Note 19 — LECTURES ON THE DRAMATIC LITERATURE OF THE AGE OF ELIZABETH

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‘In spite of these swine-eating Christians

(Unchosen nation, never circumcised;

Such poor villains as were ne’er thought upon,

Till Titus and Vespasian conquer’d us)

Am I become as wealthy as I was.

They hoped my daughter would have been a nun;

But she’s at home, and I have bought a house

As great and fair as is the Governor’s:

And there, in spite of Malta, will I dwell,

Having Ferneze’s hand; whose heart I’ll have,

Aye, and his son’s too, or it shall go hard.

I am not of the tribe of Levi, I,

That can so soon forget an injury.

We Jews can fawn like spaniels when we please;

And when we grin we bite; yet are our looks

As innocent and harmless as a lamb’s.

I learn’d in Florence how to kiss my hand,

Heave up my shoulders when they call me dog,

And duck as low as any bare-foot Friar:

Hoping to see them starve upon a stall,

Or else be gather’d for in our synagogue,

That when the offering bason comes to me,

Even for charity I may spit into it.’