Page 140 - William_Shakespeare_-_The_Merchant_of_Venice_191

I pray you, think,° you argue with a stone.° 41 / Remind yourself {the Jew} / a block
42
You may as well go stand upon the beach
And bid the high tide° bate its usual height; 43 {main flood}
You may as well use question° with the wolf° / long argue
Why he hath killed the lamb and made the ewe cry. 44
You may as well forbid the mountain pines
To wag their high tops and to make no noise
When they are fretted with the gusts of heaven;° / a gust of wind
You may as well do anything most hard
45
As seek to soften° that which none is harder— / To try an’ soften
46
His godless° heart. Therefore, I do beseech you, 47 / faithless / vengeful
Make no more offers, use no further means,
But with all brief° and plain efficiency° / speed {conveniency} / propriety
Let me have judgement and the Jew his will. 48

—Bassanio [to Shylock]
For thy three thousand ducats, here is six.

—Shylock
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. 49 / take

—Duke
How shalt thou hope for mercy, rend’ring° none? / giving

—Shylock

41. {I pray you think, you question with the Jew}
the Jew: refers specifically to Shylock, and not to Jews in general, else Antonio would have said, ‘you question
with a Jew.’
42. You may as well: Antonio repeats this phrase four times.
43. / And bid the tide to lower its usual height / And bid the high tide not rise with the moon. / And bid the tide
abate its rising waters.
44. {Why he hath made the ewe bleake for the lamb}
bleat: cry loudly. Q1 has bleake, which is likely an error for bleat (or bleat).
45. {As seel to soften that—than which what’s harder?—}
/ To try and soften that which is hardest—
/ To try and soften the hardest thing of all—
46. {His Jewish heart.} / His vacant heart / vacuous heart / faithless heart. / His merciless heart. Thus
This line is somewhat out of place for Antonio, as his contention with Shylock has been over usury, yet here is a
direct attack against Shylock’s Jewishness. Under the circumstances, where Antonio is about to be killed by this
unforgiving enemy, such a slur is not out of place, and may reveal what Antonio believes to the ‘thick-necked’ and
unflinching aspect of Shylock’s character. An normal usurer, having been offered three times the principle owed,
would have taken the offer. Thus, there is something more than mere usurious greed which is entrenching Shylock in
the ‘unprofitable course.’ Antonio, unable to fathom Shylock’s alien course of action, is here linking it to his
Jewishness, since Antonio can find nothing else.
47. / His unforgiving heart. Thus, I beseech you
48. {But with all brief and plain conveniency} / But with all plain and efficient dispatch
49. Shylock is saying that he would refuse an offer of 36,000 ducats. [See Additional Notes, 4.1.86]