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Man, if man you be in heart, not adamant, forbear that wicked cant until you have discovered what the surplus is, and where it is.

what is the meaning of 'man you be in heart'?

what is the meaning of 'forbear that wicked cant'?

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    It's cant (a noun), not can't.
    – green_ideas
    Commented Dec 18, 2017 at 21:49

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The "if" is important. It introduces a clause expressing a statement not known to be true. In older forms of English, such clauses used subjunctive forms of the word "be."

So the clause means "if you are a man (which is not necessarily true) rather than a stone."

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  • can you answer second question?
    – user66705
    Commented Dec 18, 2017 at 18:23
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    "To forbear" is a word not much used today, but means "to refrain," "to not do." "Cant" means "sanctimonious speech." So the phrase means "stop that false moralizing."
    – Jeff Morrow
    Commented Dec 18, 2017 at 21:44
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The ghost is warning Scrooge not to dismiss the “Surplus population” unless Scrooge is confident that he knows where the line for what is surplus will be drawn. That Scrooge considers himself better, is ridiculous to a god that cannot fathom the idea of social class

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