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That which commands° both awe and majesty, 93 / evokes
And brings about° the dread and fear of kings; 94 {Wherein doth sit}
But mercy is above this sceptered sway.
It is enthronèd in the hearts of kings;
It is an attribute of° God himself. {to}
95
And earthly power shares kinship with God° / is akin to God
96
When mercy tempers° justice. Therefore, Jew,° 97 {seasons} placates
Though justice be thy plea, consider this:
That in the course of justice none of us
98
Would° seek° salvation. We do pray for mercy, 99 {Should} {see} / find
100
And that same prayer doth teach us all to render
101 102
The deeds of mercy. I have spoken thus
103
To mitigate thy rig’rous° plea for justice, 104 / froward / steadfast / headstrong / wilful
105
Which, if thou follow, this strict court of Venice
Must needs give sentence ‘gainst° the merchant there. / rule against

93. {The attribute to awe and majesty}
attribute to: a) the claim or entitlement to; b) having the attributes, quality, or character of
/ The given claim° to awe and majesty, / The sanctioned rights
/ That which confers to him reverence and awe /
94. / Wherein he rules the state with fear and dread / Whereby the people are governed by fear
95. {And earthly power doth then show likest God’s}
96. / And earthly power holds (/shows) the most kinship
With God’s, when justice is balanced (/seasoned) with mercy.
97. {And earthly power doth then show likest God’s | When mercy seasons justice. Therefore, Jew,}
The use of the term ‘Jew,’ in this instance, is somewhat amiss—along with the entire appeal, which involves
sentiments relating to kingly power, awe, and majesty rather than a Jew who only feels oppression (at the hands of
more powerful Christians). Portia, however, is addressing the position of power which Shylock now hold over
Antonio (likening it to the power which a king has over his subjects) and, at the same time, she is revealing the
poverty of that power (which a king gets by virtue of his crown and which Shylock has obtained through the legal
backing of his bond) when compared to a position in kinship with God, a position of mercy.
98. This is an oblique reference to the doctrine of original sin and the notion that it is impossible to attain salvation
through one’s work alone (i.e. without the grace of God).
99. We in this regard refers to Christians (who recite the Lord’s Prayer) and not to Jews. Though her words are
directed to Shylock, the heart of her appeal resonates with her Christian audience and the sentiments to which they
can relate. Since she has no knowledge of Jews, she must assume that they are like Christians in both manner,
sentiment, and religious bent.
100. {And that same prayer}
This is an overt reference to the Lord’s Prayer. In the previous line Portia says, we do pray for mercy but
the ‘we’ refers to those Christians who recite the Lord’s Prayer—not Jews. Again, Portia’s plea is made from the
vantage of her own world and not from that of Shylock’s. Thus, by citing her all-inclusive Christian stance she is
unwittingly dismissing the value and relevance of Shylock and his non-Christian worldview.
101. The Lord’s Prayer: “Our Father, who art in heaven hallowed by thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be
done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those
who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the
power, and the glory, for ever and ever.”
102. Some commentators have claimed that Portia’s plea also has a ‘Hebrew resonance’ and that some likeness can
be found in Psalm 143.2 and Ecclus. 28.2 (‘Forgive thy neighbor the hurt that he hath done thee, so shall thy sins be
forgiven thee also, when thou pray.’) This, however, is an ex post facto stretch. Neither of these passages refer to
prayers that are known or recited by Jews. Shylock, moreover, holds himself to be sinless (and not in need of
forgiveness) and so neither passage would register with him. In addition, most Hebrew interpretations—including
that of the very famous passage, ‘love thy neighbor as thyself’—hold the term neighbor to mean one’s Jewish
neighbor. Thus the edict to ‘forgive thy neighbor’ would not apply to Antonio, a Christian.
103. / staunch appeal / stern appeal
104. {To mitigate the justice of thy plea}
105. strict: bound, inflexible, rigid (in that it is bound to follow the letter of the law)