THE MERCHANT OF VENICE.

A pleasing and early octavo printing. Engraved frontispiece, engraved head-piece and a six-line engraved initial at the beginning of the text Small 8vo, bound in later blue wrappers, hand calligraphed on the cover in brown ink. 72 pp. A fine and well preserved copy, the blue wrappers as pristine.

Edizione: very scarce. from the important theobold oeuvre. although theobold ultimately gave way to johnson in popularity, he remains one of the pre-eminent shakespearean editors. churton collins, writing in the dnb, claimed it “would not be too much to say that the text of shakespeare owes more to theobold than to any other editor.”<br> the collection also draws on two rival editions, j. tonson’s and r. walker’s. although the two are nearly identical, tonson issued an advertisement warning the public against “such useless, pirated, and maim’d editions, as are publish’d by the said r. walker.” <br> the merchant of venice contains many famous quotations among which are:<br><br>i hold the world but as the world, gratiano,<br>a stage where every man must play a part,<br>and mine a sad one.<br>(antonio, act 1 scene 1)<br><br>the devil can cite scripture for his purpose. <br>(antonio, act 1 scene 3)<br><br>i like not fair terms and a villain's mind. <br>(bassanio, act 1 scene 3)<br><br>but love is blind, and lovers cannot see <br>the pretty follies that themselves commit.<br>(jessica, act 2 scene 6)<br><br>all that glisters is not gold. <br>(morocco, act 2 scene 7)<br><br>if you prick us, do we not bleed? if you tickle us, do we not laugh? if you poison us, do we not die? and if you wrong us, shall we not revenge? <br>(shylock, act 3 scene 1)<br><br>the quality of mercy is not strained,<br>it droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven<br>upon the place beneath. it is twice blest: <br>it blesseth him that gives and him that takes. <br>(portia, act 4 scene 1)<br><br>the man that hath no music in himself, <br>nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds, <br>is fit for treasons, stratagems and spoils. <br>the motions of his spirit are dull as night<br>and his affections dark as erebus. <br>let no such man be trusted. <br>(lorenzo, act 5 scene 1)