Page 119 - William_Shakespeare_-_The_Merchant_of_Venice_191

From Lisbon, Africa,° and India— {Barbary}
And not one vessel scape° the dreadful touch / ‘scaped > escaped
Of merchant-marring rocks?

—Salerio Not one, my lord.
Besides, it doth° appear that if he had° / should / should he have
The present money° to discharge° the Jew / full amount // pay off
He would not take it. Never did I know / have I known
A creature that did bear the shape of man
So keen and wolfish to destroy° a man. {confound}
He plies° the Duke at morning and at night / spurs
48
And calls in doubt the freedom of the state
If they deny him justice. Twenty merchants,
The Duke himself, and the magnificoes
49
Of greatest port have all tried to dissuade° him° / persuade
But none can drive him from the savage° plea {envious} / spiteful / malice
Of forfeiture, of justice, and his bond.

—Jessica 50
51
Before I heard from friends,° that he did swear {When I was with him}
To Tubal and to Chus, his countrymen,
That he would rather have Antonio’s flesh
Then twenty times the value of the sum
That he did owe him; and I know, my lord,
If law, the duke, and power stay him not {If law, authority, and power deny not}
It will go hard with° poor Antonio. / on

—Portia [to Bassanio]
Is it your dear friend who is thus in trouble?

—Bassanio
The dearest friend to me; the kindest man,

48. {doth impeach} / doth rebuke / reprimands > calls into question
49. {have all persuaded with him} > have all tried to dissuade him, have all argued with him
50. Portia may suspect that Jessica is Jewish from her appearance and from Gratziano’s former greeting— But who
comes here? Lorenzo and his infidel? [216]—yet she has no way of knowing that she is daughter of the ‘Jew’ whom
Salerio is so loathsomely describing. From this reference, however, it may become clear to that Jessica is related to
the ‘Jew’ in question.
51. {When I was with him I have heard him swear | To Tubal and to Chus, his countrymen}
This is an unlikely statement since Shylock began swearing and making oaths to have his bond (and go hard
on Antonio) only after Jessica betrayed him. Thus, she was no longer with him to hear him make such an oath. The
original line clearly states that Shylock’s intention, from the very beginning (before he became enraged by Jessica’s
betrayal) was to have his bond from Antonio (i.e. to kill Antonio). His making a statement to his fellow Jews
confirms that it was said in truth. In this rendition, Shylock does not actually intend to kill Antonio, and his
professions about having taken an oath is a rouse which belies his intended actions. It could also be that Shylock
may not be clear as to what he intends to do (even though he tells others that he is clear—and he may be telling
others as a way to try and convince himself). [See Additional Notes, 3.2.283]