Page 83 - William_Shakespeare_-_The_Merchant_of_Venice_191

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And so am I obligèd.° Fortune now / And thus have I so pledgèd
To my heart’s hope! Gold, silver, and base lead:
‘Who chooseth me must give and hazard all he hath.’ xxx
11 12
You must have greater beauty than mere lead
13 14
Ere I should° give or hazard all on you. / Before I
What says the golden chest? Ah,° let me see: {Ha}
‘Who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire.’
15 16
What ‘many men desire’ may indicate° / may but suggest / may refer to
The foolish multitudes° that choose by show. / ignorant masses
Not learning more than the fond eye doth teach° 17 / than what fond eye teaches
Which pries° not inwardly° but like the martlet 18 / looks / seeks {to the’interior}
Doth build its nest upon the outer wall
Therein exposing it to harsh conditions, 19
E’en at the risk° of hazard and disaster. 20 / And in the way
I will not chose what many men desire
22
21
Because I will not jump° with common sorts,° / move // common souls / commoners
And rank° me with° the barbarous multitudes. 23 / class / stand
Now then, to thee, thou silver treasure-house,
Tell me once more what title° thou dost bear:° / saying // inscription thou bear
‘Who chooseth me shall get as much as he deserves.’
And well said too! For who shall go about° / For what man shall attempt
To cozen° fortune by a show of honor 24 / To cheat one’s / Beguiling

10. {And so I have addressed me} / And I’ve attended to them / And thus I’ve taken the vows
addressed me: I have addressed (and fulfilled) these injunctions by taking the required vows.
11. / You must have greater value than mere lead
12. Arragon dismisses the lead casket in one line saying, you must look more beautiful before I would risk anything
upon you (‘ You shall look fairer ere I give or hazard’). In other words, he makes his decision based upon looks and
not consideration of the inscription. Then, ironically, the bulk of his speech is dedicated to condemning those who
judge by outer appearance and the ‘fool multitude that choose by show.’
13. / Before I should give or hazard on you
14. Previous two lines replace one line in the original: {You shall look fairer ere I give or hazard}
15. / And yet that ‘many’ may well indicate
16. The original reads: {What many men desire? That ‘many’ may be meant | By the fool multitudes}. The line is
competent enough but contains an additional (and superfluous iamb); it is unlikely that the learned Arragon would
stray from the standard meter where there was no reason to do so. The original most likely would have read: ‘What
many men desire’ may be meant—with Arragon referring back to the last portion of the inscription (‘what many men
desire’) rather than one word (‘many’). In this version, the standard meter has been preserved.
17. / Not seeing past the fondness of their eyes / Not seeing past what attracts their attention
fond eyes: that which is attractive to the eye and which appeals to the outer senses (and thereby lacking true inner
vision and wisdom)
18. {martlet}: a bird, probably referring to the house-martin or swift
19. / Exposing it to hazardous conditions
20. {Even in the force and road of casualty}
/ And well upon the highway to disaster / Which is the road unto harm and casualty / Putting itself in danger and in
harm’s way / E’en at the risk of injury and death / Subject to hazard, danger, and destruction
[See Additional Notes, 2.9.29]
21. / Because I won’t commune / Because I shalln’t conspire
22. {Because I will not jump with common spirits}
jump with: run the same course as, be in agreement with, be associated with, be allied with, etc.
23. / And be so ranked with the barbarous masses / And have me ranked with the ignorant hordes
24. / and to show one’s honor