THE MERCHANT OF VENICE ( 2 )
(Shylock advances towards Antonio and prepares to use his knife.)
P：Wait! There is something else．Antonio has promised to give you a pound of his flesh．But he has not promised to give you any of his blood. If you let one drop of his blood fall, you will lose all your land and all your money. S：Is that the law?
P：That is the law．You wanted justice，so you shall get justice，more than you wanted．
S：I will take the money．Give me three times more than Antonio borrowed from me．
B：Here it is．(He cries full of happiness.)
P：Wait! Shylock would not take the money earlier．All he wanted was justice．That is all he can have now．You must cut off one pound of flesh，no more，no less．And not one drop of blood must fall．
(Shylock turns and starts to leave the court.)
P：Wait，Shylock．The law of Venice says that if anyone tries to kill or murder any citizen of Venice，everything that he owns shall be taken away from him．One half of his money and his goods shall be given to the city of Venice and the other half shall be given to the person he has tried to kill．His life shall be at the mercy of the Duke．Therefore，go down on your knees and beg the Duke for mercy．
S：Good sir, I beg for mercy．Please forgive me for all I’ve said and done．
D：Although you’ve not shown yourself worthy of our kindness, you will see the difference of our spirit．I shall not have you killed but as your punishment，half of your money is now Antonio’s．You must give the other half to the city of Venice．
S：Take my life too．My money and goods are as dear to me as life itself．They are my only comfort．When you take those away from me，you also take my life．
A：I shall be happy to give up my part of Shylock’s money. Shylock must promise to leave the money upon his death to his daughter and her husband．
S：I promise．Let me go home now．I am not well． |