faith, Gratiano,
You give your wife too unkind a cause of grief;
An 'twere to me, I would be mad at it.

off,

Bass. Why, I were best to cut my left hand
And swear, I lost the ring defending it. [Aside.
Gra. My lord Bassanio gave his ring away
Unto the judge that begg'd it, and, indeed,
Deserv'd it too; and then the boy, his clerk,
That took some pains in writing, he begg'd
mine:
[aught
And neither man, nor master, would take
But the two rings.

Por. What ring gave you, my lord ?
Not that, I hope, which you receiv'd of me.
Bass. If I could add a lie unto a fault,
I would deny it; but you see, my finger
Hath not the ring upon it, it is gone.

Por. Even so void is your false heart of truth. By heaven, I will ne'er come in your bed Until I see the ring.

Ner. Nor I in yours, Till I again see mine.

Bass. Sweet Portia,

If you did know to whori I gave the ring,
If you did know for whom I gave the ring,
And would conceive for what I gave the ring
And how unwillingly I left the ring,

* Verbal, complimentary form, † Regardful