The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1901-07-14
|The Shylock - -
n of Shakespeare.

"a, ,hved a considerable rol'
rrslIsh literature. but faitntul repre-
a 49, ~. Of his character on the erca'
n humanity srs few and far he
~ ". cannot conceive why oui
eee men have always Invariably
$500 ,bs lew, either as monster Of
wiz, or as paragon Of virtue. H'
r.,.her one nor the other He Is MOI
.,,sr of inlqulty because he is peace
md easy going, he Is not para
~ ,irtue because he does not attain
~ ideals which his great men have
IA up to him $780, -.
az al chesses Dickens two Jews
"A Z. "A Fasn, the tIalner of thieves and
IN the almost systematically penevo'
"a. u,ue old man In "0ur Mutual
"a ~ Are either of these true to life
Il vorlowes bloolthlrsty. monstrous
!, Malta drawn from life, and have
"a ~ ron met srch meek aud gen
"A .,td md humble specimen ~ Jewry
n rnmherllpd's sheva. All these char
"a AMY show how little the dew wac
"a and. | may add, Is known Even
Fl viii only portrays one phase of Jew
81 lIfe and that phase which we all
az will soon die out.
"A ns thon Why is the jew SO often paint
q !. usurers That Marlewe uses this
3, We can understand, that Shakespeare
u, lIhewise We can under the clrcunl'
nc,s forgive. that Scott makes his Jew
'uEare in the same ignohle traffic we
"a mrprised a. hut that the American
s ,llcd comic papers make use of the
IN, tyne cnlls aloud for redress.
IA matter Of fact, the practice Of
IL ~ IN the Middle ages was common to
s3ny Jews and Christians alike: 1t was
|2broduct Of the economic circumstances
n the age hut we have historical evls
IL ce to show that the Christian usurcrs
IN much harder than the Jews, as when
IA hitter we're for time prohibited from
taaInr money, the debtors begged to
ia this law repealed. 80 that they might
i relieved from the cruel extortlons of
Nt co,relIglonlsts.
shskespeare's Merchant Of Venice"
Al Produced In the year 1900 and at
,afe forced It's way into popular favor.
la all the greatest Of tho immortal
'isd's plays It is not original, being a
ssrrelous combination Of two stories.
IN Of the Three Caskets' and that of
n dPound Of Flesh" the latter being as
ID Us the fourth century In order to
nc esnps"hend the character of shy
"a, It nAApk'ssary to glance at the story
ntopia' merchant of Venice. has tho
|1ole Of His wealth on the sea and is
sfuraly anxious and apprehensive. To
ii evmes hit friend BaSsaulo, who, hav
Il squanaered his patrlmony. Is DESTROYS
recompensing himself by marrying an
tress, but for this he must havc hnS
|Nhes, to purchase which he needs mon
b In sore straits he applies to An
Bio who cannot help him, hut allows
ID to make use OF his name, and the
Fndthrlft then proceeds 10 the money.
tier Shylock But lot us read the third
'fne of act Ill, and then ask ourselves
ffther the Jew can he reasonably ex
vted to show any mercy or fine feeling
kface'ot the 1ntolcrant bigotry and the
Henomed malice If Antonio And in
\ words of protest which Shakespeare
NJ into the mouth Of the Jew we eau
q the vast strides he made upon thu
~ Of his predecessor, Marlewe The
n Of Malta is a hypecrite. fatterer,
W and murderer. without solitary
aesmIng feature IN his character, whilst
Floet Possesses many of the noble
nlltes Of the Jew IN his lave Of home
Z family, his regard for his co-relglon-
\ bis affection for his faith.
SvsntNally, shvlock promises to lend
\ the money on condition that II the
n Is not paid he shall be permitted to
pound Of dcslt from the merchants
" more nnriowlsh condition could
be conceived Whatever faults the
spisevnl Jew may have had, his worst
ffny; can never accuse him Of blood
44stlpess In spite of the awful perse-
Hohs which he endured Mt the hands
4 DIS contemporaries, we look in vain
fuEh the medieval Jewish writings 10
any spirit Of revor ge. He is always
3 pefsecrted never the prosecutor,
Pen Is as II should be, since, according
Hour sages' the future belongs to the
3secuted and not to the prosecutors.
keFe'n then the bard fell into grave
~ which Is not surprising, since II is
7piul whether he ever met a jew. We
get glimpse into the Jews house,
ssn'eh we find his daughter. the most
9'eWlsh maiden 10 he found In the
II Of literature. What libel on jew
\ Tomahhood From Mother Sarah
Y 10 the present day, Il is to nuf
1asp We have always looked to keep
SI''he sacred torch Of Judaism. When
sew N attacked We are wllius. to ex,
he charges, but when our women
ISSUED we will say, even 20 VIII.
oAakespeare. Hands of. for the pur-
aoa faithful, noblest and most duti
"S ot her sex is the valiant woman
~ BOOK Of Provtrbs-ths splendid
1ish woman"
'OcK has the Characteristic Jewish
,or ms child. Small wonder Is II
ea' ms rage gets the better OF him
~ OF his daughter his loss Knocked
aaeea reyiled and desplsed, is II
Se'uFal that he turns upon his
.aswtSt Antonio is now in sad straits,
Nin Is az the bottom of the sea and
N ipf the redemption OF his hond Ia
~ piFh His thoughtless friend Bias
Ms : seinshly enjoying himself, sbllvlous
/. Nh o extremity Rut letter awak
@ from his day-dreams to knowl
Ah'onio's plight. lie hurrles to
NiTao assistance, hut It is now too
s"',oek insists upon the letter OF