mentary (and
which, indeed, does not bear any immediate relation to the action), only
a few isolated passages have been cut. Shakespeare has lost next to
nothing, and a great deal has been gained if I have hereby removed one
ground for the hesitation which most teachers would feel in using the
book in the public schools." In Act III, Scene 5 is omitted entirely,
and obvious passages in other parts of the play.

It has frequently been said that Lassen did little more than
"norvagicize" Lembcke's Danish renderings. And certainly even the most
cursory reading will show that he had Lembcke at hand. But comparison
will also show that variations from Lembcke are numerous and
considerable. Lassen was a man of letters, a critic, and a good student
of foreign languages, but he was no poet, and his _Merchant of Venice_
is, generally speaking, much inferior to Lembcke's. Compare, for
example, the exquisite opening of the fifth act:

LASSEN

_Lor_:
Klart skinner Maanen, i en Nat som denne,
da Vinden gled med Lys igjennem Lovet,
og alt var tyst: i slig en Nat forvist
Trojas Murtinder Troilus besteg,
til Graekerlejren, til sin Cressida
udsukkende sin Sjael.

LEMBCKE

Klart skinner Maanen, i en Nat som denne,
mens Luftningen saa sagte kyssed Traeet
at knapt det sused, i en saadan Nat
steg Troilus vist up paa Trojas Mur
og sukked ud sin Sjael mod Graekerlejren
der gjemte Cressida.

_Jes_:
I slig en Nat
sig Thisbe listed aengstelig, over Duggen
saa Lovens Skygge for hun saa den selv,
og lob forskraekket bort.

En saadan Nat
gik Thisbe bange trippende paa Duggen
og ojned Lovens Skygge for den selv
og lob forfaerdet bort.

_Lor_:
I slig en Nat
stod Dido med en Vidjevaand i Haanden
paa vilden strand, og vinked til Kartago
sin elsker hjem igjen.

En saadan Nat
stod Dido med en Vidjekvist i Haanden
paa vilden Strand og vinkede sin Elsker
tilbage til Carthagos Kyst.

_Jes_:
I slig en Nat
Medea plukked Galder-Urt for Aeson
hans Ungdom at forny.

Det var
en saadan Nat, da sankede Medea
de Trolddomsurter der foryngede
den gamle Aeson.

_Lor_:

I slig en Nat
stjal Jessica sig fra den rige Jode,
Lob fra Venedig med en lystig Elsker
til Belmont uden Stands.

Og en saadan Nat