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.

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.

ANTONIO

No more than I am well acquitted of.

PORTIA

Sir, you are very welcome to our house.

It must appear in other ways than words,

Therefore I scant this breathing courtesy.

GRAZIANO (to Nerissa)

By yonder moon I swear you do me wrong.

In faith, I gave it to the judge’s clerk.

Would he were gelt that had it for my part,

Since you do take it, love, so much at heart.

PORTIA

A quarrel, ho, already! What’s the matter?

GRAZIANO

About a hoop of gold, a paltry ring

That she did give me, whose posy was

For all the world like cutlers’ 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,

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.

GRAZIANO

He will an if he live to be a man.

NERISSA

Ay, if a woman live to be a man.

GRAZIANO

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,

A prating boy that begged 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,

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

That the world masters. Now, in faith, Graziano,

You give your wife too unkind a cause of grief.

An ’twere to me, I should be mad at it.

BASSANIO (aside)

Why, I were best to cut my left hand off

And swear I lost the ring defending it.

GRAZIANO ⌈to Portia⌉

My lord Bassanio gave his ring away

Unto the judge that begged it, and indeed

Deserved it, too, and then the boy his clerk,

That took some pains in writing, he begged mine,

And neither man nor master would take aught

But the two rings.

PORTIA (to Bassanio) What ring gave you, my lord?

Not that, I hope, which you received of me.

BASSANIO

If I could add a lie unto a fault

I would deny it; but you see my finger

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.

NERISSA (to Graziano) Nor I in yours

Till I again see mine.

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,

And how unwillingly I left the ring

When naught 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,

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 pleased to have defended it

With any terms of zeal, wanted the modesty

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 my 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 deny him,

And suffered him to go displeased 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.

I was beset with shame and courtesy.

My honour would not let ingratitude

So much besmear it. Pardon me, good lady,

For by these blessèd candles of the night,

Had you been there I think you would have begged

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 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 my body nor my husband’s bed.

Know him I shall, I am well sure of it.

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 (to Graziano)