But God sort all! You are welcome home, my lord.

Bass. I thank you, madam.

my friend.

This is the man, this is Antonio,

Give welcome to

To whom I am so infinitely bound.

Por. You should in all sense be much bound to him,

For, as I hear, he was much bound for you.

Ant. No more than I am well acquitted of. Por. Sir, you are very welcome to our house: It must appear in other ways than words, Therefore I scant this breathing courtesy. Gra. [To Ner.]. By yonder moon I swear you do

me wrong;

In faith, I gave it to the judge's clerk :
Would he were gelt that had it, for my part,
Since you do take it, love, so much at heart.
Por. A quarrel, ho, already! what's the matter?
Gra. About a hoop of gold, a paltry ring

That she did give me, whose posy was
For all the world like cutler's poetry

Upon a knife, 'Love me, and leave me not.'

Ner. What talk you of the posy or the value?
You swore to me, when I did give it you,
That you would wear it till your hour of death,
And that it should lie with you in your grave:
Though not for me, yet for your vehement oaths,
You should have been respective and have kept it.
Gave it a judge's clerk! no, God's my judge,
The clerk will ne'er wear hair on 's face that had it.
Gra. He will, an if he live to be a man.
Ner. Ay, if a woman live to be a man.

140

150

160

148. posy, the motto inscribed on the inner side of a ring.

156. respective, scrupulous, mindful.

Q

Gra. Now, by this hand, I gave it to a youth,
A kind of boy, a little scrubbed boy,

No higher than thyself, the judge's clerk,
A prating boy, that begg'd it as a fee:

I could not for my heart deny it him.

Por. You were to blame, I must be plain with To part so slightly with your wife's first gift; A thing stuck on with oaths upon your finger And so riveted with faith unto your flesh.

you,

I gave my love a ring and made him swear
Never to part with it; and here he stands;
I dare be sworn for him he would not leave it
Nor pluck it from his finger, for the wealth
That the world masters. Now, in faith, Gratiano,
You give your wife too unkind a cause of grief:
An 'twere to me, I should be mad at it.

Bass. [Aside] Why, I were best to cut my left

hand off

And swear I lost the ring defending it.

Gra. My Lord Bassanio gave his ring away
Unto the judge that begg'd it and indeed
Deserved it too; and then the boy, his clerk,
That took some pains in writing, he begg'd mine;
And neither man nor master would take aught
But the two rings.

Por.

What ring gave you, my lord?

Not that, I hope, which you received of me.

Bass. If I could add a lie unto a fault,

I would deny it; but you see my finger
Hath not the ring upon it; it is gone.

Por. Even so void is your false heart of truth.
By heaven, I will ne'er come in your bed

Until I see the ring.

Ner.

170

180

190

Nor I in yours

ably a copyist's blunder, due to the so in 167.

162. scrubbed, stunted.
169. so riveted. So is prob-

Sweet Portia,

Till I again see mine.

If

Bass.

you
did know to whom I gave the ring,
If you did know for whom I gave the ring,
And would conceive for what I gave the ring,
And how unwillingly I left the ring,

When nought would be accepted but the ring,
You would abate the strength of your displeasure.
Por. If you had known the virtue of the ring,
Or half her worthiness that gave the ring,
Or your own honour to contain the ring,
You would not then have parted with the ring.
What man is there so much unreasonable,

If

you had pleased to have defended it
With any terms of zeal, wanted the modesty
To urge the thing held as a ceremony ?
Nerissa teaches me what to believe:
I'll die for 't but some woman had the ring.

Bass. No, by my honour, madam, by my soul,
No woman had it, but a civil doctor,
Which did refuse three thousand ducats of me
And begg'd the ring; the which I did deny him
And suffer'd him to go displeased away;

Even he that did uphold the very life

Of my dear friend. What should I say, sweet lady?
I was enforced to send it after him;

I was beset with shame and courtesy ;
My honour would not let ingratitude

193 foll. the ring. Shakespeare had already used this device in King John, iii. 1. 12-15, Rich. III., i. 3. 292-294, but for pathetic not playful effect, the speakers being Constance and Queen Margaret. It occurs also in the pseudo-Shakespearean Edward III., ii. 1. (8 consecutive lines), and in The Fair Maid of the

Exchange (10 lines).

200

210

201. contain, keep, retain. 'Had you known how your own honour was involved in keeping the ring.'

206. ceremony, object of sacred affection.

210. civil doctor, doctor of civil law.

So much besmear it. Pardon me, good lady;
For, by these blessed candles of the night,
Had you been there, I think you would have begg'd
The ring of me to give the worthy doctor.

Por. Let not that doctor e'er come near my
house:

Since he hath got the jewel that I loved,

And that which you did swear to keep for me,
I will become as liberal as you;

I'll not deny him any thing I have,

No, not my body nor my husband's bed:

Know him I shall, I am well sure of it :

220

Lie not a night from home; watch me like Argus: 230
If you do not, if I be left alone,

Now, by mine honour, which is yet mine own,
I'll have that doctor for my bedfellow.

Ner. And I his clerk; therefore be well advised
How you do leave me to mine own protection.

Gra. Well, do you so: let not me take him, then; For if I do, I'll mar the young clerk's pen.

Ant. I am the unhappy subject of these quarrels.
Por. Sir, grieve not you; you are welcome not-
withstanding.

Bass. Portia, forgive me this enforced wrong;
And, in the hearing of these many friends,
I swear to thee, even by thine own fair eyes,
Wherein I see myself—

Por.

Mark you but that!

In both my eyes he doubly sees himself;
In each eye, one: swear by your double self,
And there's an oath of credit.

Bass.
Nay, but hear me :
Pardon this fault, and by my soul I swear
I never more will break an oath with thee.
Ant. I once did lend my body for his wealth;

249. wealth, welfare.

240

Which, but for him that had your husband's ring, 250
Had quite miscarried: I dare be bound again,
My soul upon the forfeit, that

your lord Will never more break faith advisedly.

Por. Then you shall be his surety. Give him this

And bid him keep it better than the other.

Ant. Here, Lord Bassanio; swear to keep this ring.

Bass. By heaven, it is the same I gave the doctor!

Por. I had it of him: pardon me, Bassanio; For, by this ring, the doctor lay with me.

Ner. And pardon me, my gentle Gratiano;
For that same scrubbed boy, the doctor's clerk,
In lieu of this last night did lie with me.

Gra. Why, this is like the mending of highways
In summer, where the ways are fair enough:
What, are we cuckolds ere we have deserved it?
Por. Speak not so grossly. You are all amazed:
Here is a letter; read it at your leisure;

It comes from Padua, from Bellario:

There you shall find that Portia was the doctor,
Nerissa there her clerk: Lorenzo here
Shall witness I set forth as soon as you
And even but now return'd; I have not yet
Enter'd my house. Antonio, you are welcome;
And I have better news in store for you
Than you expect: unseal this letter soon;
There you shall find three of your argosies
Are richly come to harbour suddenly :

You shall not know by what strange accident
I chanced on this letter.

Ant.

I am dumb.

260

270

Bass. Were you the doctor and I knew you not? 280 262. In lieu of this, in consideration of this (ring).