The day had passed and Antonio had not paid. Shylock took his bond to the court. It was a hearing at which the Duke of Venice sat in person.
The duke began by asking. Would he not show mercy, he said, where everyone could see it. Take the principal, he suggested, and forgive the rest.
Shylock refused. He had sworn an oath, he said, and what he wanted was what the bond contained. Asked why he would rather have flesh, he answered only that it was his humour. Bassanio offered twice and three times the money borrowed, and he did not hear it.