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This bond doth give thee here no jot of blood;
The words expressly are, a pound of flesh :
Take then 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
Are, by the laws of Venice, confiscate

Unto the state of Venice.

Gra. O upright judge !-Mark, Jew; O learnèd judge! Shy. Is that the law?

Por.

Thyself shall see the act;

For, as thou urgest justice, be assur'd

Thou shalt have justice, more than thou desir'st.
Gra. O learned judge !—Mark, Jew ;- -a learned judge!
Shy. I take this offer then,-pay the bond thrice,
And let the Christian go.

Bass.

Por. Soft;

Here is the money.

The Jew shall have all justice ;-soft ;-no haste ;—
He shall have nothing but the penalty.

Gra. O Jew! an upright judge, a learnèd judge.
Por. Therefore, prepare thee to cut off the flesh.
Shed thou no blood; nor cut thou less, nor more,
But just a pound of flesh if thou tak'st more
Or less than a just pound,—be it but so much
As makes it light, or heavy, in the substance,
Or the division of the twentieth part
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.

Gra. A second Daniel! a Daniel, Jew !

Now, infidel, I have thee on the hip.

Por. Why doth the Jew pause? take thy forfeiture.
Shy. Give me my principal, and let me go.
Bass. I have it ready for thee; here it is.
Por. He hath refus'd it in the open court :
He shall have merely justice, and his bond.
Gra. A Daniel, still say I; a second Daniel !—
I thank thee, Jew, for teaching me that word.
Shy. Shall I not have barely my principal?
Por. Thou shalt have nothing but the forfeiture,

To be so taken at thy peril, Jew.

Shy. Why, then the devil give him good of it! I'll stay no longer question.

Por.

Tarry, Jew:

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
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 contriv'd against the very life
Of the defendant; and thou hast incurr'd
The danger formerly by me rehears'd.
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 hang'd 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.

Por. Ay, for the state,—not for Antonio.
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 ?
Gra. A halter gratis; nothing else, for Heaven's sake.
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:

Two things provided more,—that, for this favour,
He presently become a Christian;

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.

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

Por.

Clerk, draw a deed of gift.
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.

Duke.

Get thee gone, but do it.

Gra. In christening shalt thou have two godfathers :
Had I been judge, thou shouldst have had ten more,
To bring thee to the gallows, not the font.

[Exit Shylock.

Duke. Sir, I entreat you home with me to dinner.
Por. I humbly do desire your grace of pardon :

I must away this night toward Padua,

And it is meet I presently set forth.

Duke. I am sorry that your leisure serves you not. Antonio, gratify this gentleman;

For, in my mind, you are much bound to him.

[Exeunt Duke, Magnificoes, and train.

Bass. Most worthy gentleman, I and my friend
Have by your wisdom been this day acquitted
Of grievous penalties, in lieu whereof,
Three thousand ducats, due unto the Jew,
We freely cope your courteous pains withal.
Ant. And stand indebted, over and above,
In love and service to you evermore.

Por. He is well paid that is well satisfied;
And I, delivering you, am satisfied,

And therein do account myself well paid:
My mind was never yet more mercenary.
I pray you, know me when we meet again:
I wish you well, and so I take my leave.

Julius Cæsar.

ACT II., Sc. II.--A ROOM IN CESAR'S HOUSE.

Cæs. Nor heaven nor earth have been at peace to-night : Thrice hath Calpurnia in her sleep cried out, "Help, ho! they murder Cæsar!" Who's within ?

Serv. My lord?

Enter a Servant.

Cæs. Go bid the priests do present sacrifice,

And bring me their opinion of success.

Serv. I will, my lord.

Enter CALPURNIA.

Cal. What mean you, Cæsar? think you to walk forth? You shall not stir out of your house to-day.

Cæs. Cæsar shall forth the things that threatened me
Ne'er looked but on my back when they shall see
The face of Cæsar, they are vanished.

Cal. Cæsar, I never stood on ceremonies,
Yet now they fright me. There is one within,
Besides the things that we have heard and seen,
Recounts most horrid sights seen by the watch.
A lioness hath whelped in the streets;

And graves hath yawned, and yielded up their dead
Fierce fiery warriors fought upon the clouds,

In ranks, and squadrons, and right form of war,
Which drizzled blood upon the Capitol ;

The noise of battle hurtled in the air,
Horses did neigh, and dying men did groan,

And ghosts did shriek and squeal about the streets.
O Cæsar! these things are beyond all use,

And I do fear them.

;

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Whose end is purposed by the mighty gods?
Yet Cæsar shall go forth; for these predictions
Are to the world in general as to Cæsar.

Cal. When beggars die there are no comets seen; The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes Cæs. Cowards die many times before their deaths; The valiant never taste of death but once.

Of all the wonders that I yet have heard,

It seems to me most strange that men should fear;
Seeing that death, a necessary end,

Will come when it will come.

Re-enter Servant.

What say the augurers!

Serv. They would not have you to stir forth to-day.
Plucking the entrails of an offering forth,
They could not find a heart within the beast.

Cas. The gods do this in shame of cowardice:
Cæsar should be a beast without a heart,
If he should stay at home to-day for fear.
No, Cæsar shall not: Danger knows full well
That Cæsar is more dangerous than he.

We are two lions littered in one day,
And I the elder and more terrible;
And Cæsar shall go forth,

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Your wisdom is consumed in confidence.

Do not go forth to-day: call it my fear

That keeps you in the house, and not your own.
We'll send Mark Antony to the senate-house;
And he shall say you are not well to-day:
Let me, upon my knee, prevail in this.

Cæs. Mark Antony shall say I am not well;
And, for thy humour, I will stay at home.
Enter DECIUS.

Here's Decius Brutus, he shall tell them so.
Dec. Cæsar, all hail! good morrow, worthy Cæsar :

I come to fetch you to the senate-house.

Cæs. And you are come in very happy time,

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