The Merchant of Venice Page #9

Give welcome to my friend.

This is the man, this is Antonio

to whom I am so infinitely bound.

You should in all sense

be much bound to him,

for as I hear he was much bound for you.

No more than I am well acquitted of.

Sir, you are welcome to our house.

It must appear in other ways than words

so I cut short this breathing courtesy.

By yonder moon,

I swear you do me wrong.

In faith I gave it to the judge's clerk.

Would he were gelded

that had it, for my part,

since you do take it, love,

so much at heart.

A quarrel, ho, already? What's the matter?

About a hoop of gold,

a paltry ring that she did give me,

whose motto was for all the world

like cutler's poetry upon a knife.

"Love me and leave me not. "

(Nerissa) What talk you of the motto

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 to a judge's clerk!

- I gave it to a youth,

a kind of boy, a little scrubbed boy,

no higher than thyself, the judge's clerk.

You were to blame,

I must be plain with you,

to part so slightly with your wife's first gift.

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 lose it

nor pluck it from his finger

for all the wealth that the world masters.

Why, I were best to cut my left hand off

and swear I lost the ring defending it.

- My lord Bassanio gave his ring away.

- Hm?

Unto the judge that begged it

and indeed deserved it, too.

And then the boy, his clerk, that took

some pain in writing, he begged mine

and neither man nor master

would take aught but the two rings.

If I could add a lie onto a fault

I would deny it

but you see my finger

has not the ring upon it, it is... gone.

Even so void is your false heart of truth.

By heaven, I will ne'er come into your bed

until I see the ring.

Nor I in yours till I again see mine.

Sweet Portia, if 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.

If you had known the virtue of the ring

or half her worthiness

who did give the ring,

or your own honour to contain the ring,

you would not then

have parted with the ring.

Nerissa teaches me what to believe.

I'll die for it but some woman has that ring.

No, by honour, madam,

by my soul, no woman had it

but a civil doctor,

which did refuse three thousand ducats

of me and begged the ring

the which I did refuse him,

and suffered him, displeased, to go away,

even he that had held up

the very life of my dear friend.

What should I say, sweet lady?

I was enforced to send it after him.

Let not that doctor come near my house.

Since he has 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 anything I have.

No, not since my body,

nor my husband's bed,

know him I shall, I am sure of that.

Portia, forgive me this enforced wrong

and in the hearing of these many friends,

I swear to you, even by thine own fair eyes,

I never more will break an oath with thee.

(Antonio) I once did lend my body

for his wealth.

I dare be bound again,

my soul upon the forfeit,

that your lord...

will never more break faith advisedly.

Then you shall be his surety.

Give him this.

- (Sighs)

- And bid him keep it better

than the other.

My lord Bassanio, swear to keep this ring.

By heaven, 'tis the same I gave the doctor.

I had it of him. Pardon me, Bassanio,

for, by this ring, the doctor lay with me.

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.

Why...

(Giggling)

This is like

the mending of the highways in summer,

when the ways are fair enough.

What, are we cuckolds

ere we have deserved it?

Speak not so grossly.

You are all amazed.

Bassanio...

Here is a letter,

it comes from Padua, from old Bellario.

There you shall read

that Portia was the doctor,

Nerissa there her clerk.

Lorenzo here shall witness

I set forth as soon as you

and only just now returned.

Were you the doctor and I knew you not?

Were you the clerk

that is to make me a cuckold?

Ay, but the clerk that never means to do it

unless he live to be a man.

Sweet doctor,

you shall be my bedfellow.

When I am absent, then lie with my wife.

How now, Lorenzo?

My clerk has some good comforts too

for you.

Ay, 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) Oh!

Fair ladies, you drop manna

in the way of starved people.

It is almost morning

and yet, I am sure you are not satisfied

with these events at full.

Let us go in.

And I will answer all things faithfully.

Well, let it be so.

The first inter'gatory

that my Nerissa shall be sworn on is

whether till the next night

she had rather stay or go to bed now,

being two hours today.

But were the day come,

I should wish it dark

till I were couching the doctor's clerk.

Well, while I live I'll fear no other thing

so sore as keeping safe Nerissa's ring.

(Giggling)

# The world was all before them

# Ah

# Where to choose their place of rest

# Ah

# And Providence their guide

# They hand in hand

# Took their wand'ring steps

# And slow

# Through Eden

# Took their solitary way

# Ah... #

# The ring is on my hand

# And the wreath is on my brow

# Satin and jewels grand

# Are all at my command

# And I am happy now

# And my lord, he loves me well

# But when first he breathed his vow

# I felt my bosom swell

# For the words rang as a knell

# And the voice seemed his who fell

# In the battle down the dell

# And who is happy now

# But he spoke to reassure me

# And he kissed my pallid brow

# While a reverie came o'er me

# And to the churchyard bore me

# And I sighed to him before me

# Thinking him dead D'Elormie

# "Oh, I am happy now!"

# Ah...

# And I am happy now

# And thus the words were spoken

# And this the plighted vow

# And though my faith be broken

# And though my heart be broken

# Here is a ring, as token

# That I am happy now

# Would God I could awaken

# For I dream I know not how

# And my soul is sorely shaken

# Lest an evil step be taken

# Lest the dead who is forsaken

# May not be happy now

# Ah... #

ENHOH:

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