The Merchant of Venice (15 page)

PORTIA
   If you had known the
virtue
²¹²
of the ring,
     Or half her worthiness that gave the ring,
     Or your own honour to
contain
²¹⁴
the ring,
     You would not then have parted with the ring.
     What man is there so much unreasonable,
     
If
²¹⁷
you had pleased to have defended it
     With any terms of zeal,
wanted
²¹⁸
the modesty
     To
urge
²¹⁹
the thing held as a ceremony?
     Nerissa teaches me what to believe:
     I’ll die for’t but some woman had the ring.

BASSANIO
   No, by mine honour, madam, by my soul,
     No woman had it, but a
civil doctor
²²³
,
     Which did refuse three thousand ducats of me
     And begged the ring; the which I did deny him
     And
suffered
²²⁶
him to go displeased away—
     Even he that had
held up
²²⁷
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
     So much besmear
it
²³²
. Pardon me, good lady!
     And by these blessèd
candles of the night
²³³
,
     Had you been there, I think you would have begged
     The ring of me to give the worthy doctor.

PORTIA
   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
²³⁹
as you.
     I’ll not deny him anything I have,
     No, not my body nor my husband’s bed.
     
Know
²⁴²
him I shall, I am well sure of it.
     Lie not a night from home. Watch me like
Argus
²⁴³
.
     If you do not, if I be left alone,
     Now, by mine
honour
²⁴⁵
, which is yet mine own,
     I’ll have the doctor for my bedfellow.

NERISSA
   And I his clerk: therefore
be well advised
²⁴⁷
     How you do leave me to mine own protection.

GRATIANO
   Well, do you so. Let not me
take
²⁴⁹
him, then.
     For if I do, I’ll
mar
²⁵⁰
the young clerk’s pen.

ANTONIO
   I am
th’unhappy
²⁵¹
subject of these quarrels.

PORTIA
   Sir, grieve not you. You are welcome
       notwithstanding.

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

PORTIA
   Mark you but that!
     
In both my eyes he
doubly sees himself
²⁵⁸
.
     In each eye, one. Swear by your
double
²⁵⁹
self,
     And there’s an oath
of credit
²⁶⁰
.

BASSANIO
   Nay, but hear me.
     Pardon this fault, and by my soul I swear
     I never more will break an oath with thee.

ANTONIO
   I once did lend my body for thy wealth,—

To Bassanio

     Which, but for him that had your husband’s ring,

To Portia

     Had
quite miscarried
²⁶⁶
. I dare be bound again,
     My soul upon the forfeit, that your lord
     Will never more break faith
advisedly
²⁶⁸
.

PORTIA
   Then you shall be his
surety
²⁶⁹
. Give him this

She gives Antonio the ring

     And bid him keep it better than the other.

ANTONIO
   Here, Lord Bassanio. Swear to keep this ring.

BASSANIO
   By heaven, it is the same I gave the doctor!

PORTIA
   I had it of him. Pardon, Bassanio,
     For, by this ring, the doctor
lay with
²⁷⁴
me.

NERISSA
   And pardon me, my gentle Gratiano,
     For that same scrubbèd boy, the doctor’s clerk,
     In
lieu of
²⁷⁷
this last night did lie with me.

Shows her ring

GRATIANO
   Why, this is like the mending of highways
     In summer, where the ways are
fair
²⁷⁹
enough.
     What, are we
cuckolds
²⁸⁰
ere we have deserved it?

PORTIA
   Speak not so
grossly
²⁸¹
. You are all amazed.
     Here is a letter, read it at your leisure.

She gives a letter

     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 but
e’en
²⁸⁷
now returned. I have not yet
     Entered my house. Antonio, you are welcome,
     
And I have better news in store for you
     Than you expect. Unseal this letter soon.

Gives him a letter

     There you shall find three of your argosies
     Are
richly
²⁹²
come to harbour suddenly:
     You shall not know by what strange accident
     I chancèd on this letter.

ANTONIO
   I am
dumb
²⁹⁵
.

BASSANIO
   Were you the doctor and I knew you not?

GRATIANO
   Were you the clerk that is to make me cuckold?

NERISSA
   Ay, but the clerk that never means to do it,
     Unless he live until he be a man.

BASSANIO
   Sweet doctor, you shall be my bedfellow.
     When I am absent, then lie with my wife.

ANTONIO
   Sweet lady, you have given me life and
living
³⁰²
;
     For here I read for certain that my ships
     Are safely come to
road
³⁰⁴
.

PORTIA
   How now, Lorenzo?
     My clerk hath some good comforts too for you.

NERISSA
   Ay, and I’ll give them him without a fee.
     There do I give to you and Jessica,
     From the rich Jew, a special deed of gift,
     After his death, of all he dies possessed of.

LORENZO
   Fair ladies, you drop
manna
³¹¹
in the way
     Of starvèd people.

PORTIA
   It is almost morning,
     And yet I am sure
you are not satisfied
     Of these events at full
³¹⁴
. Let us go in,
     And
charge us there upon inter’gatories
³¹⁶
,
     And we will answer all things faithfully.

GRATIANO
   Let it be so. The first
inter’gatory
³¹⁸
     That my Nerissa shall be
sworn on
³¹⁹
is,
     
Whether till the next night she had rather
stay
³²⁰
,
     Or go to bed now, being two hours to day.
     But were the day come, I should wish it dark,
     Till I were
couching
³²³
with the doctor’s clerk.
     Well, while I live I’ll fear no other thing
     So
sore
³²⁵
as keeping safe Nerissa’s ring.

Exeunt

Q = First Quarto text of 1600

Q2 = Second Quarto text of 1619

F = First Folio text of 1623

F2 = a correction introduced in the Second Folio text of 1632

Ed = a correction introduced by a later editor

SD = stage direction

SH = speech heading (i.e. speaker’s name)