1    The moon shines bright: in such a night as this,
2    When the sweet wind did gently kiss the trees
3    And they did make no noise, in such a night
4    Troilus methinks mounted the Troyan walls
5    And sigh'd his soul toward the Grecian tents,
6    Where Cressid lay that night.

7    In such a night
8    Did Thisbe fearfully o'ertrip the dew
9    And saw the lion's shadow ere himself
10   And ran dismay'd away.

11   In such a night
12   Stood Dido with a willow in her hand
13   Upon the wild sea banks and waft her love
14   To come again to Carthage.

15   In such a night
16   Medea gather'd the enchanted herbs
17   That did renew old AEson.

18   In such a night
19   Did Jessica steal from the wealthy Jew
20   And with an unthrift love did run from Venice
21   As far as Belmont.

22   In such a night
23   Did young Lorenzo swear he loved her well,
24   Stealing her soul with many vows of faith
25   And ne'er a true one.

26   In such a night
27   Did pretty Jessica, like a little shrew,
28   Slander her love, and he forgave it her.

29   I would out-night you, did no body come;
30   But, hark, I hear the footing of a man.

31   Who comes so fast in silence of the night?

32   A friend.

33   A friend! what friend? your name, I pray you, friend?

34   Stephano is my name; and I bring word
35   My mistress will before the break of day
36   Be here at Belmont; she doth stray about
37   By holy crosses, where she kneels and prays
38   For happy wedlock hours.

39   Who comes with her?

40   None but a holy hermit and her maid.
41   I pray you, is my master yet return'd?

42   He is not, nor we have not heard from him.
43   But go we in, I pray thee, Jessica,
44   And ceremoniously let us prepare
45   Some welcome for the mistress of the house.

46   Sola, sola! wo ha, ho! sola, sola!

47   Who calls?

48   Sola! did you see Master Lorenzo?
49   Master Lorenzo, sola, sola!

50   Leave hollaing, man: here.

51   Sola! where? where?

52   Here.

53   Tell him there's a post come from my master, with
54   his horn full of good news: my master will be here
55   ere morning.

56   Sweet soul, let's in, and there expect their coming.
57   And yet no matter: why should we go in?
58   My friend Stephano, signify, I pray you,
59   Within the house, your mistress is at hand;
60   And bring your music forth into the air.
Exit Stephano
61   How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank!
62   Here will we sit and let the sounds of music
63   Creep in our ears: soft stillness and the night
64   Become the touches of sweet harmony.
65   Sit, Jessica. Look how the floor of heaven
66   Is thick inlaid with patines of bright gold:
67   There's not the smallest orb which thou behold'st
68   But in his motion like an angel sings,
69   Still quiring to the young-eyed cherubins;
70   Such harmony is in immortal souls;
71   But whilst this muddy vesture of decay
72   Doth grossly close it in, we cannot hear it.
Enter Musicians
73   Come, ho! and wake Diana with a hymn!
74   With sweetest touches pierce your mistress' ear,
75   And draw her home with music.

76   I am never merry when I hear sweet music.

77   The reason is, your spirits are attentive:
78   For do but note a wild and wanton herd,
79   Or race of youthful and unhandled colts,
80   Fetching mad bounds, bellowing and neighing loud,
81   Which is the hot condition of their blood;
82   If they but hear perchance a trumpet sound,
83   Or any air of music touch their ears,
84   You shall perceive them make a mutual stand,
85   Their savage eyes turn'd to a modest gaze
86   By the sweet power of music: therefore the poet
87   Did feign that Orpheus drew trees, stones and floods;
88   Since nought so stockish, hard and full of rage,
89   But music for the time doth change his nature.
90   The man that hath no music in himself,
91   Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds,
92   Is fit for treasons, stratagems and spoils;
93   The motions of his spirit are dull as night
94   And his affections dark as Erebus:
95   Let no such man be trusted. Mark the music.

96   That light we see is burning in my hall.
97   How far that little candle throws his beams!
98   So shines a good deed in a naughty world.

99   When the moon shone, we did not see the candle.

100  So doth the greater glory dim the less:
101  A substitute shines brightly as a king
102  Unto the king be by, and then his state
103  Empties itself, as doth an inland brook
104  Into the main of waters. Music! hark!

105  It is your music, madam, of the house.

106  Nothing is good, I see, without respect:
107  Methinks it sounds much sweeter than by day.

108  Silence bestows that virtue on it, madam.

109  The crow doth sing as sweetly as the lark,
110  When neither is attended, and I think
111  The nightingale, if she should sing by day,
112  When every goose is cackling, would be thought
113  No better a musician than the wren.
114  How many things by season season'd are
115  To their right praise and true perfection!
116  Peace, ho! the moon sleeps with Endymion
117  And would not be awaked.

118  That is the voice,
119  Or I am much deceived, of Portia.

120  He knows me as the blind man knows the cuckoo,
121  By the bad voice.

122  Dear lady, welcome home.

123  We have been praying for our husbands' healths,
124  Which speed, we hope, the better for our words.
125  Are they return'd?

126  Madam, they are not yet;
127  But there is come a messenger before,
128  To signify their coming.

129  Go in, Nerissa;
130  Give order to my servants that they take
131  No note at all of our being absent hence;
132  Nor you, Lorenzo; Jessica, nor you.

133  Your husband is at hand; I hear his trumpet:
134  We are no tell-tales, madam; fear you not.

135  This night methinks is but the daylight sick;
136  It looks a little paler: 'tis a day,
137  Such as the day is when the sun is hid.

138  We should hold day with the Antipodes,
139  If you would walk in absence of the sun.

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

144  I thank you, madam. Give welcome to my friend.
145  This is the man, this is Antonio,
146  To whom I am so infinitely bound.

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

149  No more than I am well acquitted of.

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

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

157  A quarrel, ho, already! what's the matter?

158  About a hoop of gold, a paltry ring
159  That she did give me, whose posy was
160  For all the world like cutler's poetry
161  Upon a knife, 'Love me, and leave me not.'

162  What talk you of the posy or the value?
163  You swore to me, when I did give it you,
164  That you would wear it till your hour of death
165  And that it should lie with you in your grave:
166  Though not for me, yet for your vehement oaths,
167  You should have been respective and have kept it.
168  Gave it a judge's clerk! no, God's my judge,
169  The clerk will ne'er wear hair on's face that had it.

170  He will, an if he live to be a man.

171  Ay, if a woman live to be a man.

172  Now, by this hand, I gave it to a youth,
173  A kind of boy, a little scrubbed boy,
174  No higher than thyself; the judge's clerk,
175  A prating boy, that begg'd it as a fee:
176  I could not for my heart deny it him.

177  You were to blame, I must be plain with you,
178  To part so slightly with your wife's first gift:
179  A thing stuck on with oaths upon your finger
180  And so riveted with faith unto your flesh.
181  I gave my love a ring and made him swear
182  Never to part with it; and here he stands;
183  I dare be sworn for him he would not leave it
184  Nor pluck it from his finger, for the wealth
185  That the world masters. Now, in faith, Gratiano,
186  You give your wife too unkind a cause of grief:
187  An 'twere to me, I should be mad at it.

Aside
188   Why, I were best to cut my left hand off
189  And swear I lost the ring defending it.

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

196  What ring gave you my lord?
197  Not that, I hope, which you received of me.

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

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

204  Nor I in yours
205  Till I again see mine.

206  Sweet Portia,
207  If you did know to whom I gave the ring,
208  If you did know for whom I gave the ring
209  And would conceive for what I gave the ring
210  And how unwillingly I left the ring,
211  When nought would be accepted but the ring,
212  You would abate the strength of your displeasure.

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

223  No, by my honour, madam, by my soul,
224  No woman had it, but a civil doctor,
225  Which did refuse three thousand ducats of me
226  And begg'd the ring; the which I did deny him
227  And suffer'd him to go displeased away;
228  Even he that did uphold the very life
229  Of my dear friend. What should I say, sweet lady?
230  I was enforced to send it after him;
231  I was beset with shame and courtesy;
232  My honour would not let ingratitude
233  So much besmear it. Pardon me, good lady;
234  For, by these blessed candles of the night,
235  Had you been there, I think you would have begg'd
236  The ring of me to give the worthy doctor.

237  Let not that doctor e'er come near my house:
238  Since he hath got the jewel that I loved,
239  And that which you did swear to keep for me,
240  I will become as liberal as you;
241  I'll not deny him any thing I have,
242  No, not my body nor my husband's bed:
243  Know him I shall, I am well sure of it:
244  Lie not a night from home; watch me like Argus:
245  If you do not, if I be left alone,
246  Now, by mine honour, which is yet mine own,
247  I'll have that doctor for my bedfellow.

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

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

252  I am the unhappy subject of these quarrels.

253  Sir, grieve not you; you are welcome notwithstanding.

254  Portia, forgive me this enforced wrong;
255  And, in the hearing of these many friends,
256  I swear to thee, even by thine own fair eyes,
257  Wherein I see myself--

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

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

265  I once did lend my body for his wealth;
266  Which, but for him that had your husband's ring,
267  Had quite miscarried: I dare be bound again,
268  My soul upon the forfeit, that your lord
269  Will never more break faith advisedly.

270  Then you shall be his surety. Give him this
271  And bid him keep it better than the other.

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

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

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

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

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

282  Speak not so grossly. You are all amazed:
283  Here is a letter; read it at your leisure;
284  It comes from Padua, from Bellario:
285  There you shall find that Portia was the doctor,
286  Nerissa there her clerk: Lorenzo here
287  Shall witness I set forth as soon as you
288  And even but now return'd; I have not yet
289  Enter'd my house. Antonio, you are welcome;
290  And I have better news in store for you
291  Than you expect: unseal this letter soon;
292  There you shall find three of your argosies
293  Are richly come to harbour suddenly:
294  You shall not know by what strange accident
295  I chanced on this letter.

296  I am dumb.

297  Were you the doctor and I knew you not?

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

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

301  Sweet doctor, you shall be my bed-fellow:
302  When I am absent, then lie with my wife.

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

306  How now, Lorenzo!
307  My clerk hath some good comforts too for you.

308  Ay, and I'll give them him without a fee.
309  There do I give to you and Jessica,
310  From the rich Jew, a special deed of gift,
311  After his death, of all he dies possess'd of.

312  Fair ladies, you drop manna in the way
313  Of starved people.

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

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