SCENE VII.
Belmont.
Enter Portia, with the Prince of Morocco, and both their trains.
Por.
Go, draw aside the curtains, and discover
The several caskets to this noble prince:—
Now make your choice.
Mor.
The first, of gold, who this inscription bears;—
Who chuseth me, shall gain what many men desire.
The second, silver, which this promise carries;—
Who chuseth me, shall get as much as he deserves.
This third, dull lead, with warning all as blunt3 note;—
Who chuseth me, must give and hazard all he hath. &lblank;
How shall I know if I do chuse the right?
Por.
The one of them contains my picture, prince;
If you chuse that, then I am yours withal.
Mor.
Some god direct my judgment! Let me see,
I will survey the inscriptions back again:
What says this leaden casket?
Who chuseth me, must give and hazard all he hath.
Must give—For what? for lead? hazard for lead?
This casket threatens: Men, that hazard all,
Do it in hope of fair advantages:
A golden mind stoops not to shows of dross;
I'll then nor give, nor hazard, ought for lead.
What says the silver, with her virgin hue?
Who chuseth me, shall get as much as he deserves.
As much as he deserves?—Pause there, Morocco,
And weigh thy value with an even hand:
If thou be'st rated by thy estimation,
Thou dost deserve enough; and yet enough
May not extend so far as to the lady;
And yet to be afeard of my deserving,
-- 175 --
Were but a weak disabling of myself.
As much as I deserve!—Why, that's the lady:
I do in birth deserve her, and in fortunes,
In graces, and in qualities of breeding;
But, more than these, in love I do deserve.
What if I stray'd no farther, but chose here?—
Let's see once more this saying grav'd in gold.
Who chuseth me, shall gain what many men desire.
Why, that's the lady; all the world desires her:
From the four corners of the earth they come,
To kiss this shrine, this mortal breathing saint.
The Hyrcanian deserts, and the vasty wilds
Of wide Arabia, are as thorough-fares now,
For princes to come view fair Portia:
The watry kingdom, whose ambitious head
Spits in the face of heaven, is no bar
To stop the foreign spirits; but they come,
As o'er a brook, to see fair Portia.
One of these three contains her heavenly picture.
I'st like, that lead contains her? 'Twere damnation,
To think so base a thought; it were too gross
To rib her cerecloth in the obscure grave.
Or shall I think, in silver she's immur'd,
Being ten times undervalu'd to try'd gold?
O sinful thought! Never so rich a gem
Was set in worse than gold. They have in England
A coin, that bears the figure of an angel
Stamped in gold; but that's insculp'd upon4 note
;
But here an angel in a golden bed
Lyes all within.—Deliver me the key;
Here do I chuse, and thrive I as I may!
Por.
There, take it, prince, and if my form lye there,
Then I am yours.
[Unlocking the gold casket.
-- 176 --
Mor.
O hell! what have we here?
A carrion death, within whose empty eye
There is a written scroll? I'll read the writing.
All that glisters is not gold;
Often have you heard that told:
Many a man his life hath sold,
But my outside to behold:
Gilded tombs do worms infold5 note
.
Had you been as wise as bold,
Young in limbs, in judgment old,
Your answer had not been inscrol'd6 note:
Fare you well; your suit is cold.
Mor.
Cold, indeed; and labour lost:
Then, farewel, heat; and, welcome, frost.—
Portia, adieu! I have too griev'd a heart
To take a tedious leave: thus losers part.
[Exit.
Por.
A gentle riddance:—Draw the curtains, go:—
Let all of his complexion chuse me so7 note.
[Exeunt.
-- 177 --
Samuel Johnson [1778], The plays of William Shakspeare. In ten volumes. With the corrections and illustrations of various commentators; to which are added notes by Samuel Johnson and George Steevens. The second edition, Revised and Augmented (Printed for C. Bathurst [and] W. Strahan [etc.], London) [word count] [S10901].
