But lend it rather to thine enemy; Who, if he break, thou may'ft with better face Shy. Why, how you ftorm? I would be friends with you, and have your love : Of ufance for my monies, and you'll not hear me : Anth. This were kindness. Shy. This kindness will I fhow; Go with me to a Notary, feal me there Of your fair flesh, to be cut off and taken 1 Anth. Content, in faith; I'll feal to fuch a bond, And fay, there is much kindness in the Jew. Baff. You fhall not feal to fuch a bond for me, I'll rather dwell in my neceffity. Anth. Why, fear not, man; I will not forfeit it; Within these two months (that's a month before This bond expires) I do expect return Of thrice three times the value of this bond. Shy. O father Abraham, what these christians are! Whofe own hard dealings teach them to fufpect The thoughts of others! pray you, tell me this, If he should break this day, what thould I gain By the exaction of the forfeiture? Seftertiis. As for the contradiction betwixt breed, and barren, it is a poetical beauty in which Claudian, among the Claffics, particularly abounds. Befides, in this epithet, perhaps (as Mr. Warburton inge niously hinted to me,) our author would fhew us the reafon on which the advocates against Ufury went; and which is the only one they use: That metal is a barren thing; and cannot, like corn and cattle, multiply itself and therefore it is unjust, that interest should be taken for it: for the moft fuperftitious in this regard allow the taking interest for fruits, corn, cattle, &c. A pound of man's flesh, taken from a man, As flesh of muttons, beefs, or goats. I fay, And for my love, I pray you, wrong me not. Anth. Hie thee, gentle Jew. This Hebrew will turn chriftian; he grows kind. [Exi Baff I like not fair terms, and a villain's mind. Anth. Come on, in this there can be no difmay; My fhips come home a month before the day. [Exeunt A CT II. SCENE, BELMONT, Enter Morochius, a Tawney-Moor, all in white; anɛ three or four Followers accordingly; with Portia, Neriffa, and her train. Fla. Cornets, MOROCHIUS. Ilike me not for my complexion, M The fhadow'd livery of the burnifh'd fun, Have lov'd it too: I would not change this hue, For my affection. Mor. Ev'n for that I thank you; Which is the better man, the greater throw And (8) So is Alcides beaten by bis rage.] Tho' the whole fet of editions concur in this reading, and it pass'd wholly unfufpected by the late learned editor; I am very well affur'd, and, I dare fay, the readers will be fo too prefently, that it is corrupt at bottom. Let us look into the poet's drift, and the hiftory of the perfons mention'd in the context. If Hercules (fays he) and Liches were to play at dice for the derifion of their fuperiority, Lichas, the weaker man, might have the better caft of the two. But how then is Alcides beaten by his rage? To admit this, we must fuppofe a gap in the poet; and that fome lines are loft, in which Hercules, in his paffion for lofing the hand, had thrown the box and dice away, and knock'd his own head against the wall for mere madness. Thus, indeed, might he be faid, in fome fense, to be beaten by his rage. But Shakespeare had no fuch stuff in his head. He means no more, than, if Lichas had the better throw, fo, might Hercules himself be beaten by Lichas. And who was he, but a poor unfortunate fervant of Hercules, that unknowingly brought his ES mafter And fo may I, blind fortune leading me, Por. You must take your chance, And either not attempt to chufe at all, Or fwear, before you chufe, if you chufe wrong, In way of marriage; therefore, be advis'd. Mor. Nor will not; therefore, bring me to my chance. Por. First, forward to the temple; after dinner Your hazard fhall be made. Mor. Good fortune then! [Cornets. To make me bleft, or curfed'ft among men. [Exeunt. SCENE changes to Venice.. Laun. Co Enter Launcelot alone. Ertainly, my confcience will ferve me to run from this Jew my mafter. The fiend is at mine elbow, and tempts me, faying to me, Gobbo, Launcelot Gobbo, good Launcelot, or good Gobbe, or good Launcelot Gobbo, ufe your legs, take the ftart, run away. My confcience fays, no; take heed, honeft Launcelot ; take heed, honest Gobbo; or, as aforefaid, honeft Launce mafter the envenom'd fhirt, dipt in the blood of the centaur Neffus, and was thrown headlong into the fea for his pains? This one circumftance of Lichas's quality known fufficiently ascertains the emendation I have fubftituted, of page instead of rage. It is scarce requifite to hint here, it is a point fo well known, that page has been always us'd in English to fignify any boy-fervant: as well as what latter times have appropriated it to, a lady's trainbearer. And, confonant to our extended ufage of the word, the French call a fhipboy, un page du na vire. So much in explanation of this new adopted reading. The very excellent Lord LANSDOWNE, in his alteration of this play, tho' he might not stand to make the correction upon the poet, feems at least to have understood the paffage exactly as I do: and tho' he changes the verfe, retains the fenfe of it in this manner: So were a Giant worsted by a Dwarf! A Tho' I had made the emendation, before I thought to look into his Lordship's performance; it is no fmall fatisfaction to me, that I have the authority of fuch a Genius to back my conjecture. Mr. Pope, in his last edition, has thought fit to embrace my reading.. โดย lot Gobbe, do not run; fcorn running with thy heels' Well, the most curagious fiend bids me pack: via! fays the fiend; away! fays the fiend; for the heav'ns roufe up a brave mind, fays the fiend, and run. Well, my confcience, hanging about the neck of my heart, fays very wifely to me, my honeft friend Launcelot, being an honeft man's fon, or rather an honeft woman's fon (for, indeed, my father did fomething fmack, fomething grow to; he had a kind of tafte.) well, my confcience fays, budge not; budge, fays the fiend; budge not; fays my conscience; confcience, fay I, you counsel ill; fiend, fay I, you council ill. To be rul'd by my conscience, I should stay with the Jew my mafter, who, God bless the mark, is a kind of devil; and to run away from the Jew, I fhould be ruled by the fiend, who, faving your reverence, is the devil himself. Certainly, the Jew is the very devil incarnal; and in my confcience, my confcience is but a kind of hard confcience, to offer to counfel me to ftay with the few. The fiend gives the more friendly counfel; I will run fiend, my heels are at your commandment, I will run' Enter old Gobbo, with a basket. Gob. Mafter young man, you, I pray you, which is the way to mafter Jew's? Laun. O heav'ns, this is my true begotten father, who being more than fand-blind, high gravel-blind, knows me not; I will try confufions with him. Gob. Mafter young Gentleman, I pray you, which is the way to mafter Jew's ? Laun. Turn up, on your right-hand (9) at the next turning, but, at the next turning of all, on your left; (9) Turn up, on your right hand — ] This arch and perplex'd direction, on purpose to puzzle the enquirer, feems to be copied from Syrus to Demea, in the Brothers of Terence Act. 4. Sc. 2. -ubi eas pr terieris, Ad finiftram bac rectâ platea: ubi ad Dianæ veneris, The reader, upon a collation of the whole paffage, will find, how infinitely more concise and humourous the jeft is couch'd in our poet marry, |