THE LAW BEFORE THE GOSPEL. BASSANIO. Why dost thou whet thy knife so earnestly? SHYLOCK. To cut the forfeiture from that bankrupt there. GRATIANO. Not on thy sole, but on thy soul, harsh Jew, Thou makʼst thy knife keen: but no metal can, No, not the hangman's axe, bear half the keen ness Of thy sharp envy. Can no prayers pierce thee? SHY. No, none that thou hast wit enough to make. GRA. O, be thou damn'd, inexorable dog! That souls of animals infuse themselves Are wolfish, bloody, starv'd, and ravenous. Till thou canst rail the seal from off my bond, Thou but offend'st thy lungs to speak so loud: Repair thy wit, good youth; or it will fall To cureless ruin.-I stand here for law. MERCHANT OF VENICE, A. 4, s. 1. THE LAY AND SPIRITUAL PEERS' ARGUMENTS RESPECTING THEIR RELATIVE DUTIES. WESTMORELAND. Then, my lord, Unto your grace do I in chief address The substance of my speech. If that rebellion With your fair honours. You, lord archbishop,- Whose beard the silver hand of peace hath touch'd; Whose learning and good letters peace hath tutor'd; Whose white investments figure innocence, Into the harsh and boist'rous tongue of war? Turning your books to graves, your ink to blood, Your pens to lances; and your tongue divine ARCHBISHOP. Wherefore do I this?—so the question stands. Briefly to this end :-We are all diseas'd; And we must bleed for it: of which disease What wrongs our arms may do, what wrongs we suffer, And find our griefs heavier than our offences. And have the summary of all our griefs, We are denied access unto his person Even by those men that most have done us wrong. The dangers of the days but newly gone, WEST. When ever yet was your appeal denied? Wherein have you been galled by the king? What peer hath been suborn'd to grate on you? That you should seal this lawless bloody book Of forg'd rebellion with a seal divine, And consecrate commotion's bitter edge? ARCH. My brother general, the commonwealth, To brother born an household cruelty, I make my quarrel in particular. WEST. There is no need of any such redress; Or, if there were, it not belongs to you. K. HENRY IV., PART II., A. 4, s. 1. THE LEVER OF FUTURE PROGRESS. LORENZO. How sweet the moon-light sleeps upon this bank! Here will we sit, and let the sounds of musick Sit, Jessica: Look how the floor of heaven Still quiring to the young-ey'd cherubins : But, whilst this muddy vesture of decay Doth grossly close it in, we cannot hear it.— Come, ho, and wake Diana with a hymn; JESSICA. I am never merry, when I hear sweet musick. [Musick. LOR. The reason is, your spirits are attentive: For do but note a wild and wanton herd, Fetching mad bounds, bellowing, and neighing loud, Which is the hot condition of their blood; You shall perceive them make a mutual stand, Did feign that Orpheus drew trees, stones, and floods; Since nought so stockish, hard, and full of rage, Nor is not mov'd with concord of sweet sounds, Let no such man be trusted. MERCHANT OF VENICE, A. 5, s. 1. THE LOVE CHARM. I KNOW a bank whereon the wild thyme blows, |