The Merchant of Venice Act 2 Scene 8
Venice. A street.
The Original
Plain Modern English
Enter Salarino and Solanio.
Salarino
Why, man, I saw Bassanio under sail;
With him is Gratiano gone along;
And in their ship I am sure Lorenzo is not.
Salarino
Man, I saw Bassanio under sail myself.
Gratiano has gone with him,
and I'm certain Lorenzo isn't on their ship.
Solanio
The villain Jew with outcries raised the Duke,
Who went with him to search Bassanio's ship.
Solanio
That villain of a Jew roused the Duke with his shouting,
and the Duke went with him to search Bassanio's ship.
Salarino
He came too late; the ship was under sail.
But there the Duke was given to understand
That in a gondola were seen together
Lorenzo and his amorous Jessica.
Besides, Antonio certified the Duke
They were not with Bassanio in his ship.
Salarino
He came too late — the ship had sailed.
But the Duke was told there
that Lorenzo and his loving Jessica
had been seen together in a gondola.
Besides, Antonio assured the Duke
they weren't aboard Bassanio's ship.
Solanio
I never heard a passion so confused,
So strange, outrageous, and so variable
As the dog Jew did utter in the streets.
"My daughter, O my ducats, O my daughter!
Fled with a Christian! O my Christian ducats!
Justice, the law, my ducats, and my daughter,
A sealèd bag, two sealèd bags of ducats,
Of double ducats, stol'n from me by my daughter,
And jewels—two stones, two rich and precious stones—
Stol'n by my daughter! Justice! Find the girl!
She hath the stones upon her, and the ducats."
Solanio
I never heard an outburst so muddled,
so strange, so outrageous, so all over the place,
as the one that dog of a Jew let out in the street.
'My daughter! Oh, my ducats! Oh, my daughter!
Run off with a Christian! Oh, my Christian ducats!
Justice! The law! My ducats and my daughter!
A sealed bag — two sealed bags of ducats,
double ducats, stolen from me by my own daughter!
And jewels — two stones, two rich and precious stones —
stolen by my daughter! Justice! Find the girl!
She has the stones on her, and the ducats.' (This is Solanio doing an impression. Shylock is not in the scene and we never hear him say any of it — the most quoted speech in the play is a hostile witness performing a man for the amusement of a friend.)
Salarino
Why, all the boys in Venice follow him,
Crying "His stones, his daughter, and his ducats."
Salarino
And all the boys in Venice trail after him,
shouting 'His stones, his daughter and his ducats!' (The impression has become a street chant, and the children have found the extra joke in it: 'stones' also meant testicles.)
Solanio
Let good Antonio look he keep his day,
Or he shall pay for this.
Solanio
Good Antonio had better keep to his date,
or he'll pay for all this.
Salarino
Marry, well remembered.
I reasoned with a Frenchman yesterday
Who told me, in the Narrow Seas that part
The French and English, there miscarrièd
A vessel of our country richly fraught.
I thought upon Antonio when he told me,
And wished in silence that it were not his.
Salarino
Now there's a thought.
I was talking with a Frenchman yesterday
who told me that in the narrow sea between
France and England, a ship of ours
went down with a rich cargo.
I thought of Antonio when he said it,
and silently hoped it wasn't one of his.
Solanio
You were best to tell Antonio what you hear—
Yet do not suddenly, for it may grieve him.
Solanio
You'd better tell Antonio what you've heard —
but not all at once, because it may distress him.
Salarino
A kinder gentleman treads not the Earth.
I saw Bassanio and Antonio part.
Bassanio told him he would make some speed
Of his return. He answered "Do not so.
Slubber not business for my sake, Bassanio,
But stay the very riping of the time;
And for the Jew's bond which he hath of me,
Let it not enter in your mind of love.
Be merry, and employ your chiefest thoughts
To courtship and such fair ostents of love
As shall conveniently become you there."
And even there, his eye being big with tears,
Turning his face, he put his hand behind him,
And with affection wondrous sensible
He wrung Bassanio's hand—and so they parted.
Salarino
There isn't a kinder gentleman walking the earth.
I watched Bassanio and Antonio say goodbye.
Bassanio told him he'd hurry
his return. Antonio answered, 'Don't.
Don't botch your business for my sake, Bassanio,
but wait for things to ripen properly.
And as for the Jew's bond that he holds against me,
don't let it into your mind while you're courting.
Be cheerful, and give your best attention
to wooing, and whatever shows of love
will suit you properly there.'
And at that moment, his eyes filling with tears,
he turned his face away and reached his hand back,
and with a tenderness you could feel across the quay
he gripped Bassanio's hand — and so they parted.
Solanio
I think he only loves the world for him.
I pray thee, let us go and find him out
And quicken his embracèd heaviness
With some delight or other.
Solanio
I think the world only matters to him because Bassanio is in it. (Said by a friend, in passing, as the plainest description of Antonio anyone offers. It also answers the question the play opened with and never resolved: why he is sad.)
Come on — let's go and find him,
and lift the gloom he's wrapped himself in
with some entertainment or other.
Salarino
Do we so.
Salarino
Let's do that.
They exit.