Well; who are you?
Jaff. A villain.
Ant. Short and pithy.
The man speaks well.
Jaff. Would every man that hears me
Would deal so honestly, and own his title!
Duke. 'Tis rumoured that a plot has been contrived
Against this state; that you've a share in't too.
If you're a villain, to redeem your honour,
Unfold the truth, and be restored with mercy.
Jaff. Think not that I, to save my life, come hither;
I know its value better; but in pity
To all those wretches whose unhappy dooms
Are fixed and sealed. You see me here before you,
The sworn and covenanted foe of Venice;
But use me as my dealings may deserve,
And I may prove a friend.
Duke. The slave capitulates![74]
Give him the tortures.
Jaff. That you dare not do;
Your fears won't let you, nor the longing itch
To hear a story which you dread the truth of,—
Truth, which the fear of smart shall ne'er get from me.
Cowards are scared with threatenings; boys are whipped
Into confessions: but a steady mind
Acts of itself, ne'er asks the body counsel.
Give him the tortures! Name but such a thing
Again, by Heaven, I'll shut these lips for ever;
Not all your racks, your engines, or your wheels
Shall force a groan away that you may guess at.
Ant. A bloody-minded fellow, I'll warrant; a
damned bloody-minded fellow.
Duke. Name your conditions.