devil quotes another holy text in order to tempt Jesus Christ. With this line Antonio is not only asserting his belief that lending money out at interest is evil; he is also implying that Shylock is a devil. The line thus creates a subtle way of subconsciously causing the audience to view Shylock as an extremely negative and evil character.
Antonio emphasizes his view in the followinglines:
An evil soul producing holy witness Is like a villain with a smiling cheek, A goodly apple rotten to the heart.
O, what goodly outside falsehood hath!
(95-98)
Not being any different from today, back in the time of the Renaissance there were hypocrites who used the Bible (“holy witness”) in order to justify their outrageous actions and behavior. Shakespeare uses thesimileof a villain who is always smiling. The smile is a mask by which he hides his evil intentions. Thesecond simileis to the apple that looks red and delicious on the outside but is rotten on the inside. Hypocrites are like these rotten apples. On the outside they pretend to be friendly or helpful, but on the inside they are plotting mischief and harm. Thus, although Shylock may quote holy scripture, he is not a holy person. Rather, from Antonio’s point of view, his intentions are purelyevil.