The Merchant of Venice (The Jew of Venice) · chunk 31 of 42
Shakespeare, William · published 1623 · first performed or written 1596 [1596-1598] (Annals) comedy · Lord Chamberlain's (Hunsdon's) Men T1 Death, grief and revenge typicality 0.75 · 489 words · other edition — not in the analysis
Marked words are the most distinguishing words of T1: death, life, dead, die, blood, revenge, soul, father, heart, heaven.
Every offence is not a hate at first. What wouldst thou have a Serpent sting thee twice? I pray you think you question with the Iew: You may as well go stand upon the beach, And bid the main flood bait his usual height, Or even as well use question with the Wolf, The Ewe bleat for the Lamb: You may as well forbidden the Mountain Pines To wag their high tops, and to make no noise When they are fretted with the gusts of heaven: You may as well do any thing most hard, As seek to soften that, than which what harder? His jewish heart. Therefore I do beseech you Make no more offers, use no farther means, But with all brief and plain conveniency Let me have judgement, and the Iew his will. For thy three thousand Ducats heereiss six. If every Ducat in six thousand Ducats Were in six parts, and every part a Ducat, I would not draw them, I would have my bond? How shalt thou hope for mercy, rendering none? What judgement shall I dread doing no wrong? You have among you many a purchased slave, Which like your Asses, and your Dogs and Mules, You use in abject and in slavish parts, Because you bought them. Shall I say to you, Let them be free, marry them to your heirs? Why sweat they under burdens? Let their beds Be made as soft as yours: and let their palates Be seasoned with such Viands: you will answer The slaves are ours. So do I answer you. The pound of flesh which I demand of him Is dearly bought, 'tis mine, and I will have it. If you deny me; fie upon your Law, There is no force in the decrees of Venice; I stand for judgement, answer, Shall I have it? Upon my power I may dismiss this Court, Unless Bellario a learned Doctor, Whom I have sent for to determine this, Come here to day. My Lord, here stays without A Messenger with Letters from the Doctor, New come from Padua. Bring us the Letters, Call the Messengers. Good cheer Anthonio. What man, courage yet: The Iew shall have my flesh, blood, bones, and all, Ere thou shalt lose for me one drop of blood. I am a tainted Weather of the flock, Meetest for death, the weakest kind of fruit Drops earliest to the ground, and so let me; You cannot better be employed Bassanio, Then to live still, and write mine Epitaph. Came you from Padua from Bellario? From both. My Lord Bellario greets your Grace. Why dost thou whet thy knife so earnestly? To cut the forfeiture from that bankrupt there. Not on thy sole: but on thy soul harsh Iew Thou makest thy knife keen: but no metal can, No, not the hangman's Axe bear halfe the keenness Of thy sharp envy. Can no prayers pierce thee?
Other edition — placed after the fit, excluded from the main statistics
Position
nodes 1539–1599 (positions in the processed text, not lines of the printed book) · chunk 31 of 42 in this edition
Length
489 words · 625 tokens
Topic (seed 42)
T1 — Death, grief and revengecross-work theme (confirmed, in the genre comparison) · typicality 0.750 (cosine to the topic centroid) · placed after the fit (approximate_predict), not counted in the topic statistics
Other seeds
seed 43: unassigned · seed 44: unassigned — topic numbers are assigned independently in each run; equal or different numbers say nothing by themselves
Original spelling (EEBO-TCP, unregularized)
Euerie offence is not a hate at firſt. What wouldſt thou haue a Serpent ſting thee twice? I pray you thinke you queſtion with the Iew: You may as well go ſtand vpon the beach, And bid the maine flood baite his vſuall height, Or euen as well vſe queſtion with the Wolfe, The Ewe bleate for the Lambe: You may as well forbid the Mountaine Pines To wagge their high tops, and to make no noiſe When they are fretted with the guſts of heauen: You may as well do any thing moſt hard, As ſeeke to ſoften that, then which what harder? His Iewiſh heart. Therefore I do beſeech you Make no more offers, vſe no farther meanes, But with all briefe and plaine conueniencie Let me haue iudgement, and the Iew his will. For thy three thouſand Ducates heereis ſix. If euerie Ducat in ſixe thouſand Ducates Were in ſixe parts, and euery part a Ducate, I would not draw them, I would haue my bond? How ſhalt thou hope for mercie, rendring none? What iudgement ſhall I dread doing no wrong? You haue among you many a purchaſt ſlaue, Which like your Aſſes, and your Dogs and Mules, You vſe in abiect and in ſlauiſh parts, Becauſe you bought them. Shall I ſay to you, Let them be free, marrie them to your heires? Why ſweate they vnder burthens? Let their beds Be made as ſoft as yours: and let their pallats Be ſeaſon'd with ſuch Viands: you will anſwer The ſlaues are ours. So do I anſwer you. The pound of fleſh which I demand of him Is deerely bought, 'tis mine, and I will haue it. If you deny me; fie vpon your Law, There is no force in the decrees of Venice; I ſtand for iudgement, anſwer, Shall I haue it? Vpon my power I may diſmiſſe this Court, Vnleſſe Bellario a learned Doctor, Whom I haue ſent for to determine this, Come heere to day. My Lord, heere ſtayes without A Meſſenger with Letters from the Doctor, New come from Padua. Bring vs the Letters, Call the Meſſengers. Good cheere Anthonio. What man, corage yet: The Iew ſhall haue my fleſh, blood, bones, and all, Ere thou ſhalt looſe for me one drop of blood. I am a tainted Weather of the flocke, Meeteſt for death, the weakeſt kinde of fruite Drops earlieſt to the ground, and ſo let me; You cannot better be employ'd Baſſanio, Then to liue ſtill, and write mine Epitaph. Came you from Padua from Bellario? From both. My Lord Bellario greets your Grace. Why doſt thou whet thy knife ſo earneſtly? To cut the forfeiture from that bankrout there. Not on thy ſoale: but on thy ſoule harſh Iew Thou mak'ſt thy knife keene: but no mettall can, No, not the hangmans Axe beare halfe the keenneſſe Of thy ſharpe enuy. Can no prayers pierce thee?