Page 116 - William_Shakespeare_-_The_Merchant_of_Venice_191

To come along with him. 21

—Salerio I did, my lord,
22
And with good reason: Antonio sends° / good cause: Signor Antonio sends
An urgent message. 23

He gives Bassanio a letter

—Bassanio Ere I ope his letter / But before I read it
24
I pray you, tell me, how fairs my good friend?° {how my good friend doth?}

— Salerio
25 26
Not sick, my lord, but neither is he well.
His letter there will show you his condition.° 27 {show you his estate}

21. At this point, Bassanio is unaware that Lorenzo (and Jessica) stole away with Shylock’s money (and have since
been on the run). Portia knows nothing about Lorenzo, Jessica, nor anything of the events that have taken place in
Venice. For the sake of drama, we must compress the inevitable time gap: Jessica and Lorenzo stole Shylock’s
money on the night that Bassanio left for Belmont; Bassanio forgoing the offer to tarry ‘a day or two’ immediately
proceeded to his choice. This indicates that Bassanio left Venice no more than about two days ago, while several
weeks of action have passed since Lorenzo and Jessica left Venice. For instance, Tubal went out in search of them
in Genoa (which is some 200 miles distance from Venice). [See: Essays: Time Warp]
22. {And I have reason for it} Salerio does not offer any reason for it (for bringing along Lorenzo) since he could
have delivered the message without any help; in addition, we know why he entreated Lorenzo to come with him to
Belmont ‘past all saying nay.’ But what reasons might he have? It could be that Lorenzo was Bassanio’s good and
that Salerio—who was not such a friend, but only a messenger—was about to deliver some devastating news.
Hence, Salerio thought is would be helpful if Lorenzo, Bassanio’s good friend, were there to help comfort him.
Understanding the gravity of the matter, Salerio may have insisted that Lorenzo come because of Jessica, and
because he thought that she might be able to provide some help or shed some light on the situation (but this might be
crediting Salerio with deep insight into the matter). As it turns out, Jessica’s presence (not Lorenzo’s) proves
crucially important to the situation (and in Portia’s decision ot intervene).
23. {And I have reason for it: Signor Antonio | Commends him to you} / Sends you a message.
commends him to you: A familiar greeting, akin to ‘Sends his regards’ or ‘Asks that you remember him.’
The passage would support Salerio’s previous claim to having a ‘reason,’ if it had more import, such as:
‘Signor Antonio | Sends you an urgent message.’ This import could be imparted by adding the word ‘urgent.’
These extra syllables could be accommodated by deleting the two previous—somewhat superfluous— syllables, ‘for
it,’ or truncating Bassanio’s response (from five syllables to three).
/ And I have cause for it: Antonio sends | And urgent message.
/ And I have reason: for an urgent message | Comes from Antonio.
Sal.: / . . . | Sends you an urgent message. Bas: Ah, but first,
24. For dramatic purposes (and perhaps blinded by love) Bassanio is completely forgetful of the date that the bond
expires: he is asking about how Antonio is doing {how my good friend doth} rather than the fate of the bond. [See
Additional Notes, 3.2.231]
25. {Not sick, my lord, unless it be in mind; | Nor well, unless in mind.}
Salerio’s response is vague and elusive at best; Antonio is clearly in a desperate state and Salerio does not
want to be the one to report such bad news. His vague answer means something like: he is not sick in terms of body,
but sick if we are speaking about the state of his mind (i.e., he is worried, distraught, fearful, etc.); he is not well
unless in mind (unless he imagines it to be so; or, unless he is deranged enough to imagine himself to be well).
Clearly he is not well. The wordplay is on the word mind, which in the first instance refers to his mental condition
or state of mind and in the second refers to his imagination or use of mind. Some commentors, unable to make real
sense out of this passage, interpret {unless in mind} to mean: ‘unless his fortitude allows him to suffer his
misfortune’ (Kittredge); ‘unless he is comforted by fortitude’ (Brown)
26. Due to the vagueness of this unimportant passage it has herein been condensed into one line. If one desired to
bring clarity to this response, the lines could be expanded:
/ Not sick, unless we speak about his mind; / Not sick, my lord, in terms of his body;
/ Nor well, unless he imagine it so. / Nor well, if speaking of his mental state.
27. / His note will show the state of his affairs.