The party 'gainst the which he doth contrive

Shall seize one half his goods; the other half
Comes to the privy coffer of the state;
And the offender's life lies in the mercy
Of the duke only, 'gainst all other voice.
In which predicament, I say, thou stand'st:
For it appears, by manifest proceeding,
That indirectly and directly too
Thou hast contrived against the very life
Of the defendant; and thou hast incurred

195

200

The danger formerly by me rehearsed.

205

Down, therefore, and beg mercy of the duke.

Gra. Beg that thou mayst have leave to hang thyself;

And yet, thy wealth being forfeit to the state,

Thou hast not left the value of a cord;

Therefore thou must be hanged at the state's charge.

210

Duke. That thou shalt see the difference of our spirit,

I pardon thee thy life before thou ask it:

For half thy wealth, it is Antonio's;
The other half comes to the general state,

Which humbleness may drive unto a fine.

215

Por. Ay, for the state, not for Antonio.

Shy. Nay, take my life and all; pardon not that:
You take my house when you do take the prop
That doth sustain my house; you take my life
When you do take the means whereby I live.

220

Por. What mercy can you render him, Antonio?
Gra. A halter gratis; nothing else, for God's sake.
Ant. So please my lord the duke, and all the court,

NOTES.-197. privy coffer, pri

vate treasury.

etc., Which humility may change to a fine.

215. Which humbleness may, 216. the state, the government.

ANALYSIS. 212. thou ask.

213. half thy wealth, i etc.

Are these words of the same form
Parse half and it.

218. do take. Is this the emphatic form of the verb ?

223. so please my lord. Supply ellipsis.

To quit the fine for one half of his goods,
I am content, so he will let me have

225

The other half in use, to render it,

Upon his death, unto the gentleman

That lately stole his daughter:

Two things provided more, that, for this favor,
He presently become a Christian;

230

The other that he do record a gift,

Here in the court, of all he dies possessed,

Unto his son Lorenzo and his daughter.

Duke. He shall do this, or else I do recant

The pardon that I late pronounced here.

235

Por. Art thou contented, Jew? What dost thou say?
Shy. I am content.

Por.

Clerk, draw a deed of gift.

Shy. I pray you give me leave to go from hence;
I am not well. Send the deed after me,

And I will sign it.

Duke.

Get thee gone, but do it.

Gra. In christening thou shalt have two godfathers.

Had I been judge, thou shouldst have had ten more,

240

To bring thee to the gallows, not the font. [Exit Shylock.] 243

Duke. Sir, I entreat you home with me to dinner.

Por. I humbly do desire your grace of pardon:

I must away this night toward Padua,
And it is meet I presently set forth.

NOTES.-224. to quit, to remit or | 246. entreat, ask or invite.

ANALYSIS.-226. What does to render, etc. modify?

230. Give the meaning of presently.

232. of all he dies possessed. Give the meaning.
245. Give the meaning of font.

248. must away. Give grammatical construction.

Duke. I am sorry that your leisure serves you not.-- 250
Antonio, gratify this gentleman,

For, in my mind, you are much bound to him.
[Exeunt Duke and his train.]
Bas. Most worthy gentleman, I and my friend
Have by your wisdom been this day acquitted
Of grievous penalties; in lieu whereof,
Three thousand ducats, due unto the Jew
We freely cope your courteous pains withal.
Ant. And stand indebted, over and above,

In love and service to you evermore.

Por. He is well paid that is well satisfied;
And I, delivering you, am satisfied,
And therein do account myself well paid:
My mind was never yet more mercenary.
I pray you, know me when we meet again;
I wish you well, and so I take my leave.

NOTES.-254. Notice that Bas- 258. withal, with.
sanio mentions himself
first, the two having been
under penalty.

259. over and above, in addi

258. cope, requite.

tion thereto.

264. more mercenary, more anx
ious for reward or pay.

ANALYSIS.-261. Give the modifiers of he.
262. Give the construction of delivering.
263, Parse paid.

255

260

265

4. FRANCIS BACON,

1561-1626.

SIR FRANCIS BACON, the great English philosopher, known also as LORD BACON, was the son of Sir Nicholas Bacon, lord keeper of the great seal. He was born in London, January 22, 1561. At the age of thirteen he entered Trinity College, Cambridge, where he completed his studies when but sixteen, and it is said that even at this age he had already become disgusted with the philosophy of Aristotle, which then held sway in all English colleges.

On leaving college he went to France, where he spent three years, mostly at Poictiers. The sudden. death of his father in 1579 caused Bacon to return at once to England. He was anxious to hold some position under the government which would give him leisure to devote to the study of literature and philosophy, but his uncle, Lord Burleigh, gave him neither encouragement nor assistance, and he therefore became a student of law, in which profession he afterward won great distinction, and became the most admired teacher of legal science and the most learned advocate of his time.

He was for some time a member of the House of Commons, where he displayed great power as an orator, but his moral principles were all through life uncertain and unreliable. In one of his speeches in Parliament he greatly distinguished himself as the popular advocate against certain subsidies asked by the Crown, but when he learned that the Queen was offended at his speech, he quickly abandoned his position and took

the other side. It was on account of these moral obliquities that Pope characterized him as "the wisest, brightest, meanest of mankind."

By truckling continually to the favorites of the Crown, Bacon rose rapidly in favor at the court, and in 1617 he reached the height of his ambition, when he was made lord high chancellor of England and Baron Verulam. The latter title was three years later changed to that of Viscount St. Albans.

Bacon's decisions while acting as lord chancellor were so openly influenced by the Crown, and he became the recipient of so many presents and bribes, that Parliament was at length compelled to interfere. Twentythree charges of gross corruption as a judge were presented against him by the House of Lords, to which he at once plead guilty in a confession, and begged for mercy, saying, "I beseech your lordships to be merciful to a broken reed." The sentence deprived him of his office as chancellor, fined him forty thousand pounds, and imprisoned him in the Tower during the King's pleasure; it also forbade him to come within twelve miles of the court. But little of the sentence, however, was ever enforced except that of depriving him of his office. Five years later, in 1626, he died, and was buried, at his own request, by the side of his mother in the church at St. Albans.

Bacon was celebrated for his learning, but he is espe cially noted and honored as "the father of inductive philosophy." His greatest work is entitled Novum Organum ("The New Instrument "), in which he expounds the methods to be pursued in the investigation of truth by induction. His most popular writings are his Essays.