Whereupon the doctor persuaded him again thereto, saying it would be the better course for him, but the Jew would not consent.
Then they agreed to go to the proper court for such affairs, and the doctor, speaking on behalf of Messer Ansaldo, said, “Let the merchant be brought here.” And they fetched him forthwith, and the doctor said, “Now take your pound of flesh where you will, and do your work.”
Then the Jew made Messer Ansaldo strip himself, and took in his hand a razor which he had brought for the purpose.
Whereupon Messer Giannetto turned to the doctor and said, “Messere, this is not the thing I begged you to do.”
But the doctor bade him take heart, for the Jew had not yet cut off his pound of flesh. As the Jew approached, the doctor said, “Take care what you do. For, if you cut away more or less than a pound of flesh, you shall lose your own head. And I tell you, moreover, that if you let flow a single drop of blood, you shall die, for the reason that your bond says naught as to the shedding of blood. It simply gives you the right to take a pound of flesh, and says neither less nor more. Now, if you are a wise man, you will consider well which may be the best way to compass thistask.”
Then the doctor bade them summon the executioner, and fetch likewise the axe and the block. And he said to the Jew, “As soon as I see the first drop of blood flow, I will have your head strickenoff.”