The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated)
Page 288
The payment for the forfeit of the contract.
PORTIA
Is he not able to discharge the money?
Can’t he the contract just be dimissed with payment?
BASSANIO
Yes, here I tender it for him in the court;
Yea, twice the sum: if that will not suffice,
I will be bound to pay it ten times o'er,
On forfeit of my hands, my head, my heart:
If this will not suffice, it must appear
That malice bears down truth. And I beseech you,
Wrest once the law to your authority:
To do a great right, do a little wrong,
And curb this cruel devil of his will.
Yes, I’m willing to give it to him right here in the court.
Yes, even twice the amount, and if that is not enough
I will sign a contract to pay it ten times over,
And will give up my hands, my head, my heart:
If that is not enough, it would seem
You are just truly evil. I beg you,
Just once take the law into your authority—
Do a great right by doing a little wrong,
And keep this devil from getting what he wants.
PORTIA
It must not be; there is no power in Venice
Can alter a decree established:
'Twill be recorded for a precedent,
And many an error by the same example
Will rush into the state: it cannot be.
No, that can’t be. There is no power in Venice
That can alter a law once it is established.
It will be recorded as a precedent
And many errors will occur by example
As others rush in after it: it cannot be.
SHYLOCK
A Daniel come to judgment! yea, a Daniel!
O wise young judge, how I do honour thee!
A fine judge has come to judge! Yes, a Daniel!
Oh, wise young judge—I do applaude you!
PORTIA
I pray you, let me look upon the bond.
Please, let me look at the contract.
SHYLOCK
Here 'tis, most reverend doctor, here it is.
Here it is, most respected expert, here it is.
PORTIA
Shylock, there's thrice thy money offer'd thee.
Shylock, they are offering you three times the amount you lent.
SHYLOCK
An oath, an oath, I have an oath in heaven:
Shall I lay perjury upon my soul?
No, not for Venice.
But I made an oath! I made an oath by heaven!
Should I have a false oath upon my soul?
No, not for Venice.
PORTIA
Why, this bond is forfeit;
And lawfully by this the Jew may claim
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.
Well, this contract is forfeited.
And, by law, this Jew may claim
A pound of flesh to be cut off by him
Nearest the merchant’s heart. But I’m asking you to show mercy:
Take three times the money, and let me tear up the contract.
SHYLOCK
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.
It can be torn up when it is paid according to its content.
You do appear to be a worthy judge.
You know the law well, and your argument
Has been very solid. I command you by the law—
Of which you are a well-deserving support of—
To make your judgement. By my soul I swear
The is nothing anyone can say
That will change my mind. I wait here for my payment.
ANTONIO
Most heartily I do beseech the court
To give the judgment.
Please, I beg the court
To give the judgement.
PORTIA
Why then, thus it is:
You must prepare your bosom for his knife.
Well then, so it is:
You must perpare your chest for his knife.
SHYLOCK
O noble judge! O excellent young man!
Oh, noble judge! Oh, excellent young man!
PORTIA
For the intent and purpose of the law
Hath full relation to the penalty,
Which here appeareth due upon the bond.
The law fully supports
The penalty
Which is written in the contract.
SHYLOCK
'Tis very true: O wise and upright judge!
How much more elder art thou than thy looks!
It’s very true! Oh wise and upright judge!
You seem much older thatn you look!
PORTIA
Therefore lay bare your bosom.
So, you must lay bare your chest.
SHYLOCK
Ay, his breast:
So says the bond: doth it not, noble judge?
'Nearest his heart:' those are the very words.
Yes, his chest:
That’s what the contract says, doesn’t it, good judge?
‘Nearest his heart.’ Those are the words.
PORTIA
It is so. Are there balance here to weigh
The flesh?
That is right. Is there a balance here to weight
The flesh?
SHYLOCK
I have them ready.
I have it ready.
PORTIA
Have by some surgeon, Shylock, on your charge,
To stop his wounds, lest he do bleed to death.
Get a surgeon, Shylock, that you will pay
To attend to his wounds and keep him from bleeding to death.
SHYLOCK
Is it so nominated in the bond?
Does it say that in the contract?
PORTIA
It is not so express'd: but what of that?
'Twere good you do so much for charity.
It is not written in it, but so what?
It would be good for you to show the charity.
SHYLOCK
I cannot find it; 'tis not in the bond.
I cannot find it—it is not in the contract.
PORTIA
You, merchant, have you any thing to say?
You, merchant, do you have anything to say?
ANTONIO
But little: I am arm'd and well prepared.
Give me your hand, Bassanio: fare you well!
Grieve not that I am fallen to this for you;
For herein Fortune shows herself more kind
Than is her custom: it is still her use
To let the wretched man outlive his wealth,
To view with hollow eye and wrinkled brow
An age of poverty; from which lingering penance
Of such misery doth she cut me off.
Commend me to your honourable wife:
Tell her the process of Antonio's end;
Say how I loved you, speak me fair in death;
And, when the tale is told, bid her be judge
Whether Bassanio had not once a love.
Repent but 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 presently with all my heart.
I don’t have much to say. I am ready and prepared.
Give me your hand, Bassanio: goodby
e!
Don’t be sad that I have fallen like this for you
Because Fortune is showing herself to be kinder
Than is her custom. She usually lets
The man who has fallen low to outlive his wealth,
And to view with an empty eye and a wrinkled forehead
The poverty that has set in, but as far as the lingering suffering
and misery—Fortune has ended it.
Speak well of me to your honorable wife.
Tell her what happened to bring about my end,
And tell her I loved you, and speak well of me after I am gone.
And when the story is told, allow her to be the judge
Of whether Bassinio once has a friend.
Only feel sorry that you will lose your friend,
And know he doesn’t feel sorry to pay your debt.
If the Jew cuts deep enough
I will soon pay for it with all of my heart.
BASSANIO
Antonio, 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.
Antonio, I have a wife
Who is as dear to me as life itself.
But life itself, my wife, and all the world
Are not more important than your life.
I would lose it all—yes—sacrifice them all
To this devil, if I could save you.
PORTIA
Your wife would give you little thanks for that,
If she were by, to hear you make the offer.
Your wife might not be hapy to hear that,
If she were here to hear you make that offer.
GRATIANO
I have a wife, whom, I protest, I love:
I would she were in heaven, so she could
Entreat some power to change this currish Jew.
I have a wife whom I love very much.
If she were in heaven, she could
Ask some heavenly power to change the mind of this dog Jew.
NERISSA
'Tis well you offer it behind her back;
The wish would make else an unquiet house.
It’s good you offer it behind her back.
This wish would make for an argument at home.
SHYLOCK
These be the Christian husbands. I have a daughter;
Would any of the stock of Barrabas
Had been her husband rather than a Christian!
That’s what you get with Christian husbands. I have a daughter.
I’d rather any descendent of Barrabas
Would have been her husband instead of a Christian!
Aside
We trifle time: I pray thee, pursue sentence.
We waste time. Please, carry on with the sentence.
PORTIA
A pound of that same merchant's flesh is thine:
The court awards it, and the law doth give it.
A pound of this merchant’s flesh is yours—
The court awards it, and the law will give it to you.
SHYLOCK
Most rightful judge!
You are a just judge!
PORTIA
And you must cut this flesh from off his breast:
The law allows it, and the court awards it.
And you must cut this flesh off of his chest.
The law allows for it, and the court awards it.
SHYLOCK
Most learned judge! A sentence! Come, prepare!
You are an educatied judge! A sentence! Come on, let’s get ready!
PORTIA
Tarry a little; there is something else.
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.
Wait a minute. There is something else.
This contract says that there should not be a spot of blood,
The words say exactly ‘a pound of flesh.’
So, take your payment, and take your pound of flesh.
But if, in cutting it, your shed
One drop of Christian blood, your land and property
Are, by the law of Venice, confiscated
To the state of Venice.
GRATIANO
O upright judge! Mark, Jew: O learned judge!
Oh, good judge! Listen, Jew! Oh, educated judge!
SHYLOCK
Is that the law?
Is that the law?
PORTIA
Thyself shalt see the act:
For, as thou urgest justice, be assured
Thou shalt have justice, more than thou desirest.
You can look at it for yourself.
You have asked for justice, and—rest assured—
You will have more justice than you desired.
GRATIANO
O learned judge! Mark, Jew: a learned judge!
Oh, educated judge! Listen, Jew—an educated judge!
SHYLOCK
I take this offer, then; pay the bond thrice
And let the Christian go.
I will take your offer, then. Pay the principle three times over
And let the Christian go free.
BASSANIO
Here is the money.
Here is the money.
PORTIA
Soft!
The Jew shall have all justice; soft! no haste:
He shall have nothing but the penalty.
Wait!
The Jew wants justice. Wait! Don’t hurry.
He will have nothing but his payment.
GRATIANO
O Jew! an upright judge, a learned judge!
Oh, Jew! A good judge! An educated judge!
PORTIA
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 cut'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.
So, prepare to cut off the flesh.
Be careful not to shed any blood, or to cut more or less
Than exactly a pound of flesh. If you cut more
Or less than a pound—be it so little as
to makes it lighter or heavier in weight
by a twentieth of a part,
Even one ounce, if the scale shows
But the weight of a hair—
You die and all of your property will be confiscated.
GRATIANO
A second Daniel, a Daniel, Jew!
Now, infidel, I have you on the hip.
A second Daniel! A very fair judge, Jew!
Not, you who have no faith, I am one up on you.
PORTIA
Why doth the Jew pause? take thy forfeiture.
Why do you hesitate, Jew? Take your payment.
SHYLOCK
Give me my principal, and let me go.
Give me my principal, and I will go.
BASSANIO
I have it ready for thee; here it is.
I have it ready for you. Here it is.
PORTIA
He hath refused it in the open court:
He shall have merely justice and his bond.
He refused it in the open court.
He only wants justice and to have his payment.
GRATIANO
&n
bsp; A Daniel, still say I, a second Daniel!
I thank thee, Jew, for teaching me that word.
A fair judge, again, I’m saying! A second Daniel!
Thank you, Jew, for teaching me that phrase.
SHYLOCK
Shall I not have barely my principal?
So, I don’t even get my principal?
PORTIA
Thou shalt have nothing but the forfeiture,
To be so taken at thy peril, Jew.
You will have nothing but the forfeiture,
Which will be taken at your risk, Jew.
SHYLOCK
Why, then the devil give him good of it!
I'll stay no longer question.
Well, then the devil gives it to him!
I won’t stay here any longer.
PORTIA
Tarry, Jew:
The law hath yet another hold on you.
It is enacted in the laws of Venice,
If it be proved 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