The Merchant of Venice 1：The Story and the Context

The Merchant of Venice - Part I - A Jewish Man in Christian World

《威尼斯商人》——第1部分——基督教世界中的一个犹太人

For more than four hundred years,The Merchant of Venicehas fascinated audiences and readers alike. Celebrated actors have been drawn to perform the unforgettable part of Shylock, and all of the central roles. And certain phrases -- “pound of flesh,” “Hath not a Jew eyes,” “The quality of mercy is not strained” -- have entered popular consciousness everywhere.

四百多年来，《威尼斯商人》一直吸引着无数观众和读者。许多著名演员吸引着扮演了夏洛克等主要角色。而像“一磅肉”、“难道犹太人没有眼睛吗”、“仁慈的性质不含有任何勉强”等表达如今也是十分深入人心。

The Merchant of Veniceoffers the satisfactions of deep comedy -- comedy that gives you pleasure, and that, at the same time, makes you think, long after you've left the theater. Young lovers find each other and escape from the constraints of the old. But there’s also an increasingly tense story of hatred and danger that culminates in a thrilling courtroom scene.

《威尼斯商人》将“深沉喜剧”演绎到了极致，这类喜剧在带给你欢乐和喜悦的同时，也引发你的思考，即便是在离开剧院后许久，它也能带给你思维上的碰撞。年轻的恋人们找到了彼此，挣脱了旧规则的束缚。可是随着剧情的推进，憎恨与危险也在持续激化，并最终在那场惊险的法庭戏中达到了高潮。

The Merchant of Veniceis also one of the most uncomfortable and troubling of all the great works of literature. It grapples with a central tormenting, intractable problem in Western culture, the relation of Jews and Christians. It digs deep into the fears and fantasies that have motivated centuries of persecution. And it does all this, strangely enough, while entertaining.

《威尼斯商人》也是一部读起来令人相当不适、相当苦闷的伟大文学作品。戏剧讨论了西方文化中的一个棘手的核心问题，即犹太人和基督徒之间的关系。戏剧深入探索了几个世纪以来那些引发迫害的恐惧和想象。但奇怪的是，尽管有这些令人不适的元素，但这部剧依旧可以带给读者和观众们娱乐享受。

Hi, I’m Stephen Greenblatt. I am the John Cogan University Professor of the Humanities at Harvard University.

大家好，我是斯蒂芬·格林布拉特，哈佛大学约翰·科根人文学科校级教授。

Today we’re speaking with Professor Stephen Greenblatt aboutThe Merchant of Venice. Written in the late 1590s and categorized as a comedy in the 1623 First Folio, this play is named for Antonio, the merchant who borrows money to help his friend woo a wealthy lady. But it is the Jewish moneylender Shylock who has become the play’s most memorable and moving figure.

在今天的节目中，我们将和斯蒂芬·格林布拉特教授一同欣赏《威尼斯商人》。该剧写于16世纪90年代，在1623年第一对开本中，它被归为喜剧类别。主人公安东尼奥是一位商人，他为了帮助朋友追求一位富家女而向一位犹太人借了一笔钱。这个放高利贷的犹太人名叫夏洛克，是剧中最令人印象深刻且难以忘记的角色。

Elizabethan society had virtually no Jews. The Jews were expelled en masse from England in the year 1290. So Shakespeare grew up in a world without the physical presence or the living memory of people who were actively and openly Jewish.

事实上，在伊丽莎白时期，英国并没有犹太人。因为在1290年，犹太人全被驱逐出了英国。所以在莎士比亚生活的英国，根本没有犹太人，没有活生生的犹太人，也没有人公开声称自己是犹太人。

Created in a world with no visible Jewish communities, Shylock may have started off as a stereotyped comic villain. But over the centuries, he’s also come to be seen as a tragic victim -- even a tragic hero -- in a way that often overshadows the play’s romantic-comedy plotlines.

所以，在这样一个根本就看不到鲜活犹太人的时代背景下，夏洛克这个角色一开始也许不过只是人们脑中固定模式下出现在喜剧中的恶棍。但数百年后，我们再去分析这个角色时，会逐渐发现，他其实也是一个悲剧性人物，甚至是一个悲情英雄，这种感情有时甚至都盖过了戏剧的浪漫喜剧氛围。

How do we reconcile the comic triumphs of love and laughter with deep religious hatred? How can a character be at once a stereotype and a weirdly compelling and even sympathetic human being? Is it possible to enjoy the spectacle without explaining hatred away or justifying it somehow? What does it mean to come to terms withThe Merchant of Venice?That’s what’s compelling about this play for me.

我们该如何调和爱情与欢乐中的喜剧性胜利与深切的宗教仇恨之间的矛盾呢？这样一个在固定创作模式下被创作出来的角色，为何会有这样不寻常的吸引力呢？他又是如何激发出人们的恻隐之心的呢？在欣赏这出戏剧表演时，我们是否可以不去试图解读这种仇恨，不去为这种仇恨情绪做辩解呢？我们要如何理解《威尼斯商人》这部戏剧呢？这正是《威尼斯商人》吸引我的地方。

In the play’s first line, Antonio tells his friends, “In sooth I know not why I am so sad.” They ask if he’s worried about his ships at sea, fearing “Misfortuneto [his]ventures.” Terms like “fortune” and “venture” are key words for this play, which focuses on the idea ofrisk.Antonio lays out money to send ships to buy goods abroad, which he can sell for profit in Venice. Every voyage represents a possible loss. But Antonio trusts that by risking great sums, he can gain even more.

在戏剧开篇第一行，安东尼奥对他的朋友们说“我不懂为什么我这样忧郁”。朋友们问他是不是在担心自己在海上的商船，害怕“所冒的风险会遭到灾难”。这里的“风险”和“灾难”是戏剧的核心词，关注的都是“冒险”这个概念。安东尼奥花钱派遣船只去国外购买货物，再把买来的货物在威尼斯出售，以挣取利润。每一次的出海都有遭遇损失的可能。但是安东尼奥坚信，风险越大，收获的利润就越大。

Antonio has taken other kinds of risks as well. He’s already loaned large sums of money to a young nobleman named Bassanio, for whom he has a unique and powerful kind of affection. Bassanio is heavily in debt and cannot repay Antonio. But he has a plan to mend his fortunes. He knows of a beautiful heiress, Portia, and he wants to win her hand -- and her wealth. To outfit himself as an impressive suitor, Bassanio needs to borrow even more money. Antonio agrees to lend Bassanio the money: three thousand ducats, which is a vast sum -- roughly $500,000 today. But sincehismoney is all invested in his ventures at sea, Antonio also needs to borrow the cash -- and so he turns to a wealthy Jewish moneylender named Shylock.

除了海上贸易，安东尼奥也从事着其他多种有风险的业务。他借了一大笔钱给年轻的贵族男子巴萨尼奥，安东尼奥对这位青年有着强烈而特别的好感。巴萨尼奥欠了很多钱，根本还不起安东尼奥的借款。但是他筹备了一个计划来改变自己的运气。他听说美丽的富家孤女鲍西娅在征募未来的丈夫，于是他希望可以赢得鲍西娅的芳心，以及她的财富。为了给鲍西娅留下好印象，巴萨尼奥需要借更多的钱。安东尼奥答应借三千金特格给巴萨尼奥，这是一笔巨款，差不多相当于今天的三百多万人民币。不过，由于安东尼奥的钱全都投在了货船上，他当时身上没有多余的现金，因此他不得不去找别人借钱。于是，他找到了犹太富翁夏洛克。

In Venice at this time, there were only certain professions that Jews were permitted to practice. They could pursue medicine -- there were some very important Jewish doctors. But the principle professions were rag picking -- meaning basically pawn-brokering -- and lending money. The idea of a very wealthy Jewish moneylender like Shylock is a fantasy, because in reality, the sums were quite strictly limited. But the fantasy grew that the Jews were growing wealthy from this profession.

在当时的威尼斯，犹太人只能从事极少的几类职业。他们可以从事医药行业，在当时也确实有不少著名的犹太医生。但他们主要的营生还是“捡破烂”，例如经营典当业务和借款业务。书中说夏洛克是个富有的犹太人，这在现实中是几乎不可能，因为在现实生活中，犹太人的放贷金额数受到严格管控和限制。但这个虚构的情节却十分深入人心，人们都坚持认为犹太人可以通过借贷积累巨额财富。

Shylock earns his living by lending money and charging interest on the loans, a practice known as usury. Historically, Christians interpreted the Bible as forbidding usury, and sermons and pamphlets in sixteenth-century England condemned usury as a sin. Antonio, a Christian, makes a point of lending money and never charging interest. He also insults and spits on Shylock in public because, Shylock says, Antonio “hates our sacred nation” -- meaning the Jewish people.

夏洛克靠放高利贷为生，他借钱给别人，收取高额利息。据历史记载，基督徒认为《圣经》中禁止放高利贷。在16世纪的英国，基督教的布道和宣传册中都将放高利贷视作是一种罪恶行径。安东尼奥是基督徒，他借钱但不收取利息。他还在公共场合辱骂唾弃夏洛克，用夏洛克的话来说，那是因为安东尼奥“仇视我们的神圣民族”，意思是说安东尼奥仇视犹太人。

Shakespeare is exploiting one of the few genuine mass phenomena in his society: deep, deep anti-Judaism -- widespread, full of extravagant fantasy and blinding intensity. By the early Middle Ages, Jews were widely perceived as the enemies of Christianity. Christian authorities did not programmatically and systematically attempt to destroy all Jews. Even in their most ferocious anti-Jewish feeling, Christians knew their own religion came out of Judaism and that they never could turn away completely from their Jewish heritage. But Christians could make Jews miserable. And that was actually the open Christian policy, pronounced by the pope and others. You have to make Jews miserable. They have to be persecuted to prove that it was a mistake not to convert to Christianity. And they have to be marked out as separate from us redeemed Christian people. That's the material that Shakespeare is working with. Christians hate Jews, but it's reciprocal. There’s the belief that Jews hate Christians, and they're always looking for a way to get at Christians. Jews are, in that sense, the natural enemies of Christians, and you’d better watch out for them. They’re figures of fear and menace. That's part of the background of the play, and how Shakespeare uses this poisonous cultural phenomenon is one of the most striking and interesting of its aspects.

莎士比亚描写了他所处社会中少有的一种群体性现象，即对犹太人无比深刻的仇恨。在当时的社会，这种仇恨很常见，人们对它的认知也是极为夸张盲目的。在中世纪早期，基督徒普遍将犹太人视作自己的敌人。不过基督教权威机构并没有系统有步骤地迫害犹太人。因为，即便是那些反犹情绪最强烈的基督徒心里明白，他们所信仰的基督教也源自犹太教，想要完全与犹太教传统割裂是根本不可能的。但即便如此，基督徒依旧可以让犹太人痛苦。而这实际上也是教皇和其他基督徒公开宣扬的：你们要让犹太人痛苦，必须要迫害他们，让他们认识到不皈依基督教是极大的错误，必须将他们与我们这些被救赎的基督徒区分开来。这些就是莎士比亚创作的灵感来源。基督徒憎恨犹太人，不过这种憎恨其实是相互的。人们相信犹太人也憎恨这基督徒，也一直在想方设法地想要报复基督徒。因此，在他们心中犹太人天生就是基督徒的敌人，基督徒必须对他们时刻保持戒心。犹太人象征着恐惧和威胁。这是戏剧的一部分创作背景，莎士比亚对这种可怕邪恶文化现象的运用是戏剧最吸引人、最有趣的地方之一。

Shylockdoeshate Antonio -- partly because Antonio’s interest-free loans hurt his business, but primarily because Antonio is so abusive to the Venitian Jews. When Antonio asks Shylock for the loan, he replies, “many a time and oft …You call me misbeliever, cutthroat dog, / And sp[i]t upon my Jewish gabardine … and for these courtesies / I’ll lend you thus much moneys?” Antonio grows angry, saying, “I am as like … To spit on thee again.” But Shylock protests, “I would be friends with you.” He offers to lend the money interest-free, with only a “merry sport” as a condition: if Antonio cannot repay the loan on time, Shylock may take a pound of his flesh.

夏洛克憎恨安东尼奥有部分原因在于安东尼奥贷款不收取利息，这在一定程度上影响了他的借贷业务，不过他憎恨的根源还是安东尼奥对生活在威尼斯的犹太人的侮辱与诽谤。安东尼奥向夏洛克借钱时，夏洛克对他说：“您总是......谩骂我是邪教徒，凶残的恶狗，把唾沫吐在我的犹太外套上，......为了这些个殷勤，我要借给您如许钱款？”听到这些话，安东尼奥很生气，回应道：“我很有可能再吐你唾沫”。但夏洛克却说：“我心想跟您攀交情，得您的友好”。他提出说自己也可以不收利息将钱借给安东尼奥，但“为了当作玩”有个条件：如果安东尼奥无法按时还钱，就要割下整整一磅肉来抵偿。

He comes up with this crazy idea: a no-interest loan. All you have to do is to pay the principal back. If you don't pay it on time, you have to pay a pound of flesh. That's the bond.

这里夏洛克提出了一个疯狂的要求，他不收贷款利息，只要安东尼奥归还本金即可。但如果无法按时归还本金，那么安东尼奥就要用一磅肉来抵偿。这是夏洛克提出的条件。

Antonio, confident that his ships will return before the loan is due, agrees to Shylock’s bond.

安东尼奥很有信心，认为自己的船只在贷款到期之前一定会按时归来，于是便同意了。

The scene now shifts to Belmont, home of the wealthy heiress Portia. Like Antonio, she is melancholy. Because of conditions laid down in her father’s will, Portia cannot choose what to do with her inheritance -- or choose the man she will marry.

下一幕，场景转到了富家孤女鲍西娅的府邸贝尔蒙。她和安东尼奥一样，也是闷闷不乐。因为她必须按照父亲遗嘱中的要求来处理继承遗产，以及选择自己未来的丈夫。

Portia has no direct control over her money. She’s obliged to follow her dead father’s fantastic scheme. She has to set up three caskets and one of them has her picture in it, and if any suitor chooses the right casket, then Portia has to marry that man.

鲍西娅无法直接决定如何处理自己的财产，她不得不遵循她父亲那古怪的安排。她必须准备三个匣子，再将自己的一张画像放进其中一个匣子里，如果追求者选中了这个匣子，她就必须嫁给那个追求者。

The first suitor to attempt the casket test is the Prince of Morocco. He reads the inscription on each casket.

第一个追求者是一位摩洛哥亲王。他阅读着每个匣子上的题词。

The gold casket reads, “Who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire.” The silver reads, “Who chooseth me shall get as much as he deserves.” The lead reads: “Who chooseth me must give and hazard all he hath.”

金匣子上写着：“谁挑选了我，会得到众人之所愿望”。银匣子上写着：“谁挑选了我，会得到他的所应有”。铅铸的匣子上写着：“谁挑选了我，得牺牲，冒险他的一切”。

The Prince interprets the inscription on the gold casket to mean that it will win him Portia’s hand -- but it is, of course, the wrong casket. The next suitor is the Prince of Arragon. Both this suitor, as a Spanish Catholic, and the Prince of Morocco, whose description “Moor” may mean “Muslim,” would likely have registered with an English Protestant audience as threatening “others.” But this prince also departs after picking the wrong casket: this time, the silver one.

摩洛哥亲王认为，金匣子上题词的意思是选它便可以赢得鲍西娅，但可想而知，金匣子里并没有鲍西娅的画像。第二个追求者是一位阿拉贡亲王。他是一位西班牙天主教徒。而之前那位摩洛哥亲王也被认为是“摩尔人”，是一位伊斯兰教信徒。这两位追求者对于当时的英国新教教徒观众来说都是具有威胁性的“异教徒”。不过这位亲王依旧没有选对匣子，他选的是银匣子。

Back in Venice, another daughter is unhappy at her father’s attempts to control her -- but she takes more radical steps to escape him. Shylock has a daughter, Jessica, who has secretly been carrying on a relationship with a Christian Venetian named Lorenzo. She confesses she is “ashamed to be [her] father’s child” and pledges she will “become a Christian and [Lorenzo’s] loving wife.” Bassanio invites Shylock to dinner, and while Shylock is away, Jessica disguises herself as a boy, steals a casket of her father’s gold, and flees the house to elope with Lorenzo.

接着，场景再次回到威尼斯，在这里还有一位在父亲的掌控下郁郁寡欢的女儿，不过她比鲍西娅更为勇敢果决，她决定要摆脱父亲的控制。这个女孩就是夏洛克的女儿栒雪格。她与威尼斯的一位基督教徒洛良佐悄悄成为了恋人。她表示自己“羞于做父亲的孩子”，并恳求让她“信奉基督教，做洛良佐恩爱的好妻房”。为了帮助这对两人私奔，巴萨尼奥邀请夏洛克去他家共进晚餐，夏洛克刚出发，栒雪格便乔装成男孩子的模样，偷走了父亲装金币的匣子，从家里逃出去和洛良佐私奔。

When Shylock realizes that Jessica has escaped with his treasure, he is distraught. Two Christians, Solanio and Salarino, describe mockingly how Shylock wandered in the streets, crying “My daughter, O my ducats, O my daughter!” They also discuss the news that some of Antonio’s ships have been wrecked at sea, and Antonio’s grief over Bassanio’s departure for Belmont. “I think [Antonio] loves the world only for him,” says Solanio.

当夏洛克意识到栒雪格偷了他的钱财和别人私奔时，他万分恼怒。两个基督徒萨拉尼奥和萨拉里诺嘲讽地讲述了夏洛克是如何在街上乱走，哭喊着“我的钱、我的女儿”。他们还聊到说安东尼奥的一艘船在海上沉没了，他们还说安东尼奥对于巴萨尼奥前往出发去贝尔蒙这件事感到悲伤。萨拉尼奥说：“我想安东尼奥爱这世界只是为了他”。

They are interrupted by Shylock. His fury that Jessica eloped with a Christian now directs itself at Antonio: “Let him look to his bond,” he says. Salarino asks what Shylock could want with a pound of Antonio’s flesh: “it will feed my revenge,” Shylock replies. He details all the ways that Antonio has abused him in the past and says, “And what’s his reason? I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands?” After describing how Jews resemble Christians in many ways, Shylock promises that he will be as eager as a wronged Christian would be in seeking revenge.

但他们的谈话被夏洛克打断了。夏洛克对于女儿栒雪格和一位基督徒私奔感到无比愤怒，于是他把愤怒的矛头对准了安东尼奥，他说：“让安东尼奥注意那借据立约”。萨拉里诺问夏洛克为什么这么执着于安东尼奥的一磅肉，夏洛克回答说因为这“可以满足我的仇恨”。他详细控诉了曾经安东尼奥是如何羞辱自己的，他说“他可有什么理由？我是个犹太人。犹太人没有眼睛吗？犹太人没有手脚吗？”他陈述了犹太人与基督徒的种种相似之处，接着他表示他会像遭遇了不公正对待的基督徒一样进行报复。

Shylock then hears from a Jewish friend, Tubal, that Jessica has been spending his wealth around Italy. Shylock curses her: “I would my daughter were dead at my foot and the jewels in her ear.” But he seems most affected when he hears that Jessica traded away a certain ring for a monkey.

接着他从一位犹太朋友屠勃尔那里得知，栒雪格在意大利花掉了他不少钱。夏洛克诅咒栒雪格说：“我但愿我女儿在我脚旁死了，而那些宝石挂在她耳上”。然而，当他听说栒雪格用一枚指环换了一只猴子的时候，他的愤怒达到了峰值。

When he hears this news, Shylock says, “Thou torturest me, Tubal. It was my turquoise! I had it of Leah when I was a bachelor. I would not have given it for a wilderness of monkeys.”

他气愤地说：“你毒害了我，屠勃尔。那是我的土耳其蓝玉，是我还没有娶莉雅时她送给我的，就是漫山遍野的猴子，我也不肯去调换。”

Tubal also tells him that Antonio has lost his ships and won’t be able to pay his debt to Shylock. Shylock pledges, “I will have the heart of him if he forfeit.” Meanwhile, in Belmont, Bassanio is having better luck: Portia wants him for her husband.

屠勃尔还对夏洛克说了安东尼奥的船只遭遇海难，无法按时还钱了。夏洛克发誓说：“我要挖他的心，要是他愆期破约”。而就在同时，在贝尔蒙，巴萨尼奥交到了好运，鲍西娅愿意嫁他为妻。

Portia has seen Bassanio before. She's excited about Bassanio, unlike her other suitors. And she wants Bassanio to choose the right casket -- she's eager for that. And then Bassanio will have an enormous amount of money showered down on him.

鲍西娅曾见过巴萨尼奥，她对他的态度和对其他追求者不一样，她对于巴萨尼奥的前来欣喜万分。她希望巴萨尼奥可以选对匣子，她对此无比期盼。这样的话，巴萨尼奥也可以收获一笔巨额财富。

Bassanio, channeling the play’s focus on risk, chooses the lead casket that reads: “Who chooseth me must give and hazard all he hath.” Inside, he finds Portia’s portrait. Portia joyfully pledges herself and all her wealth to Bassanio. She also gives him a ring, which Bassanio promises never to part with. Bassanio’s friend Gratiano and Portia’s maid Nerissa announce that they plan to marry as well. Then Lorenzo and Jessica arrive, along with a letter from Antonio. He cannot repay the debt and Shylock plans to take his pound of flesh--which will likely end Antonio’s life. Antonio writes to Bassanio, “All debts are cleared between you and I if I might but see you at my death.” Portia gives Bassanio gold to repay Antonio’s debt and urges him to go to Venice to save his friend. Secretly, Portia and Nerissa prepare to go to Venice as well, disguised as men.

巴萨尼奥将戏剧的核心拉到了“冒险”这个概念上。他最终选择铅匣子，上面写着“谁挑选了我，得牺牲，冒险他的一切”。正是在这个铅匣子里面，放着鲍西娅的画像。鲍西娅开心地表示自己愿意嫁给巴萨尼奥，并将自己所有的财富献给了他。同时，她还送了一枚戒指给巴萨尼奥，巴萨尼奥发誓会带着这枚戒指直到死去。巴萨尼奥的朋友葛拉希阿诺和鲍西娅的女仆纳丽莎也宣布说他们计划结为夫妻。随后，洛良佐和栒雪格也来了，带着一封安东尼奥写的信。安东尼奥在信中写到，由于自己无法按期归还夏洛克的贷款，所以他将要割走自己的一磅肉，而他这么做的目的似乎就是为了要取自己的性命。安东尼奥对巴萨尼奥写道：“你我之间的债务就一笔勾销，我只盼望在临死前见你一面”。鲍西娅给了巴萨尼奥一些黄金，让他去帮安东尼奥偿还债务，并催促他快点赶回威尼斯去救他的朋友。而私下，鲍西娅和纳丽莎也乔装成男子的模样准备前往威尼斯。

In Venice, Shylock and Antonio come before the Duke in court. The Duke encourages Shylock to show mercy to Antonio, but he cannot simply invalidate Shylock’s contract. Venice was an international trading city, and for this economy to function, the Duke had to uphold the law for every person in the city, Jewish or Chrsistian. As Antonio says, the Duke must respect the “commodity thatstrangershave / With us in Venice.” Shakespeare’s audience thought of Venice as a city of strangers, a place where different nations and religions mixed together.

在威尼斯，夏洛克和安东尼奥来到了公爵的法庭上。公爵想要说服夏洛克饶恕安东尼奥，但同时他也不能直接宣判夏洛克和安东尼奥签订的合同无效。在当时，威尼斯是一个国际化的贸易城市，为了确保经济的正常运行，公爵必须公平公正地按照法律来进行裁判，不论是对待犹太人，还是对待基督徒，他都必须一视同仁。正如安东尼奥所说，公爵必须遵守法律程序，“因为通商的便利，异邦人在我们威尼斯这里所享受的，若遭到否定，会损害它公道的令名”。在莎士比亚那个年代，观众们一提到威尼斯就会想到异邦人，认为这是一个融合了不同民族，不同宗教信仰的城市。

Venice fascinated the English. It was an enormously powerful independent republic, based on international trade, and many different groups lived cheek by jowl there and found a way of getting along. There’s a sixteenth-century guidebook to Italy written by a Welshman named William Thomas, and he says that in Venice, it doesn’t matter whether you are a Catholic, a Protestant, or, quote, “if thou be a Jew, a Turk, or believest in the devil … as long as thou spreadest not thine opinions abroad, thou art free from all control.” Now, to an Englishman of the late 16th century, that simply seemed incredible, that there could be a city in which Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Muslims, devil worshippers (presumably atheists), could live side by side and not meddle in each other's business and not try to control the other one -- they’d never seen anything like it. And that's what Venice represented -- a kind of international melting pot of people.

在莎士比亚那个年代，当时的英国人对威尼斯是十分着迷的。在他们眼中，威尼斯发达的国际贸易促使其成为了一个强大的独立共和国，在那里不同民族的人们毗邻而居，相处地很融洽和谐。16世纪，一位名叫威廉·托马斯的威尔士人写了一本意大利旅游指南，在指南中他这样写道：“在威尼斯，不论你是天主教徒，还是新教教徒，又或者是犹太人，土耳其人，甚至是信仰恶魔的人，只要你不害怕出国远行，那么你就可以摆脱一切的束缚。”这对于16世纪晚期的英国人而言是完全无法想象的，他们无法想象在一座城市里，天主教徒、新教教徒、犹太人、伊斯兰教信徒，信仰恶魔的人——也许是无神论者——大家都可以生活在一起，互不掺和对方的事物，也不试图想要控制他人。因为这样的画面是他们从来都不曾见到过的。但这却是威尼斯的样子，当时的威尼斯像一个“大熔炉”。

Of course, by our standards, it was no melting pot. The Venetians, early in the 16th century, came up with the idea of putting the Jews into a particular place they called theghetto.Did Shakespeare know that there was a ghetto in Venice where Jews were shut in at night? It isn't 100% clear. But what he's fascinated by is not the separation of Jews in a particular place, but the opposite: the fact that Jews and Christians are interacting in this world, that they're constantly doing business with one another. For Shakespeare and probably for his audience,thatwas the remarkable thing.

当然，如果按照今天的标准来看，威尼斯根本称不上是大熔炉。在16世纪早期，威尼斯人其实是让犹太人聚集居住在一个特定的区域，这片区域被称作是“隔都”。莎士比亚知道在威尼斯有着犹太人居住区吗？他知道居住在居住区里的犹太人夜晚是不允许出门的吗？答案我们不得而知。不过莎士比亚真正着迷的并不是犹太人居住区，而是与之相反的一点，是它的对立面，是犹太人和基督徒之间的互动与交流，是他们之间经常发生的贸易往来。对于莎士比亚，以及他的戏剧观众来说，这才是真正吸引人的地方。

Bassanio offers to repay twice the amount of Antonio’s debt. Shylock refuses: “I would have my bond.” Enacting his “lodged hate” against Antonio would bring him more satisfaction than any money. Nothing, it seems, can make Shylock relinquish his bond. But then a young lawyer arrives to help try the case. It is Portia in male disguise, with Nerissa disguised as her clerk. Portia makes an eloquent speech asking Shylock to grant mercy, beginning, “The quality of mercy is not strained.” He refuses, saying: “I crave the law, / The penalty … of my bond.” So Portia says Antonio must prepare for the knife. Antonio draws Bassanio close and bids him tell Portia “how I loved you.” Bassanio says he would sacrifice his life and his wife to save Antonio.

巴萨尼奥提出以两倍的钱款来偿还安东尼奥的借款，但夏洛克拒绝了，他说：我只要执行立约。对于他来说，宣泄对于安东尼奥的“宿恨”所带来的满足感远大于金钱所能给予的快乐。到目前为止，似乎没有任何事情可以让夏洛克放弃执行立约。但就在此时，一位年轻的律师来到法庭上处理这件案子。这位律师正是鲍西娅假扮的，纳丽莎扮作她的书记。鲍西娅说了一大段极具说服力的演讲，希望夏洛克可以仁慈，她说：“仁慈的性质不含有任何勉强”。但夏洛克依旧拒绝了，坚持“要求执法，照债券实施破约的处罚”。于是，鲍西娅让安东尼奥准备好，用胸膛迎接夏洛克的刀子。安东尼奥把巴萨尼奥拉到一旁，让他代自己向鲍西娅表明自己有多爱巴萨尼奥拉。巴萨尼奥表示他愿意牺牲自己的生命和自己的妻子来拯救安东尼奥。

Shylock tells Antonio, “Come, prepare.” But just then, Portia stops him. Shylock has insisted on the exact penalty specified in his bond, and now Portia reminds him what exactly the bond specifies: “This bond doth give thee here no jot of blood.” He may take Antonio’sflesh,but he may not spill any of Antonio’sbloodwhen he takes it.And this detail changes everything. 

夏洛克对安东尼奥说：“来，预备！”可就在这时，鲍西娅阻止了他。可夏洛克依旧坚持要按借约来进行处罚，但鲍西娅提醒他“借约在此，绝没有说明要给你一点血”。这就意味着，夏洛克可以取走一磅肉，但是却不能让安东尼奥流一滴血。这个细节扭转了整个局面。

At this point, the case shifts to a criminal case. He’ll be shedding blood inevitably, if he takes the ‘pound of flesh,’ and that moves you into a different sphere, legally, in Venice. And in that sphere, thereisa distinction between citizens and non-citizens, between Jew and non-Jew. Jews cannot be citizens in Venice, and if a non-citizen takes a citizen’s blood, the penalty is severe.

故事发展到这里，这起欠款案件就变成了一起刑事案件。因为，夏洛克在取走“一磅肉”的时候，无法避免地会让安东尼奥流血，但这样的话，根据威尼斯的律法，夏洛克就将处于一个完全不同的境地。在这种情况下，市民和非市民，犹太人和非犹太人之间有着一道明确的界限。在威尼斯，犹太人没有资格成为威尼斯市民。如果非威尼斯市民取走了威尼斯市民的血，那么这位非市民将遭受非常严厉的惩罚。

If Shylock spills a drop of Antonio’s blood, says Portia, he forfeits all of his property to the state. Moreover, according to Venetian law, if a non-citizen like Shylock tries to take the life of a citizen like Antonio, then his own life is forfeit. The Duke agrees to let Shylock live if he obeys the conditions that Antonio names: that he leave his property to Jessica and Lorenzo, and that he convert to Christianity. “Art thou contented, Jew?” asks Portia. Shylock replies, “I am content.”

鲍西娅表示，如果夏洛克让安东尼奥流了一滴血，那么他的所有财产全都要充公。不但如此，按照法律，如果夏洛克这类非市民谋害了安东尼奥这样的市民的话，那么他自己也将遭遇死刑。公爵同意赦免夏洛克的死刑，但他必须答应安东尼奥提出的一系列条件：首先答应将自己的财产留给栒雪格和洛良佐，其次就是答应皈依基督教。鲍西娅问：“你可满意吗，犹太人？”夏洛克回答说：“我满意。”

Bassanio asks Portia, who is still in her lawyer’s disguise, how he can repay her for saving Antonio. She asks for the ring -- the gift from Portia that he swore he would never lose. He refuses at first, citing his promise to his wife. But whenAntonioasks him to give up the ring, Bassanio agrees. Nerissa, as the clerk, asks Gratiano for the ring she gave him, and he agrees too.

不过巴萨尼奥一直没有认出鲍西娅的伪装，他问为了报答她救了安东尼奥，他需要支付多少钱。于是，鲍西娅问他要了那枚戒指，那枚她曾经要求巴萨尼奥绝不摘下的戒指。巴萨尼奥一开始拒绝了这个请求，解释说自己曾对妻子发过誓。但是当安东尼奥让他交出戒指时，巴萨尼奥还是同意了。而装扮成书记的纳丽莎也向葛拉希阿诺要自己之前送给他的那枚戒指，葛拉希阿诺也同意了。

Back in Belmont, Lorenzo and Jessica contemplate stories of ill-fated lovers from the past before greeting all the parties returning from Venice. Nerissa berates Gratiano for losing her ring, and Bassanio reluctantly confesses that he, too, has given away his ring. “Even so void is your false heart of truth,” Portia declares: “By heaven, I will ne’er come in your bed / Until I see the ring!” Bassanio asks her to forgive him and swears he will never again break a promise to her. Portia returns the ring to Bassanio and reveals that she was the lawyer who saved Antonio. She also shares the news that three of Antonio’s ships have arrived with riches back to Venice -- and Lorenzo and Jessica learn that they will inherit Shylock’s wealth. The play closes like a traditional comedy, with sets of lovers going off to bed. But the image that remains most vividly in the audience’s mind is likely the isolated man who was left behind in Venice.

接着场景回到贝尔蒙，在威尼斯的那几对恋人从威尼斯回来之前，洛良佐和栒雪格谈论着古往今来那些不幸的恋人。而纳丽莎痛骂葛拉希阿诺弄丢了自己送给他的戒指，巴萨尼奥也不情愿地承认自己也把鲍西娅送给自己的戒指给了别人。鲍西娅责备说：“您的假真心是这么空虚。我对天发誓，我决不会跟您同床。”巴萨尼奥请求她原谅自己，并起誓说今后再也不会违背自己对她许下的任何诺言。于是，鲍西娅将戒指还给了巴萨尼奥，并告诉他，自己其实就是救下了安东尼奥的那位律师。同时，她还对他说，安东尼奥有三艘船满载而归。洛良佐和栒雪格也得知他们将要继承夏洛克的财产。戏剧以传统的喜剧结局收尾，一双双恋人走向了他们的婚床。但在观众们的脑海中，仍有一个栩栩如生的人物，那就是被独自抛弃在了威尼斯的那个孤独的男人——夏洛克。

The character of Shylock, as Shakespeare developed him, expanded way beyond the structure of the play. To resolve this problem, Shakespeare has to get rid of Shylock in Act Four. That's an unusual strategy, to take a major character and get rid of him before the fifth act. Shakespeare solved the problem, or at least dealt with it, by this very peculiar game of the rings. It's a nightmare for an acting company because you have to figure out how to get the tone of the fifth act to work. It's a state of exquisite uncomfortableness for virtually everyone. It's a deep problem.

莎士比亚笔下，夏洛克这个角色超越了戏剧的框架。为了解决这个问题，莎士比亚在戏剧第四幕之后就不再让夏洛克出场了。这种处理方法很少见，因为很少会有戏剧会在第五幕之前就不再让某个主角出场。但莎士比亚通过一段特殊的戒指情节就解决了这个问题，或者说在一定程度上调和了这个问题。然而，这样的处理对于剧团来说简直就像一场噩梦，因为剧团这需要准确把握第五幕的基调。从根本上看，这对所有人来说，都是一种极不舒适的状态。这个问题值得我们深入分析。

In the next episode, we’ll start with a closer look at Shylock, and at how Shakespeare expanded the role so far beyond his culture’s ideas of who such a person could be.

下集节目，我们将更加深入剖析夏洛克这个角色，看看莎士比亚是如何超越自己的文化背景，刻画出这样一个人物角色的。