Page 182 - William_Shakespeare_-_The_Merchant_of_Venice_191

If you did know to whom I gave the ring,
If you did know for whom I gave the ring,
And would realize° for what I gave the ring, {conceive} // And think upon
And how unwillingly I left the ring,
When naught would be accepted but the ring, 84
You would abate° the strength of your displeasure. / appease // brunt

—Portia
If you had known the virtue° of the ring, / value
Or half her worthiness who gave the ring,
Or your own honor to keep safe° the ring, {contain}
You would not then have parted with the ring—
And it appears, you were not even pleased° / willing / bent / ‘clined / prompted
To defend it with any kind° of zeal. {terms} / show
What man is there so lacking in all reason,° {so much unreasonable}
So wont of modesty, as to demand° / so as to urge
85 86
A thing made sacred by a ceremony?
87
+I hear the praises° of this worthy judge / much praise
But now methinks° there is no judge at all!, / But seems the case
Nerissa, teaches me the right idea°: 88 {what to believe}
I’ll bet my life, some woman has° the ring. 89 {had} > was given

—Bassanio
No, by mine honor, madam, by my soul,
No woman has° it, but a civil lawyer° {had} > was given {doctor}
Who did refuse three thousand ducats from me,
And begged the ring, the which I did deny him,
And suffered him to go away displeased—
Even he who had saved° the very life {held up} / upheld
90
Of my dear friend. What should I say, sweet lady?
I was enforced to send it after him.

84. / When nothing would be had except the ring
85. {What man is there so unreasonable—
If you had pleased to have defended it if you had any desire to defend it (hold onto it)
With any terms of zeal—wanted the modesty lacked the modesty
To urge the thing° held as a ceremony?} insist on having something
> with but ceremonial value
86. What man is there so lacking in reason°— / bereft of all reason
Had you been pleased in so defending it° / If you had only desired (/wished) to defend it
With any kind of zeal—would so insist
On the thing with such sentimental value?
[See Additional Notes, 5.1.206]
87. /I keep on hearing praise of this good judge
88.{Nerissa teaches me what to believe:} / Nerissa, teaches me the right lesson:
89. {I’ll die for’t, but some woman had the ring!}
90. In a production where Shylock willingly puts down the knife (and it is made clear to the audience that he never
intended to kill Antonio) one might say that the civil doctor did not actually save Antonio’s life—but this is not what
Bassanio believes: he believes that the doctor’s intervention, and his long words used to try and dissuade Shylock, is
what convinced Shylock to forgive Antonio in the end. Thus, by this account, the doctor did save his friend’s life.