A breed of barren metal of his friend?) (7) 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; Of your fair flesh, to be cut off and taken 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. (7) A breed of barren Metal] Meaning, Mony at Ufury, Mony that breeds more, as Mr. Pope explains it. Confonant to this Phrafe, the Latines explain'd Intereft thus; Fanus, fætum accepti: and the Greeks call'd it Tonos: both which Expreffions take in our Poet's Idea of a Breed. See Non. Marcellus in v. fænus, & mutuum: and Gronovius de 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 ingeniously 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 unjuft, that Intereft fhould be taken for it: for the moft fuperftitious in this Regard allow the taking Intereft for Fruits, Corn, Cattle, &c. VOL. II. C Shy. Shy. O father Abraham, what these christians are! 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. I'll be with you. Anth. Hie thee, gentle Jew. [Exit. This Hebrew will turn chriftian; he grows kind. A C T II. SCENE, BELMONT. Enter Morochius, a Tawny-Moor, all in white; and three or four Followers accordingly; with Portia, Neriffa, and her train. Flo. Cornets. M' MORO CHIUS. ISLIKE me not for my complection, The fhadow'd livery of the burnish'd fun, To whom I am a neighbour, and near bred. Bring me the faireft creature northward born, Where Where Phœbus' fire fcarce thaws the ificles, Hath fear'd the valiant; by my love, I fwear, Have lov'd it too: I would not change this hue, me, And hedg'd me by his wit to yield my felf For my affection. Mor. Ev'n for that I thank you; C 2 And (8) So is Alcides beaten by his Rage.] Tho' the whole Set of Editions concur in this Reading, and it pafs'd wholly unfufpected by the late Learned Editor; I am very well affur'd, and, I dare fay, the Readers will be fo too presently, that it is corrupt at Bottom. Let us look into the Poet's Drift, and the History of the Perfons mention'd in the Context. If Hercules (fays he) and Lichas were to play at Dice for the Deci fion of their Superiority, Lichas, the weaker Man, might have the better Caft of the Two. But how then is Alcides beaten by his rage ? To admit 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. Enter Launcelot alone. Laun. run from this Jew my master. me to The fiend 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 meer Madness. Thus, indeed, might he be faid, in fome Senfe, to be beaten by his Rage. But Shakespeare had no fuch ftuff 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 Servant of Hercules, that unknowingly brought his Maiter the envenom'd Shirt, dipt in the Blood of the Centaur Neffus, and was thrown headlong into the Sea for his Pains? This one Circumftance of Lichas's Quality known fufficiently afcertains the Emendation I have fubftituted, of page instead of rage. It is fcarce requifite to hint here, it is a Point fo well known, that Page has been always us'd in English to fignify any Boy-Servant: 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 Shipboy, un Page du Navire. 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 Senfe of it in this manner: So were a Giant vorfted by a Dwarf! 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. is at mine elbow, and tempts me, faying to me, Gobbo, Launcelot Gobbo, good Launcelot, or good Gobbo, or good Launcelot Gobbo, ufe your legs, take the start, run away. My confcience fays, no; take heed, honest Launcelot; take heed, honeft Gobbo; or, as aforesaid, honeft Launcelot Gobbo, do not run; fcorn running with thy heels. Well, the most courageous fiend bids me pack; via! says 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 taste.) well, my confcience fays, budge not; budge, fays the fiend; budge not, fays my confcience; confcience, fay I, you counfel ill; fiend, fay I, you counsel ill. To be rul'd by my confcience, I fhould 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 himfelf. 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 stay with the few. The fiend gives the more friendly counsel; 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, C 3 (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 to̟ Demea, in the Brothers of Terence: A&t. 4. Sc. 2. ubi |