Gernutus now waxt franticke mad,
And wotes not what to say:
Quoth he at last, "Ten thousand crownes
I will that he shall pay;
"And so I graunt to set him free."
The judge doth answere make;
"You shall not have a penny given;
Your forfeyture now take."
At the last he doth demaund
But for to have his owne.
"No," quoth the judge, "doe as you list,
Thy judgement shall be showne.
"Either take your pound of flesh;" quoth he,
"Or cancell me your bond."
"O cruell judge," then quoth the Jew,
"That doth against me stand!"
And so with griping grieved mind
He biddeth them fare-well.
Then all the people prays'd the Lord,
That ever this heard tell.
Good people, that doe heare this song,
For trueth I dare well say,
That many a wretch as ill as hee
Doth live now at this day;
That seeketh nothing but the spoyle
Of many a wealthey man,
And for to trap the innocent
Deviseth what they can.
From whome the Lord deliver me,
And every Christian too,
And send to them like sentence eke
That meaneth so to do.
***Since the first edition of this book was printed, the Editor hath had reason to
believe that both Shakspeare and the author of this ballad are indebted for their story
of the Jew (however they came by it) to an Italian novel, which was first printed at
Milan in the year 1554, in a book entitled,Il Pecorone, nel quale si contengono
Cinquanta Novelle antiche, &c. republished at Florence about the year 1748, or 9.
The author was Ser. Giovanni Fiorentino, who wrote in 1378; thirty years after the
time in which the scene of Boccace'sDecameronis laid.-- Vid.Manni, Istoria del
Decamerone di Giov. Boccac. 4to. Fior. 1744.
That Shakspeare had his plot from the novel itself, is evident from his having
some incidents from it, which are not found in the ballad: and I think it will also be
found that he borrowed from the ballad some hints that were not suggested by the
novel. (See above, pt. 2. ver. 25, &c. where, instead of that spirited description ofthe
whetted blade, &c. the prose narrative coldly says, "The Jew had prepared a razor,
&c." See also some other passages in the same piece.) This however is spoken with