That by direct or indirect attempts
He seeks the life of any citizen,

The party 'gainst the which he doth 40 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 contrived against the very life
Of the defendant; and thou hast incurred
The danger formerly by me rehearsed.

Down, therefore, and beg mercy of the duke.

Gra. Beg that thou 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 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:
For half thy wealth, it is Antonio's ;
The other half comes to the general state,
Which humbleness may drive into a fine.

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, Antonio? 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

The other half in use, to render it,

Upon his death, unto the gentleman

That lately stole his daughter.

Por. Art thou contented, Jew? what dost thou say? Shy. I am content.

'uncapable, we now say incapable. to qualify his rigorous

course, to make him pursue a less severe course of action. 3 envy, malice, hatred. That thou but lead'st, etc., you will act

8

16

9

12

new come, lately arrived. 18 question, examination.

as if guided by the spirit of malice until the last moment. 5 Thou'lt show thy mercy, etc., you will then show your pity and leniency, which will appear the more wonderful or striking when compared with your former behaviour. forfeiture, that which is forfeited, here the pound of flesh which Antonio had agreed to give the Jew. 7 moiety, half. enow, enough. commiseration, pity, compassion. brassy, hard as brass; unfeeling. "Ihave possess'd, etc., I have informed you of my intentions. light, alight, descend. 13 ducat, a coin of the value of from 4s. to 8s. 11 viands, meats, food. 15 without, outside. "give him conduct, conduct him. 19 impugn, contradict; call in question. 20 within his danger, in his power. 21 strained, constrained; strained or forced out by compulsion. 22attribute, an inherent (inborn, innate) quality; a quality or disposition which exists in a person. The word is used in this sense in the sentence below, It is an attribute to God Himself; in the present instance it simply means an essential or necessary property. 23 that same prayer, the Lord's Prayer, which says, "And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us." 24 to mitigate, to make less rigorous; to soften. 25 My deeds upon, etc., I am prepared to suffer the consequences of my actions or doings. 26 tender, offer. 27 truth, here means honesty. 28 precedent, something done or said that may serve as an example to authorize a subsequent act of the like kind; a precedent is something which comes down to us from the past with the sanction of usage, and of common consent. 29 perjury, false swearing. 30 tenour, sense or meaning of the bond. exposition, explanation, interpretation. more elder, this double comparative would now be ungrammatical. We say simply older. balance, scales. 3 nominated, set down, expressed. 35 confiscate, confiscated, forfeited. 36 Gratiano, servant of Bassanio, uses the Jew's own words in order to ridicule, taunt, or gibe him. His remarks are excellent examples of sarcasm. 37 scruple, a weight of twenty grains. estimation, value. 39 alien, foreigner; a foreign-born resident of a country, in which he does not possess the privileges of a citizen. 40 contrive, plot. privy coffer, private treasury.

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32

31

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SCENE FROM

OTHELLO.

SCENE: Venice, a Council-chamber.

[Othello, the Moor of Venice," has married Desdemona without the consent of her father, Brabantio. The latter accuses Othello of using magic arts to gain the affections of Desdemona. Othello defends himself before the Duke, and relates the true facts of the case.]

DUKE, BRABANTIO, OTHELLO, IAGO, RODERIGO,
and Officers.

Duke. Valiant Othello, we must 'straight employ you Against the general enemy "Ottoman.

I did not see you; welcome, signior ;

(To Brabantio.) We lack'd your counsel and your help to-night.

Bra. So did I yours: good your grace, pardon me ; Neither my place, nor aught I heard of business,

Hath raised me from my bed; nor doth the general care
Take hold on me; for my particular grief

Is of so flood-gate and o'erbearing nature,
That it 'engluts and swallows other sorrows.
Duke. Why, what's the matter?

Bra. My daughter! O my daughter!
Sen. Dead?

Bra. Ay, to me;

She is abused, stolen from me, and corrupted

By spells and medicines bought of 'mountebanks :

For nature so preposterously to err,

Being not deficient, blind, or lame of sense,

Sans witchcraft could not

Duke. Whoe'er he be, that, in this foul proceeding,

Hath thus beguiled your daughter of herself,

And you of her, the awful book of law

You shall yourself read in the bitter letter,

After your own sense; yea, though our proper son
Stood in your action.

it seems,

Bra. Humbly I thank your grace.
Here is the man, this Moor; whom now,
Your special mandate, for the state affairs,
Hath hither brought.

Duke & Senators. We are very sorry for it.

Duke. What, in your own part, can you say to this? (To Othello.)

Bra. Nothing, but this is so.

Oth. Most potent, grave, and reverend signiors,
My very noble and approved good masters,--
That I have ta’en away this old man's daughter,
It is most true; true, I have married her;
The very head and front of my offending

Hath this extent, no more. Rude am I in my speech,
And little bless'd with the set phrase of peace;
For since these arms of mine had seven years' 'pith,
Till now, some nine moons wasted, they have used
Their dearest action in the tented field;

And little of this great world can I speak,

More than pertains to feats of broil and battle;
And therefore little shall I grace my cause,

In speaking for myself. Yet, by your gracious patience,
I will a round unvarnish'd tale deliver

Of my whole course of love; what drugs, what charms, What conjuration, and what mighty magic

(For such proceeding I am charged withal),

I won his daughter with.

Bra. A maiden never bold;

Of spirit so still and quiet, that her motion
Blush'd at herself; and she,-in spite of nature,
Of years, of country, credit, everything,-
To fall in love with what she fear'd to look on!
It is a judgment maim'd, and most imperfect,
That will confess-perfection so could err
Against all rules of nature; and must be driven
To find out practices of cunning witchcraft,
Why this should be. I therefore "vouch again
That with some mixtures powerful o'er the blood,

Or with some dram conjured to this effect,
He wrought upon her.

Duke. To vouch this, is no proof;

Without more certain and more

overt test,

Than these thin habits, and poor likelihoods

Of modern seeming, do prefer against him. 1 Sen. But, Othello, speak :

Did you, by indirect and forced courses

Subdue and poison this young maid's affections?
Or came it by request, and such fair question
As soul to soul affordeth?

Oth. I do beseech you,

Send for the lady to the "Sagittary,

And let her speak of me before her father:

If you do find me foul in her report,

The trust, the office, I do hold of you,

Not only take away, but let your sentence
Even fall upon my life.

Duke. Fetch Desdemona hither.

Oth. 15 Ancient, conduct them; you best know the place.

[Exeunt Iago and Attendants. And, till she come, as truly as to Heaven

I do confess the vices of my blood,

So justly to your grave ears I'll present
How I did thrive in this fair lady's love,
And she in mine.

Duke. Say it, Othello.

Oth. Her father loved me; oft invited me ;

Still question'd me the story of my life,

From year to year;

That I have pass'd.

the battles, sieges, fortunes,

I ran it through, even from my boyish days,
To the very moment that he bade me tell it.
Wherein I spoke of most disastrous chances,
Of moving accidents, by flood and field;

Of hair-breadth 'scapes i' the imminent deadly breach ;
Of being taken by the insolent foe,

And sold to slavery; of my redemption thence,