Page 156 - William_Shakespeare_-_The_Merchant_of_Venice_191

—Portia [raising her hand]
155 156
Soft,° he shall have all justice. Soft, no haste— / Wait / No
He shall have nothing but the penalty.

—Gratziano
O Jew! An upright judge, a learnèd judge!

—Portia
Therefore, prepare thee to cut off the flesh:
Shed thou no blood, nor cut thou less nor more
But just a° pound of flesh. If thou tak’st more / But a just
Or less than a just pound, be it by° so much {but}
As makes it light or heavy by the weight° 157 {in the substance}
Or the division of a twentieth part
Of one poor scruple°—nay, if the scales do turn° / gram / ounce 158 // tip / move
But in° the measure° of a single hair, 159 / Upon // distance / burden
160
Thou diest,° and all thy goods will be taken.° / You’ll die {are confiscate} / are forfeited
—Gratziano
A second Daniel. Here, O Jew, a Daniel! 161
Now, infidel, I have thee in my grip.° {on the hip} 162

—Portia

part of her own financial motivation? Her purpose to save Antonio has already been accomplished; her destruction
of Shylock is something she herself—beyond the call of duty and purpose—has brought to bear.
155. soft, no haste: don’t rush things, there is no need to take any rash actions—hold back and let the matter follow
its course.
156. {Soft! The Jew shall have all justice. Soft, no haste.}
/ Soft, for the Jew shall have only justice / The Jew shall have all justice. Soft, no haste!
The line, as it appears in Q1 and F [Soft, the Jew shall have all justice, soft no haste] is problematic in that it
th
contains 11 syllables and does not conform to the standard meter, where the 4 syllable is emphatic. To correct this
problem, most editions break the line into two, with one word [Soft!] on the first line, the additional ten syllables on
the second line:
Por: Soft!
The Jew shall have all justice. Soft, no haste.

157. / As that which makes it high or low in weight | By the
158. a scruple: a very small weight, equal to 1/24 oz.
159. {But in the estimation of a hair}
/ But in the measure equal to a hair / Upon the measured difference of a hair / By but the distance
(/measure) of a single hair
estimation: refers to some measure or value, either a) the distance that the indicator of the scale moves (if
the balance indicator of the scales move by a distance of a hair, in either direction) or b) the weight of one hair (if
one side weighs a hair more than the other).
160. / Of but one twentieth part of an ounce— | Nay, if the scales do tip upon the weight | Of but a single hair, then
thou will die | And all thy goods will go unto the state.
161. {A second Daniel, a Daniel, Jew}
162. on the hip: Refers to a wrestling term where one opponent has the other by the hip, and thus commands a
position of advantage. It could also be stated: ‘Now I have the better of you,’ ‘Now I have the advantage’ or, more
literally, ‘Now I’ve got hold of you’ or ‘Now I’ve got a grip on you.’ The same expression was used by Shylock
when first referring to Antonio [1.3.43-44] : ‘If I can catch him once upon the hip | I will feed fat the ancient grudge
I bear him.’—‘If I can, but once, grab hold of him . . .’