Por. It must not be; there is no po
Venice

Can alter a decree established:
"Twill be recorded for a precedent:

And many an error, by the same exan
Will rush into the state; it cannot be.
Shy. A Daniel come to judgment!
Daniel!-

Q wise young judge, how do I honou Por. I pray you, let me look upon th Shy. Here 'tis, most reverend docto it is.

Por. Shylock, there's thrice thy offer'd thee.I

Shy. An oath, an oath, I have an
heaven:

Shall I lay perjury upon my soul?
No, not for Venice.

Por.
Why, this bond is
And lawfully by this the Jew may clai
A pound of flesh, to be by him cut off
Nearest the merchant's heart :-Be mer

there's thrice thy money offer'd thee out supposing any mistake in the terms of t made a little while before by Bassanio, Po ground enough for that of thrice the money place, from what he added afterwards, viz.

I will be bound to pay it ten times o'e and of this the Jew, a little farther on, ve perly takes advantage. CAPELL.

Take thrice the 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
law,

Whereof you are a well-deserving pillar,
Proceed to judgment: by my soul I swear,
There is no power in the tongue of man
To alter me: I stay here on my bond.
Anth. Most heartily I do beseech the court
To give the judgment.

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 law2 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.

2 For the intent and purpose of the law, &c.] The intention and meaning of the law, framed for the determination of similar cases, is clearly applicable to, and strongly in favour of Shylock's right to exact the penalty. E.

Por. Therefore, lay bare your boso
Shy. Ay, his breast:

So says the bond;-Doth it not, judge?—

Nearest his heart, those are the very w

Shy.

Are there balance h

I have them ready.

Por. Have by some surgeon, Shylo your charge,4

To stop his wounds, lest he do bleed to Shy. Is it so nominated in the bond Por. It is not so express'd; But that ?

'Twere good, you do so much for cha Shy. I cannot find it; 'tis not in th Por. Come, merchant, have you an to say?

Anth. But little; I am arm'd and w par'd.

It

3

-Are there balance here, to weigh t may be worth inquiring whether balance grammatical propriety, be used in the plural In some modern editions the line stands thus "It is so. Are there scales to weigh the f

4 Have by some surgeon, Shylock, on your Let some surgeon be present by your comm more probably, perhaps,-at your expence

Give me your hand, Bassanio; fare you well!
Grieve not that I am fallen to this for you;
For herein fortune shews 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

penance

Of such a misery doth she cut me off.
Commend me to your honourable wife:
Tell her the process of Anthonio'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 cut but deep enough,
I'll pay it instantly with all my heart.5

Bass. Anthonio, 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

5 I'll pay it instantly with all my heart.] It is a pity this fine speech should be disgraced by the quibble in the last expression. MRS. GRIFFITH.

f 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 Intreat 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 6
Had been her husband, rather than a Christian!

[Aside. We trifle time;7 I pray thee, pursue sentence.

6

Por.

the stock of Barrabas,] The name of this robber is differently spelt as well as accented in the New Testament; Μή τὅτον, ἀλλὰ τὸν Βαραββᾶν. ἦν dei Bagabbas Anors; but Shakspeare seems to have followed the pronunciation usual to the theatre, Barrabbas being sounded Barabas throughout Marlow's Jew of Malta. Our poet might otherwise have written :

"Would any of Barabbas' stock had been "Her husband, rather than a Christian !" STEEVENS. 7 We trifle time; &c.] These words seem to betray a consciousness in the poet that he had a little wandered from the ro girov of character, in the several preceding reflections that begin with that expressed by Bassanio: but the expediency of throwing into his dialogue something that should enliven it just at that time, was the occasion of this

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