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A young and learnèd scholar° to our court. {doctor} / lawyer
Where is he?

71
—Nerissa He is waiting here, nearby° / outside
To know your answer, whether you’ll admit° him. / receive

—Duke
With all my heart. Some three or four of you,
Go give him courteous escort° to this place. 72 {conduct} / passage

Exeunt three or four

Meanwhile,° the court shall hear Bellario’s letter: {Meantime} > In the meantime

The Duke hands the letter to an officer of the court, who reads: 73

‘Your Grace shall understand, that at the receipt of your letter I was very ill,° but at the instant
that your messenger arrived, a young doctor of law from Rome, named Balthazar, was paying me
74
a kindly visit. I acquainted him with the case° in controversy between the Jew and Antonio,
75
the merchant. We turned o’er many books together. He is furnished with my opinion, which is
bettered with his own learning—the greatness of which I cannot enough commend. In response
76
to your grace’s request, I have importuned him to rule on this matter in my stead. I beseech you,
let not his lack of years bring a lack in your revered estimation of him, for I’ve never known so
young a body with so old a head. I leave him to your gracious acceptance, whose conduct° shall,
77 78
better than my words, disclose° his worthiness.°
Enter Portia as Balthazar, Doctor of Law, with others

You hear the learned Bellario, what he writes?
And here, I take it, is the doctor come.° / comes the young doctor

71. {He attendeth here hard by} / He doth eagerly await / He is eagerly awaiting
72. / With courteous intent, go bring him here.
73. Q1 offers no stage direction here; and since no character is designated to read the letter, most productions
simply have the Duke read it. However, it is more likely (and dramatically apt) that a court official read the letter
(which could be Salerio). Had the Duke said, ‘Meantime, I will read Bellario’s letter’ the direction for him to read
would be clear. The reference, however, to the court hearing Bellario’s letter, suggests that it be read by a court
official and not by the Duke.
74. {in loving visitation was with me a young doctor of Rome; his name is Balthazar} In the original, no visitation
was made between Portia and Bellario: Portia’s servant was sent to Bellario, who fetched clothes and books, and
who then gave them to Portia at the port where the ferry traveled to Venice. [See Additional Notes, 4.1.151]
75. This indicates that Bellario reviewed the matter and furnished Portia with his opinion—as opposed to simply
supplying her with the books.
76. [See Additional Note, 4.1.159]
77. {I leave him to your gracious acceptance, whose trial shall better publish his commendation.}
78. I was very ill: {I am very sick}
arrived: {came}
the case: {the cause} / matter
whose conduct: {whose trial} / evidence of his judgement / your test of him
disclose: {publish} / make known / reveal
worthiness: {commendation}