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Exit Arragon and his attendants

—Portia
50
One more° moth into the flame. / Another / Flies the
51
O, these high-minded° fools when they do choose, {deliberate}
They have the wisdom by their wits to lose.

—Nerissa
The ancient saying is still true of late: / to date / and straight
Hanging and wiving are compelled by fate.° 52 / obliged by / outcomes of / fortunes of

—Portia
Come, draw the curtain, Nerissa.

Enter a Messenger

[—Messenger
Where is my lady?

—Portia
Here. What would my lord? ] 53

—Messenger
Madam, there is alighted at your gate
A young Venetian, one who has arrived° {comes before}/ who comes in advance
54
To indicate° the approach° of his lord, {To signify} / Thus announce // th’arrival
55
From whom he bringeth bounteous° off’rings, / numerous
That is to say° (besides his courteous words) 56 > {To wit}

50. {Thus hath the candle singed the moth}
51. deliberate: deliberating, calculating, over-thinking. This term suggests a reliance on the mind as opposed to the
heart. Portia, however, is thankful for this deliberation since it leads such suitors into making the wrong choice.
52. {The ancient saying is no heresy: | Hanging and wiving goes by destiny}
/ The ancient saying is a verity / is a truth I see
/ The ancient saying is not one of° hearsay: | Hanging and wiving go by fate I dear say / found on
/ The ancient saying holds true even now: | Hanging and wiving are fated somehow
53. my lord: Portia is using this term playfully as it would never be used in reference to a messenger. She is playing
on the use of the term my lady, suggesting by her playful, my lord, that she does not hold the rank of a lady. This
line {Where is my lady? || Here my lord}, however, is suspect, both in the messenger’s superfluous question, and
Portia askew response.. Thus, this line could be deleted without any loss.
54. {th’approaching}/ th’arrival / the coming
55. {From whom he bringeth sensible regreets} / From whom he bringeth bounding compliments / From whom he
brings abounding (/abundant) salutations.
sensible: evident to the senses, abundant
regreets: a) salutations, greetings, compliments, b) gifts
Sensible regreets would usually be interpreted as ‘abundant greetings,’ yet with the modifier (‘Gifts of great value’)
the expression would suggest, ‘a lot of gifts’—and gifts of great value.
56. {To wit, besides commends and courteous breath}
to wit: namely, that is to say
/ That is—besides his words of lavish praise— / That is to say—besides great compliments— / That is to
say—besides his courteous words— / To wit (besides abounding compliments) / To wit (besides his courteous