The Merchant of Venice (The Jew of Venice) · chunk 28 of 43
Shakespeare, William · published 1619 · first performed or written 1596 [1596-1598] (Annals) comedy · Lord Chamberlain's (Hunsdon's) Men T0 Court life: dukes, favour and honour typicality 0.84 · 504 words · other edition — not in the analysis
Marked words are the most distinguishing words of T0: duke, lord, duchess, love, court, madam, prince, honour, grace, lady.
The Duke cannot deny the course of Law: For the commodity that strangers have With us in Venice, if it be denied, Will much impeach the justice of his state, Since that the trade and profit of the City Consisteth of all Nations. Therefore go, These griefs and losses have so bated me, That I shall hardly spare a pound of flesh To morrow, to my bloody Creditor. Well jailor on, pray God Bassanio come To see me pay his debt, and then I care not. Madam, although I speak it in your presence, You have a noble and a true conceit Of godlike amity, which appears most strongly, In bearing thus the absence of your Lord. But if you knew to whom you show this honour, How true a Gentleman you send relief, How dear a lover of my Lord your husband, I know you would be prouder of the work, Then customary bounty can enforce you. I never did repent for doing good, Nor shall not now: for in companions That do converse and waste the time together, Whose souls do bear an equal yoke of love, There must be needs a like proportion Of lineaments, of manners, and of spirit: Which makes me think, that this Anthonio (Being the bosome-louer of my Lord) t Must needs be like my Lord, If it be so, How little is the cost I have bestowed In purchasing the semblance of my soul, From out the state of hellish misery. This comes too near the praising of myself, Therefore no more of it: here other things Lorenzo I commit into your hands, The husbandry and manage of my house, Until my Lords return. For mine own part, I have toward heaven breathed a secret vow, To live in prayer and contemplation, Only attended by Nerrissa here, Until her husband, and my Lords return. There is a Monastery two miles off, And there will we abide. I do desire you, Not to deny this imposition, The which my love, and some necessity Now lays upon you. Madame, with all my heart, I shall obey you in all fair commands. My people do already know my mind, And will acknowledge you and Jessica, In place of Lord Bassanio and myself. And so farewell till we shall meet again. Fair thoughts & happy hours attend on you. I wish your ladyship all hearts content. I thank you for your wish, and am well pleased To wish it back on you: farewell Jessica. Now Balthaser, as I have ever found thee honest true, So let me find thee still: Take this same Letter, And use thou all th'endeavour of a man In speed to Mantua; see thou render this Into my cousin's hands, Doctor Belario, And look what notes and garments he doth give thee, Bring them I pray thee with imagined speed Unto the Tranect, to the common Ferry Which trades to Venice: waste no time in words, But get thee gone, I shall be there before thee.
Other edition — placed after the fit, excluded from the main statistics
Position
nodes 1331–1396 (positions in the processed text, not lines of the printed book) · chunk 28 of 43 in this edition
Length
504 words · 629 tokens
Topic (seed 42)
T0 — Court life: dukes, favour and honourcross-work theme (confirmed, in the genre comparison) · typicality 0.836 (cosine to the topic centroid) · placed after the fit (approximate_predict), not counted in the topic statistics
Other seeds
seed 43: T0 · seed 44: T0 — topic numbers are assigned independently in each run; equal or different numbers say nothing by themselves
Original spelling (EEBO-TCP, unregularized)
The Duke cannot deny the courſe of Law: For the commodity that ſtrangers haue With vs in Venice, if it be denied, Will much impeach the iuſtice of his ſtate, Since that the trade and profit of the City Conſiſteth of all Nations. Therefore goe, Theſe greefes and loſſes haue ſo bated me, That I ſhall hardly ſpare a pound of fleſh To morrow, to my bloody Creditor. VVell Iaylor on, pray God Baſſanio come To ſee me pay his debt, and then I care not. Madam, although I ſpeake it in your preſence, You haue a noble and a true conceite Of God-like amity, which appeares moſt ſtrongly, In bearing thus the abſence of your Lord. But if you knew to whom you ſhew this honour, How true a Gentleman you ſend releefe, How deere a louer of my Lord your husband, I know you would be prouder of the worke, Then cuſtomary bounty can enforce you. I neuer did repent for doing good, Nor ſhall not now: for in companions That do conuerſe and waſte the time together, Whoſe ſoules do beare an equall yoke of loue, There muſt be needs a like proportion Of lineaments, of manners, and of ſpirit: Which makes me thinke, that this Anthonio (Being the boſome-louer of my Lord) t Muſt needs be like my Lord, If it be ſo, How little is the coſt I haue beſtowed In purchaſing the ſemblance of my ſoule, From out the ſtate of helliſh miſery. This comes too neere the praiſing of my ſelfe, Therefore no more of it: heere other things Lorenzo I commit into your hands, The husbandry and manage of my houſe, Vntill my Lords returne. For mine owne part, I haue toward heauen breath'd a ſecret vow, To liue in prayer and contemplation, Onely attended by Nerriſſa heere, Vntill her husband, and my Lords returne. There is a Monaſtery two miles off, And there will we abide. I do deſire you, Not to deny this impoſition, The which my loue, and ſome neceſſity Now layes vpon you. Madame, with all my heart, I ſhall obey you in all faire commands. My people do already know my mind, And will acknowledge you and Ieſſica, In place of Lord Baſſanio and my ſelfe. And ſo farewell till we ſhall meete againe. Faire thoughts & happy hours attend on you. I wiſh your Lady-ſhip all hearts content. I thanke you for your wiſh, and am well pleaſd To wiſh it backe on you: farewell Ieſſica. Now Balthaſer, as I haue euer found thee honeſt true, So let me finde thee ſtill: Take this ſame Letter, And vſe thou all th'indeuour of a man In ſpeede to Mantua; ſee thou render this Into my Coſins hands, Doctor Belario, And looke what notes and garments he doth giue thee, Bring them I pray thee with imagin'd ſpeede Vnto the Tranect, to the common Ferry Which trades to Venice: waſte no time in words, But get thee gone, I ſhall be there before thee.