Act V, Scene I - Page 2

The Merchant of Venice | Act V, Scene I - Page 2

PORTIA:: Let me give light, but let me not be light;
For a light wife doth make a heavy husband,
And never be Bassanio so for me:
But God sort all!—You are welcome home, my lord.

BASSANIO:: I thank you, madam: Give welcome to my friend.—(145)
This is the man, this is Antonio,
To whom I am so infinitely bound.

PORTIA:: You should in all sense be much bound to him.
For, as I hear, he was much bound for you.

PORTIA:: Sir, you are very welcome to our house:
It must appear in other ways than words,
Therefore, I scant this breathing courtesy.

GRATIANO:: By yonder moon, I swear you do me wrong;
In faith, I gave it to the judge's clerk:(155)
Would he were gelt that had it, for my part,
Since you do take it, love, so much at heart.

GRATIANO:: About a hoop of gold, a paltry ring
That she did give me; whose posy was(160)
For all the world, like cutler's poetry
Upon a knife, Love me, and leave me not!

NERISSA:: 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;(165)
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.(170)

GRATIANO:: 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;(175)
A prating boy, that begg'd it as a fee;
I could not for my heart deny it him.

PORTIA:: You were to blame, I must be plain with you,
To part so slightly with your wife's first gift;
A thing stuck on with oaths upon your finger,(180)
And so riveted with faith unto your flesh.
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(185)
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.

BASSANIO:: Why, I were best to cut my left hand off
And swear I lost the ring defending it.(190)

GRATIANO:: My Lord Bassanio gave his ring away
Unto the judge that begg'd it, and, indeed,
Deserv'd 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(195)
But the two rings.

PORTIA:: What ring gave you my lord?
Not that, I hope, which you receiv'd of me.

BASSANIO:: If I could add a lie unto a fault,
I would deny it; but you see, my finger(200)
Hath not the ring upon it, it is gone.

PORTIA:: Even so void is your false heart of truth.
By heaven, I will ne'er come in your bed
Until I see the ring.

BASSANIO:: 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,(210)
And how unwillingly I left the ring,
When nought would be accepted but the ring,
You would abate the strength of your displeasure.

PORTIA:: If you had known the virtue of the ring,
Or half her worthiness that gave the ring,(215)
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 pleas'd to have defended it
With any terms of zeal, wanted the modesty(220)
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.

BASSANIO:: No, by mine 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 displeas'd away;
Even he that had uphold the very life(225)
Of my dear friend. What should I say, sweet lady?
I was enforc'd to send it after him;
I was beset with shame and courtesy;
My honour would not let ingratitude
So much besmear it. Pardon me, good lady;(230)
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.

PORTIA:: Let not that doctor e'er come near my house:
Since he hath got the jewel that I lov'd,(235)
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:(240)
Lie not a night from home; watch me, like Argus;
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.

NERISSA:: And I his clerk; therefore be well advis'd(245)
How you do leave me to mine own protection.

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

BASSANIO:: 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,—

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