Is't like, that lead contains her? "Twere damnation, Lies all within.-Deliver me the key; Por. There, take it, prince, and if my form lie there, Then I am yours. Mor. [He unlocks the golden casket. O hell! what have we here? A carrion death, within whose empty eye Often have you heard that told: Cold, indeed; and labour lost: Then, farewell, heat; and welcome, frost. Portia, adieu! I have too griev❜d a heart 1 Enclose. [Exit. 2 i. e. if compared with tried gold. So before in Act i. Sc. 1, 'Her name is Portia, nothing undervalued To Cato's daughter.' 3 Engraven. i. e. the answer you have got; namely, ' Fare you well!' VOL. III. F Por. A gentle riddance:Draw the curtains, go; Let all of his complexion choose me so. [Exeunt. SCENE VIII. Venice. A Street. Enter SALARINO and SALANIO. Salar. Why, man, I saw Bassanio under sail; With him is Gratiano gone along; And in their ship, I am sure, Lorenzo is not. Salan. The villain Jew with outcries rais'd the duke; Who went with him to search Bassanio's ship. Salar. He came too late, the ship was under sail; My daughter!-O my ducats!—O my daughter! Salar. Why, all the boys in Venice follow him, Crying, his stones, his daughter, and his ducats. Salan. Let good Antonio look he keep his day, Or he shall pay for this. Salar. Marry, well remember'd: I reason'd1 with a Frenchman yesterday; Who told me,-in the narrow seas, that part 1 Conversed. The French and English, there miscarried Salan. You were best to tell Antonio what you hear; Yet do not suddenly, for it may grieve him. Salar. A kinder gentleman treads not the earth. I saw Bassanio and Antonio part: Bassanio told him, he would make some speed He wrung Bassanio's hand, and so they parted. I With some delight or other. Salar. Do we so. [Exeunt. Belmont. SCENE IX. A Room in Portia's House. Enter NERISSA, with a Servant. Ner. Quick, quick, I pray thee, draw the curtain straight; The prince of Arragon hath ta'en his oath, And comes to his election presently. 2 To slubber is to do a thing carelessly. The heaviness he is fond of, or indulges. 3 Shows, tokens. Flourish of Cornets. Enter the Prince of Arragon, PORTIA, and their Trains. If Por. Behold, there stand the caskets, noble prince: you choose that wherein I am contain❜d, Straight shall our nuptial rites be solemniz'd; But if you fail, without more speech, my lord, You must be gone from hence immediately. Ar. I am enjoin'd by oath to observe three things: First, never to unfold to any one Which casket 'twas I chose; next, if I fail To woo a maid in way of marriage; lastly, Por. To these injunctions every one doth swear, That comes to hazard for my worthless self. Ar. And so have I address'd1 me: Fortune now To my heart's hope!-Gold, silver, and base lead. Who chooseth me, must give and hazard all he hath. You shall look fairer, ere I give, or hazard. What says the golden chest? ha! let me see:Who chooseth me, shall gain what many men desire. What many men desire. That many may be meant By the fool multitude, that choose by show, 2 Not learning more than the fond eye doth teach; I will not choose what many men desire, 1 Prepared. 4 2 By and of being synonymous, were used by our ancestors indifferently; Malone has adduced numerous instances of the use of by, in all of which, by substituting of, the sense is rendered clear to the modern reader. 3 Power. 4 To jump is to agree with. And rank me with the barbarous multitudes. go about O, that estates, degrees, and offices, Were not deriv'd corruptly! and that clear honour Por. Too long a pause for that which you find there. How much unlike my hopes, and my deservings? Who chooseth me, shall have as much as he deserves. Did I deserve no more than a fool's head? Is that my prize? are my deserts no better? Por. To offend, and judge, are distinct offices, And of opposed natures. Ar. What is here? The fire seven times tried this; 5 The meaning is, how much meanness would be found among the great, and how much greatness among the mean. |