into court, and, by permiffion of the judge, endeavours to mollify the merchant. She firft offers him his money, and then the double of it, &c. to all which his answer is-Conventionem meam volo babere.-Puella, cum hoc audiffet, ait coram omnibus, Domine,mi judex, da rectum judicium fuper his quæ vobis dixero.-Vos fcitis quod miles nunquam fe obligabat ad aliud per literam nifi quod mercator habeat potekatem carnes ab offibus fcindere, fine fanguinis effufione, de quo nihil erat prolocutum. Statim mittat manum in eum; fi vero fanguinem effuderit, Rex contra eum actionem babet. Mercator, cum hoc audiffet, ait; date mihi pecuniam & omnem actionem ei remitto. Ait puella, Amen dico tibi, nullum denarium habebis-pone ergo manum in eum, ita ut fanguinem non effundas. Mercator vero videns fe confufum abfceffit; & fic vita militis falvata eft, & nullum denarium dedit.

The other incident, of the cafkets, is in ch. xcix of the fame collection. A king of Apulia fends his daughter to be married to the fon of an emperor of Rome. After fome adventures, (which are nothing to the prefent purpose,) she is brought before the emperor; who fays to her, "Puella, propter amorem filii mei multa adversa suftinuifti. Tamen fi digna fueris ut uxor ejus fis cito probabo. Et fecit fiera tria vafa. PRIMUM fuit de auro puriffimo & lapidibus pretiofis interius ex omni parte, & plenum offibus mortuorum; & exterius erat fubfcriptio; Qui me elegerit, in me inveniet quod meruit. SECUNDUM vas erat de argento puro & gemmis pretiofis, plenum terra; & exterius erat fubfcriptio: Qui me elegerit, in me inveniet quod natura appetit. TERTIUM vas de plumbo plenum lapidibus pretiofis interius & gemmis nobiliffimis; & exterius erat fubfcriptio talis: Qui me elegerit, in me inveniet quod deus difpofuit. Ifta tria oftendit puellæ, & dixit, fi unum ex iftis elegeris in quo commodum, & proficuum eft, filium meum habebis. Si vero elegeris quod nec tibi nec aliis eft commodum, ipfum non habebis." The young lady, after mature confideration of the veffels and their infcriptions, chufes the leaden, which being opened, and found to be full of gold and precious ftones, the emperor fays: " Bona puella, bene elegisti -ideo filium meum habebis.”

From this abstract of these two ftories, I think it appears fufficiently plain that they are the remote originals of the two incidents in this play. That of the caskets Shakspeare might take from the English Gefta Romanorum, as Dr. Farmer has obferved; and that of the bond might come to him from the Pecorone; but upon the whole I am rather inclined to fuspect, that he has followed fome hitherto unknown novelift, who had faved him the trouble of working up the two ftories into one. TYRWHITT.

This comedy, I believe, was written in the beginning of the year, 1598. Meres's book was not published till the end of that year, Sec An Attempt to afcertain the order of Shakspeare's plays. MALone.

PERSONS

Lorenzo, in love with Jeffica.

Shylock, a Jew:

Tubal, a Jew, his friend.

Launcelot Gobbo, a clown, fervant to Shylock.

Old Gobbo, father to Launcelot.

Salerio, a meffenger from Venice.

Leonardo, fervant to Baffanio.
Balthazar,

Stephano, Servants to Portia.

Portia, a rich heiress:

Neriffa, her waiting-maid.

Jeffica, daughter to Shylock.

Magnificoes of Venice, Officers of the Court of Justice, Jailer, Servants, and other Attendants.

SCENE, partly at Venice, and partly at Belmont, ske Seat of Portia, on the Continent.

2 In the old editions in quarto, for J. Roberts, 1600, and in the old folio, 1623, there is no enumeration of the perfons. It was first made by Mr. Rowe. JOHNSON.

3 It is not eafy to determine the orthography of this name. In the old editions the owner of it is called-Salanio, Salino, and Solanie. STEEVENS. 4 This character I have restored to the Perfonæ Dramatis. The name appears in the first folio: the defcription is taken from the quarto.

STEEVENS

ACT I. SCENE I
Venice. A Street.

Enter ANTONIO, SALARINO, and SALANIO.

Ant. In footh, I know not why I am so fad;
It wearies me; you fay, it wearies you;
But how I caught it, found it, or came by it,
What stuff 'tis made of, whereof it is born,
I am to learn ;

And fuch a want-wit fadnefs makes of me,
That I have much ado to know myself.

Salar. Your mind is toffing on the ocean;
There, where your argofiess with portly fail,-
Like figniors and rich burghers of the flood,
Or as it were the pageants of the fea,-
Do overpeer the petty traffickers,

That curt'fy to them, do them reverence,
As they fly by them with their woven wings.
Salan. Believe me, fir, had I fuch venture forth,
The better part of my affections would

Be with my hopes abroad. I fhould be fill
Plucking the grafs, to know were fits the wind;

Peering

3 A name given in our author's time to fhips of great burthen, probably galleons, fuch as the Spaniards now ufe in their Weft India trade. JOHNSON.

In Ricaut's Maxims of Turkifh Polity, ch. xiv. it is faid, "Those vaft earracks called argofies, which are fo much famed for the vaftnefs of their burthen and bulk, were corruptly fo denominated from Ragofies," ie. fhips of Ragufa, a city and territory on the gulph of Venice, tributary to the Porte. If my memory does not fait me, the Ragufans lent their haft great ship to the king of Spain for the Armada, and it was lost on the coaft of Ireland. Shakspeare, as Mr. Heath obferves, has given the name of Ragoxine to the pirate in Meafare for Measure. STEEVENS.

By holding up the grafs, or any light body that will bend by a gentle blaft, the direction of the wind is found,

Peering in maps, for ports, and piers, and roads;
And every object, that might make me fear
Misfortune to my ventures, out of doubt,
Would make me fad.

Salar.
My wind, cooling my broth,
Would blow me to an ague, when I thought
What harm a wind too great might do at fea.
I should not fee the fandy hour-glafs run,
But I fhould think of fhallows and of flats;
And fee my wealthy Andrew dock'd in fand,
Vailing her high-top lower than her ribs,&
To kifs her burial. Should I go to church,
And fee the holy edifice of ftone,

And not bethink me ftraight of dangerous rocks?
Which touching but my gentle veffel's fide,
Would scatter all her fpices on the stream;
Enrobe the roaring waters with my filks;
And, in a word, but even now worth this,
And now worth nothing? Shall I have the thought
To think on this; and fhall I lack the thought,
That fuch a thing, bechanc'd, would make me fad?
But, tell not me; I know, Antonio

Is fad to think upon his merchandize.

Ant. Believe me, no: I thank my fortune for it,
My ventures are not in one bottom trusted,
Nor to one place; nor is my whole estate
Upon the fortune of this prefent year:

Therefore, my merchandize makes me not fad.
Salan. Why then you are in love.

Ant.

Fie, fie!

Salan. Not in love neither? Then let's fay, you are fad, Because you are not merry: and 'twere as eafy For you, to laugh, and leap, and fay, you are merry,

Becaufe

"This way I used in footing. When I was in the myddle way betwixt the markes, which was an open place, there I toke a fetbere, or a lyttle graffe, and fo learned bore the wind flood." Afcham, JOHNSON.

7 The name of the ship. JOHNSON.

8 In Bullokar's English Expofitor, 1616, to vail, is thus explained: "It means to put off the bats to strike fail, to give fign of submission.'

STELVENG

Because you are not fad. Now, by two-headed Janus,9
Nature hath fram'd strange fellows in her time:
Some that will evermore peep through their eyes; 2
And laugh, like parrots, at a bag-piper;
And other of fuch vinegar afpéct,

That they'll not show their teeth in way of smile,3
Though Neftor swear the jest be laughable.

Enter BASSANIO, LORENZO, and GRATIANO.

Salan. Here comes Baffanio, your most noble kinsman, Gratiano, and Lorenzo: Fare you well;

We leave you now with better company.

Salar. I would have ftaid till I had made you merry,
If worthier friends had not prevented me.

Ant. Your worth is very dear in my regard.
I take it, your own business calls on you,
And you embrace the occafion to depart.
Salar Good morrow, my good lords.

Baff. Good figniors both, when shall we laugh? Say, when?

You grow exceeding ftrange; Muft it be fo?

Salar. We'll make our leifures to attend on yours.

[Exeunt SALARINO and SALANIO, Lor. My lord Baffanio, fince you have found Antonio,

We

9 Here Shakspeare fhews his knowledge in the antique. By trvo-beaded Janus is meant those antique bifrontine heads, which generally represent a young and fmiling face, together with an old and wrinkled one, being of Pan and Bacchus; of Saturn and Apollo, &c. The fe are not uncommon in collections of Antiques: and in the books of the antiquaries, as Montfaucon, Spanheim, &c. WARBURTON.

Here, fays Dr. Warburton, Shakspeare fhows his knowledge in the antique and fo does Taylor the water-poet, who defcribes Fortune, "Like a Janus with a double-face." FARMER.

2 This gives us a very picturefque image of the countenance in laughing, when the eyes appear half fhut. WARBURTON.

3 Becaufe fuch are apt enough to fhow their teeth in anger.

WARBURTON.

4 This fpeech [which by Mr. Rowe and fubfequent editors was allotted to Salanio,] is given to Lorenzo in the old copies; and Salaring and Salanio make their exit at the clofe of the preceding fpeech. Which is certainly right. Lorenzo (who, with Gratiano, had only accompan ed

Baffanio