Πο

case before the Court.

*

you not?

*

120

Duke. You are welcome : take your place.
Are you acquainted*with the cause in question ? Are you ac-
Por. I am informed thoroughly of the cause.

quainted, &c., do

you know the Which is the merchant here, and which the Jew ? particulars and

Duke. Antonio and o!d Shylock, both stand forth. the nature of the
Por. Is your name Shylock ?
Shy.

Shylock is my name. 115 Por. (to Ant.) You stand within his danger,* do Within his dans

ger, in his power

as a captive.
Ant. Ay, so he says.
Por.

Do you confess * the bond ? Confess, acknow.
Ant. I do.

ledge or own it.
Por. Then must the Jew be merciful.
Shy. On what compulsion must I ? Tell me

that.
Por. The quality of mercy is not strain'd ;
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heav'n

Twice blest, it has
Upon the place beneath : it is twice blest ;

a double blessing. It blesses him that gives, and him that takes. 125 'Tis mightiest in the mightiest : it becomes

The throned monarch better than his crown.
It is enthroned in the hearts of kings;
It is an attribute to God himself;

Show, appear,

Seasons, tempers, And earthly pow'r doth then show* likest God's 130 When mercy seasons* justice. Therefore, Jew, Render, to give or

bestow.
Though justice be thy plea, consider this,

My deeds, &c.,
That in the course of justice none of us
Should see salvation : we do pray for mercy,

bear the respon

sibility
And that same prayer doth teach us all to render
135 The deeds of mercy.

Crave, demand,
Shy. My deeds * upon my head! I crave* the law, Equity, justice,
The penalty and forfeit of
Bass. For once I beg the court to bend the law Precedent,

which may serve To equity.* 'Tis worth a little wrong

as an example or 140 To curb this cruel savage of his will.

rule in the future. Por. It must not be. There is no power in Daniel, the pro;

phet mentioned Venice Can alter a decree established :

ment, who was 'Twill be recorded as a precedent, *

preventing And many an error by the same example

carrying out of

an unjust sen145 Will rush into the state. It cannot be.

Shy. A Daniel * come to judgment! yea, a Daniel ! chaste Susannah. O wise young judge, how do I honour thee !

Here great

compliment Por. I pray you, let me look upon the bond.

intended by Shy. Shy. Here 'tis, most reverend doctor ; here it is. lock in compar150 Por. Shylock, there's thrice thy money offer'd ing

Daniel thee.

modifies.

*

he determines to

of

his

*

actions.

my bond.

fairness.

that

in the Old Testa

the

means

*

of the

the violation of an oath.

ment.

*

&c.,

man

will

ever

tion in this affair.

Shy. An oath, an oath! I have an oath in

heaven!
Perjury, false Shall I lay perjury* upon my soul ?
swearing, No, not for Venice.
Por.

Why, this bond is forfeit,
And lawfully by this the Jew may claim

155
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. Tenor, the agree- Shy. When it is paid according to the tenor. * No power,

160 There is no power * in the tongue of man neither the words To alter me : I stay upon my bond. or arguments of

Ant. Most heartily I do beseech the court
alter my inten. To give the judgment.
Por.

Why, then, thus it is :
You must prepare your bosom for his knife. 165

Shy. Ay, his breast ;
So saith the bond ; doth it not, noble judge ?

Nearest his heart; those are the very words.
Balance, a pair Por. It is so. Are there balance * to weigh the
of scales used for

flesh ? weighing. Shy. I have them ready.

170 Have by, have Por. Have by* a surgeon, Shylock, at your charge, * At your charge,

To stop his wounds, lest he should bleed to death. at your expense. Shy. Is it so nominated * in the bond ? Nominated, men

Por. It is not so express'd ; but what of that? tioned, named, agreed to. 'Twere good you do so much for charity.

175
Shy. I cannot find it. 'Tis not in the bond.
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 180

breast :
The law allows it, and the court awards it.
Shy. Most learned judge! A sentence! come, pre-

pare. Tarry, wait.

Por. Tarry a little : there is something else. Jot, the smallest This bond doth give thee here no jot* of blood; possible quantity. The words expressly are, a pound of flesh.

185 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 Confiscate, seized for the public use,

Are, by the laws of Venice, confiscate.* forfeited.

Gra. O upright judge! Mark, Jew! O learned 190

judge!
Shy. Is that the law?

near.

*

The
document

the con

the exact sum lent as

3000 ducats.

Por.
Thyself shalt see the act :*

act,
For, as thou urgest justice, be assured
Thou shalt have justice more than thou desir'st.

taining the law, 195 Gra. O learned judge !- Mark, Jew !-a learned

judge !
Shy. I take his offor, then,-pay the sum thrice;
And let the Christian go.
Bass.

Here is the money.
Por.

Soft! 200 The Jew shall have all justice; soft !-no haste:

He shall have nothing but the penalty.

Gra. A second Daniel, Jew!
Now, infidel, I have full hold of thee.
Por. Why doth the Jew pause? Take the for-

feiture.
205 Shy. Give me my principal,* and let me go. Principal,
Bass. I have it ready for thee. Here it is.

first, viz.,
Por. He hath refused it in the open court,
He shall have merely justice and his bond.

Gra. A Daniel, still say I; a second Daniel ! 210 I thank thee, Jew, for teaching me that word.

Shy. Shall I not barely have my principal ?

Por. Thou shalt have nothing but the forfeiture,
To be so taken at thy peril, Jew.
The law hath yet another hold on you.

Alien, foreigner. 215 It is enacted by the laws of Venice, If it be proved against an alien*

ted by law to That by direct or indirect attempts

the privileges of

a foreign country He seek the life of any citizen, The party 'gainst the which he doth contrive

jects 220 Shalf seize one half his goods; the other half

country. Goes to the privy coffer * of the state ;

Privy coffer, pri. And the offender's life lies in the mercy

holding money. Of the Duke only, 'gainst all other voice.* Other voice, other In which predicament,* I say, thou stand'st;

Predicament, 225 For it appears by manifest proceeding,

position, state. That indirectly, and directly too,

Defendant,
Thou hast contrived against the very life

name given in

law to the person Of the defendant;* and thou hast incurr'd who is charged The danger formerly * by me rehears’d.

with an offence,

has, 230 Down, therefore, and beg mercy of the Duke. therefore, to de Duke. That thou may'st see the difference of our fend himself. spirit,

Formerly,

viously. I pardon thee thy life, before thou ask it.

Pardon, &c., do Shy. Nay, take my life and all; pardon not that:* not remit You take my life, taking whereon I live.

you take my 235 Por. What mercy can you render him, Antonio ? wealth.

Persons

admit.

are said to be naturalised sub

of that

vate chest for

*

decision.

the

and

who

pre

the sentence of death

*

Quit the fine, &c.
Antonio said
that he would
give up his share
of Shylock's
wealth if a deed
was signed by the
Jew, ma ng it
over to his daugh-
ter and her hus-
band, Lorenzo, a
friend of An-
tonio's.
Recant, recall,
revoke.

Ant. So please my lord the Duke and all the court,
To quit the fine * for one half of his goods ;
I shall be well contented if I have
The other half in use until his death.

Duke. He shall do this, or else do I recant 240
The pardon that I late pronounced here.

Por. Art thou contented, Jew, What dost thou say?

Shy. I pray you give me leave to go from hence;
I am not well. Send the deed after me,
And I will sign it.

245 Duke.

Get thee gone ; but do it.

about 610 B.O.

still remains. Scian muse

was

IO

Teian muse was

a cele

557.

THE ISLES OF GREECE.* — Byron.

The isles of Greece! the isles of Greece! Sappho, a Greek lyric Where burning Sappho * loved and sung, poetess, who wrote

Where grew the arts of war and peace, Delos, the island

Where Delos * rose and Phoebus sprung! where Apollo (Pho- Eternal sunimer gilds them yet,

5 bus) was born.

But all,* except their sun, is set. But all, &c., their power has departed, but the memory of

The Scian * and the Teian * muse, their past greatness The hero's harp, the lover's lute,

Have found the fame your shores refuse : Homer,

the

first Their place of birth, alone, is mute Grecian poet, B.C. 800. To sounds that echo farther west Anacreon,

Than
your

sires' “ Islands of the Blest.” * brated lyric poet, B.O.

The mountains look on Marathon, * Islands of the Blest,

And Marathon looks on the sea : supposed to be the Cape de Verde Islands And musing there an hour alone,

15 or the Canaries, off coast of

I dreamed that Greece might still be free :

For standing on the Persians' grave, Marathon, near I could not deem myself a slave. Athens, the of a famous battle in which the Greeks de- A king sate on the rocky brow feated the Persians, Which looks o'er sea-born Salamis,*

20 Salamis, an islet of And ships by thousands lay below, Greece, off which the And men in nations ;-all were his ! Greeks defeated the

He counted them at break of day,
Persians B.O. 480.

And when the sun set where were they ?
And where are they ? and where art thou,

My country? On thy voiceless shore
The heroic lay is tuneless now-

The heroic bosom beats no more!

the west Africa.

scene

B.C. 490.

25

*

*

Thy lyre. Poetry is
here likened to the
music of a lyre or
harp. The ancient
Greeks excelled in
poetry.
Dearth, scarcity.
Patriot, one who
truly loves and serves
his fatherland.

*

a

*

Remnant, a part.
Sparta, a town in the
Morea, famous for the
bravery of its inhabi-
tants,
of the three hundred.
At Thermopylæ, &
famous pass in the
north-east of Greece,
10,000 Persians,under
Xerxes, were engaged
by 300 Spartans, under
Leonidas, whose fol-
lowers were all slain,

And must thy lyre,* so long divine, 30 Degenerate into hands like mine ?

'Tis something, in the dearth * of fame,

Though linked among a fettered race,
To feel at least a patriot's * shame,

E'en as I sing, suffuse my face ; 35 For what is left the poet here?

For Greeks a blush--for Greece a tear,
Must we but weep o'er days more blessed ?

Must we but blush ? Our fathers bled.

Earth ! render back from out thy breast 40 A remnant * of our Spartan * dead !

Of the three hundred * grant but three
To make a new Thermopylæ !
What! silent still ? and silent all ?

Ah ! no ;-the voices of the dead 45 Sound like a distant torrent's fall,

And answer, “ Let one living head,
But one arise,-we come, we come ;
'Tis but the living who are dumb.

In vain-in vain : strike other chords ; 50 Fill high the cup of Samian wine ! *

Leave battles to the Turkish hordes,

And shed * the blood of Scio's vine !
Hark! rising to the ignoble call-

How answers each bold bacchanal ! * 55 You have the Pyrrhic dance as yet –

Where is the Pyrrhic phalanx * gone ?
Of two such lessons, why forget

The nobler and the manlier one ?

You have the letters Cadmus * gave60 Think ye he meant them for a slave ?

Fill high the bowl with Samian wine !

We will not think of themes like these !
It made Anacreon's song divine :

He served--but served Polycrates 65 A tyrant; but our masters then

Were still, at least, our countrymen.
The tyrant of the Chersonese *

Was freedoin's best and bravest friend :

That tyrant was Miltiades ! 70 Oh that the present hour would lend

Samian winel Samos, an island on the coast of Asia Minor, opposite Ionia, famous for its wine. And shed, &c. Make wine from the juice of the grape that grows on the island of Scio, off the coast of Asia Minor Bacchanal, a worship. per of Bacchus, one whoindulgesin drink. Pyrrhic phalanx, a compact body of sol. diers formed in the shape of a wedge. Cadmus, the inventor of letters, and king of Thebes, which city he founded. He came to Greece B.O. 1550. Polycrates, a king of Samos The Chersonese, the peninsula of the Morea, Greece. The inhabitants invested Miltiades, the hero of Marathon, with the sovereign power.