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hold all the worshipers, and poor men’s cottages +would be as, princely palaces +from all that
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was given in charity,. It is a good preacher who follows his own sermon. I could easier teach
twenty others what were good to be done than to be one of the twenty to follow mine own
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teaching. The brain may devise° laws to control one’s passion,° but hot desire leaps o’er a
cold decree. Such a hare is folly°—the youth—that skips o’er the traps° of good counsel—the
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cripple. But such insight is not going to find me a husband of my choosing. O me, the word,
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choose: I may neither chose whom I would,° nor refuse whom I dislike. So is the will of a
living daughter curbed by the will of a dead father. Is it not hard, Nerissa, that there is none I can
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chose, nor none I can refuse?
—Nerissa
Your father was ever virtuous,° and holy men nearing death have good inspirations.° Therefore,
the lott’ry° that he hath devised in these three chests of gold, silver, and lead, wherein the one
who chooses the right chest,° by its inscription, chooses you, will no doubt, never be chosen
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rightly by one whom you shall not rightly love. But what warmth is there in your affection

12. / . . . to jhold all the worshipersk chapels would become churches; jas result of all those who gave in charityk poor
men’s cottages would become princes’ palaces. [See Additional Notes, 1.2.25]
The images of this passage could be interpreted metaphorically (as opposed to literally). Hence: If to do
good were as easy as to know what were good to do, then everyone would do good (and practice what they preach);
by such truthful and honest actions, a meager person (a chapel) would become a person of great spiritual standing (a
church) and a poor person (living in a poor man’s cottage) would become princely (living in a princely palace).
13. {It is a good divine that follows his own instruction}
14. {a hot temper} / rash impulses / heated passion
15. {such a hare is madness, the youth, to skip over the meshes of good counsel, the cripple}
/ Such a rabbit is rashness, the youth, which jumps over the traps of good counsel, the cripple.
/ The rashness of youth is such a hare, that jumps over good counsel like a netted trap.
16. {But this reasoning is not in the fashion to choose me a husband}
/ But all this philosophy is not of any use in my choosing a husband.
not in the fashion: of no use (in helping me chose a husband according to my wishes); not the way I am allowed
to choose a husband. In sum, there is nothing Portia can to do chose a husband, it all depends upon the test that her
father devised. All of her wisdom, charm, and reasoning is of no use (not in the fashion) in helping her choose a
husband—because the chose is not her own.
17. {I may neither choose who I would, nor refuse who I dislike}
/ I may neither choose whom I want, nor refuse whom I don’t want
18. {that I cannot chose one nor refuse none?}
I cannot choose: Portia is powerlessness; she cannot choose; she is bound by her father’s conditions and
yet—unlike the submissive fairy-tale princess—she is complaining about these fairy-tale conditions in a real way,
secretly wishing there was something she could do to alter the situation. [See Additional Notes, 1.2.26]
19. chapels would be: {chapels had been}
+from all that was given in charity,: / because of the great sums given in charity / from all that were given to
the needy
devise: / come up with / think up / contrive / produce / invent
to control one’s passion: {for the blood} / to keep the emotions in check
that skips o’er the traps: {to skip o’er the meshes} / jumps o’er the netted traps
philosophy: {reasoning} / philosophizing / logic
not in fashion: / not of any use I would: / I like none: / the other
20. {whereof who chooses his meaning chooses you; will, no doubt, never be chosen by any rightly but one who you
shall love rightly.} / Whereof, the one who chooses the right chest, in accordance with the meaning of its inscription,
wins you.
his meaning: your father’s meaning—i.e., the right chest, according to the meaning of its inscription.
meaning: the right chest according to the inscription on it
Nerissa is saying that the one who chooses the right chest (and wins Portia) will be one whom Portia rightly
loves (and not necessarily the one who rightly loves Portia). Hence, the outcome of the lottery would be the same as
if Portia had made her own choice—as she would chose herself a husband whom she rightly loved. So, the intent of
the lottery is to deliver to Portia a man whom she truly loves—based upon the premise that she cannot make the
choice through her own wits. Here Nerissa is assuring Portia of a positive and desired outcome of the lottery-contest
in obeisance to her father’s wisdom—yet, it appears, that neither Portia nor Nerissa have real faith in this method.