| Hates any man the thing he would not kill? | Shylock |
| The quality of mercy is not strain’d,It droopeth as the gentle rain from heavenUpon the place beneath: it is twice blest;It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:Tis mightiest in the mighttiest: it becomesThe throned monarch better than his crown;His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,The attrivute to awe and masjesty,Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;But mercy is above this sceptred sway;It is enthroned in the hearts of kings,It is an attribute to God himself;And earthly power doth then show likest God’s Wen mercy seasons justice. Therefore, Jew,Though justice be thy plea, consider this,That, in the course of justice, none of usShould see salvation: we do pray for mercy;And that same prater doth teach us all to renderThe deeds of mercy. I have spoke thus much To mitigate the justice of thy plea;Which if thou follow, this strict court of VeniceMust needs give sentence ‘gainst the merchant there. | Portia |
| I pray you, think you question with the Jew:You may as well go stand upon the beach And bid the main flood bate his usual height;You may as well use question with the wolfWhy he hath made the ewe bleat for the lamb;You may as well forbid the mountain pinesTo wag their high tops and to make no noise,When they are fretten with the gusts of heaven;You may as well do anything most hard,As seek to soften that– than which what’s harder?–His Jewish heart: therefore, I do beseech you,Make no more offers, use no farther means, But with all brief and plain conveniencyLet me have judgment and the Jew his well. | Antonio |
Merchant of Venice Act IV
July 27, 2019