| [00:00.30] |
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| [00:01.00] |
Jews, too, weren't supposed to lend at interest |
| [00:03.90] |
But there was a convenient get-out clause in the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy, chapter 23 |
| [00:10.44] |
you aren't supposed to lend to your brother at interest |
| [00:13.40] |
But to a stranger? Well, that was a different matter |
| [00:16.30] |
In other words, a Jew couldn't lend to a Jew, but he could lend to a Christian |
| [00:25.28] |
The price the Jews paid for performing this service was social exclusion |
| [00:30.67] |
Hence the ghetto. And hence the centuries - long association between Jews and finance |
| [00:38.30] |
one of the few forms of economic activity from which Jews were not once excluded |
| [00:46.33] |
In the end, of course, Shylock is thwarted |
| [00:49.37] |
For although the court recognises his right to a pound of flesh |
| [00:52.84] |
the law also prohibits him from shedding Antonio's blood |
| [00:57.31] |
And, because he's a Jew |
| [00:58.83] |
the law also requires the loss of his goods and life for so much as plotting the death of a Christian |
| [01:04.69] |
He only escapes by submitting to baptism |
| [01:08.97] |
It turns out to be a risky business to be a moneylender |
| [01:14.83] |
The Merchant of Venice raises profound questions about both economics and anti-Semitism |
| [01:20.59] |
Why don't debtors always default on their debts? |
| [01:24.15] |
Especially when the creditors belong to unpopular ethnic minorities |
| [01:28.41] |
Why don't the Shylocks always lose out? |
| [01:33.59] |
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