Nay, Portia, who Statute law of Venice the Act of Legislature might be against him-but JUSTICE would have declared with Sixtus V. that when contracts are made it is just they should be fulfilled.' acted as Sixtus on the particular occasion, has previously delivered a most exquisite speech in mitigation of the justice of the Jew's claim.-The legal quibble might be tenable and effectual according to the enactments of Venice, of which as an alien Shylock was ignorant, and to which as a Religionist he did not consider himself amenable, but he is now taunted by the word Justice by a Judge, and that Judge who five minutes before had put on the same word a different and directly opposite construction. Gratiano.-O learned judge! Mark, Jew;-a learned judge! Shylock. I take this offer then; pay the bond thrice, Bassanio. Portia.-Soft; Here is the money. The Jew shall have all justice;-soft!-no haste; He shall have nothing but the penalty. Gratiano.-O Jew! an upright judge, a learned judge! 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. Portia.-Why doth the Jew pause? take thy forfeiture. Gratiano. A Daniel, still say I; a second Daniel :I thank thee, Jew, for teaching me that word. Shylock. Shall I not have barely my principal? Portia. Thou shalt have nothing but the forfeiture, To be so taken at thy peril, Jew. Shylock. Why, then the devil give him good of it, I'll stay no longer question. 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, Thou hast contriv'd against the very life The danger formerly by me rehears'd. Down, therefore, and beg mercy of the Duke. Gratiano. 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; For half thy wealth, it is Antonio's; The other half comes to the general state, Portia.-Ay, for the state; not for Antonio. Shylock.-Nay, take my life and all, pardon not that; You take my house, when you do take the prop That doth sustain house; you take When my my life, you do take the means whereby I live. Portia.-What mercy can you render him, Antonio? Gratiano.-A halter gratis; nothing else; for God's sake. Antonio. 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 Two things provided more,-That, for this favour, The other, that he do record a gift, Here in the Court, of all he dies possess'd Unto his son Lorenzo, and his daughter. Duke. He shall do this, or else I do recant The pardon, that I late pronounced here. Portia,-Art thou contented, Jew? what dost thou say? • Shylock.-I am content. Portia.-Clerk, draw a deed of gift. Shylock. I pray you, give me leave to go from hence; I am not well; send the deed after me, And I will sign it. Duke.-Get thee gone, but do it. Gratiano.-In christening thou shalt have two godfathers: Had I been judge, thou should'st have had ten more, To bring thee to the gallows, not the font. [Exit Shylock. The conduct of Shylock after his defeat shows great consistency, and, if properly acted, much of true dignity.-By the trickish construction of the terms, the bond having become a mere nullity-he says, 'I'll take this offer then, pay the money thrice-and let the Christian go. The actors, consistently enough with their own portrait of the character, have made the Jew lay emphasis on the word thrice, as if Shylock were griping at gain when defeated of revenge. It is no such thing-Bassanio has never offered to pay the thrice-he says money "For thy three thousand ducats here are six," and afterwards repeats the same offer by tendering "twice the sum,"— nay to be bound to pay it "ten times o'er."—If therefore Shylock had condescended to bargain he had the option of 6000 ducats in ready money— or Bassanio's bond for 30,000 ducats-Both these he had refused.-The notion that the money should be paid thrice, comes from Portia the Judge-who finding the other offers had been declined, tries if trebling the sum will tempt the Jew, whom she afterwards endeavours to persuade to take the sum which the Judge, and the Judge alone has pronounced to be an equitable compromise. "Take thrice thy money, bid me tear the bond,"-What Shylock means is this- As the Judge is the Expounder of the law, so he has become the Assessor of satisfaction-and as I was before ready to execute the sentence he pro nounced, so am I now willing to abide by his suggestion of compromise,'-and in this Shylock was right, for the Judge knew the law quite as well before as after he had suggested the compensation; and Shylock's conduct when he was in ignorance of the law, ought not to have prejudiced him, when he was informed of itShylock was therefore right in saying, 'Pay the money thrice, and tear the bond.' Finding that he will not be allowed the forfeiture nor the compromise on the bond, he says, Well, it can't be denied, even though the bond is annulled, that you have had three thousand ducats of my money-pay them to me!' "Give me my principal, and let me go." There is nothing griping in this, it is the plain sense of the thing, arising out of circumstances as they occur. The unkindest cut of all" comes direct from the mild and unsophisticated Antonio, who is far from returning good for evil, and who seems to have known the use of money to the full as well, if not better than the Jew himself; for he stipulates that instead of a moiety of Shylock's property, which if taken absolutely would have gone to the creditors of Antonio, he will be content with the use of it for his own peculiar benefit during the Jew's life, to stand at his death as Trustee for the gentleman that lately stole his daughter, exacting as the price of so much courtesy that" He presently become a Christian." |