Whose own hard dealings teaches them suspect The thoughts of others! Pray you, tell me this: If he should break his day, what should I gain By the exaction of the forfeiture ? A pound of man's flesh, taken from a man, And, for my love, I pray you wrong me not. Ant. Yes, Shylock, I will seal unto this bond. Shy. Then meet me forthwith at the notary's: Give him direction for this merry bond, And I will go and purse the ducats straight; See to my house, left in the fearful guard Of an unthrifty knave, and presently I will be with.you. 14 Hie thee, gentle Jew. [Exit. Ant. The Hebrew will turn Christian; he grows kind. Bass. I like not fair terms, and a villain's mind. Ant. Come on in this there can be no dismay, My ships come home a month before the day. [Exeunt. 14 Fearful guard is a guard that is not to be trusted, but gives cause of fear. To fear was anciently to give as well as feel ACT II. SCENE I. Belmont. A Room in PORTIA'S House. Flourish of Cornets. Enter the Prince of Morocco, and his Train; PORTIA, NERISSA, and other of her Attendants. Mor. Mislike me not for my complexion, The shadow'd livery of the burnish'd sun, To whom I am a neighbour, and near brea. Bring me the fairest creature northward born, Where Phoebus' fire scarce thaws the icicles, And let us make incision' for your love, To prove whose blood is reddest, his, or mine. I tell thee, lady, this aspect of mine Hath fear'd2 the valiant: by my love I swear, The best-regarded virgins of our clime Have lov'd it too. I would not change this hue, Except to steal your thoughts, my gentle queen. Por. In terms of choice I am not solely led By nice direction of a maiden's eyes: Besides, the lottery of my destiny Bars me the right of voluntary choosing; But, if my father had not scanted me, And hedg'd me by his wit, to yield myself His wife who wins me by that means I told you, To understand how the tawny prince, whose savage dignity is well supported, means to recommend himself by this challenge, it must be remembered that red blood is a traditionary sign of courage. Thus Macbeth calls one of his frighted soldiers a lilyliver'd boy; again, in this play, cowards are said to have livers is white as milk; and an effeminate man is termed a milksop. 2 That is, terrified. Yourself, renowned prince, then stood as fair, For my affection. Mor. Even for that I thank you: Therefore, I pray you, lead me to the caskets, And so may I, blind fortune leading me, Por. choose wrong, In way of marriage: therefore, be advis'd. Mor. Nor will not: come, bring me unto my chance. Por. First, forward to the temple: after dinner Your hazard shall be made. Mor. Good fortune then! [Corners [Exeunt To make me blest, or cursed'st among men. SCENE II. Venice. A Street. Enter LAUNCELOT GOBBO.' 66 Laun. Certainly, my conscience will serve me to run from this Jew, my master: The fiend is at mine elbow, and tempts me, saying to me, Gobbo, Launcelot Gobbo, good Launcelot, or good Gobbo, or good Launcelot Gobbo, use your legs, take the start, run away: My conscience says, "No; take heed, honest Launcelot; take heed, honest Gobbo; or, as aforesaid, "honest Launcelot Gobbo; do not run; scorn running with thy heels." Well, the most courageous fiend bids me pack; "Via!" says the fiend ; "away!" says the fiend; "for the heavens,2 rouse up a brave mind," says the fiend, "and run." Well, my conscience, hanging about the neck of my heart, says very wisely to me, -"My honest friend Launcelot, being an honest man's son,' or rather an honest woman's son; for, indeed, my father did something smack, something grow to, he had a kind of taste: - well, my conscience says, Launcelot, budge not." "Budge," says the fiend; "budge not," says my conscience: Conscience, say I, you counsel well; fiend, say I, you counsel well: to be rul'd by my conscience, I should stay with the Jew my master, who (God bless the mark!) is a kind of devil; and, to run away from the Jew, I should be rul'd by the fiend, who, saving your reverence, is the 66 The old copies read,- Enter the Clown alone; and throughout the play this character is called the Clown at most of his entrances or exits. 2 For the heavens was merely a petty oath. To make the fiend conjure Launcelot to do a thing for heaven's sake, is a specimen of that acute nonsense" which Barrow makes one of the species of wit. and which Shakespeare was sometimes very fond of. devil himself. Certainly, the Jew is the very devil incarnation; and, in my conscience, my conscience is but a kind of hard conscience, to offer to counsel me to stay with the Jew: The fiend gives the more friendly counsel: I will run, fiend; my heels are at your commandment; I will run. Enter old GOBBO, with a basket. Gob. Master, young man, you; I pray you, which is the way to master Jew's? Laun. [Aside.] O heavens! this is my true begotten father, who, being more than sand-blind, high-gravel blind, knows me not:-I will try confusions with him.3 Gob. Master young gentleman, I pray you, which is the way to master Jew's? Laun. Turn up on your right hand at the next turning, but at the next turning of all, on your left ft; marry, at the very next turning turn of no hand, but turn down indirectly to the Jew's house. Gob. By God's sonties,' 'twill be a hard way to hit. Can you tell me whether one Launcelot, that dwells with him, dwell with him, or no? Laun. Talk you of young master Launcelot ? [Aside.] Mark me now; now will I raise the waters: [To him.] Talk you of young master Laun celot? Gob. No master, sir, but a poor man's son: his 3 That is, I will try to confuse, perplex him, by misdirecting him. It is usually printed conclusions, following one of the quar tus. The other quarto and the folio have confusions. Of course we interpret his speech by his act. H. 4 God's sonties was probably a corruption of God's saints, in old language saunctes. Oaths of this kind are not unfrequent among our ancient writers. To avoid the crime of profane swearing, they sought to disguise the words by abbreviations, which ultimately lost even their similarity to the original phrase. |