The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated) (468 page)

Loves your lord greatly and is faithful to him.

I know you might be prouder of doing what comes

Natural to you if you knew this.

PORTIA

I never did repent for doing good,

Nor shall not now: for in companions

That do converse and waste the time together,

Whose souls do bear an equal yoke Of love,

There must be needs a like proportion

Of lineaments, of manners and of spirit;

Which makes me think that this Antonio,

Being the bosom lover of my lord,

Must needs be like my lord. If it be so,

How little is the cost I have bestow'd

In purchasing the semblance of my soul

From out the state of hellish misery!

This comes too near the praising of myself;

Therefore no more of it: hear other things.

Lorenzo, I commit into your hands

The husbandry and manage of my house

Until my lord's return: for mine own part,

I have toward heaven breathed a secret vow

To live in prayer and contemplation,

Only attended by Nerissa here,

Until her husband and my lord's return:

There is a monastery two miles off;

And there will we abide. I do desire you

Not to deny this imposition;

The which my love and some necessity

Now lays upon you.

I’ve never been sorry for doing good,

And I won’t be now. Friends

That talk and spend time together

Have souls that bear an equal amount of love.

They must be very much alike, and have the same sort

of chracteristics, manners and energy.

This makes me think that this Antonio,

Being such a close friend of my lord,

Must be very much like my lord. So, if that’s the case,

The money I’ve sent with him is a small amount

To free the one who is like my lover

Out of a hellish state!

But, I’m coming too close to praising myself,

So let’s talk of this no more. Let’s talk about other things.

Lorenzo, I’d like for you

To take over the care and management of my house

Until my lord comes back. As for me—

I have made a secret vow to heaven

To live in prayer and meditation

To be only accompanied my Nerissa

Until her husband and my lord come back.

There is a monastery about two miles away.

We will stay there. I hope you

Will not deny this request

Which my love and some need

Puts upon you.

LORENZO

Madam, with all my heart;

I shall obey you in all fair commands.

Madam, with all of my heart—

I will do whatever you wish.

PORTIA

My people do already know my mind,

And will acknowledge you and Jessica

In place of Lord Bassanio and myself.

And so farewell, till we shall meet again.

My servants already know about this

And will answer to you and Jessica

In place of Lord Bassanio and me.

So, goodbye, until we see each other again.

LORENZO

Fair thoughts and happy hours attend on you!

I hope you find peace of mind and happiness!

JESSICA

I wish your ladyship all heart's content.

I wish you all you hope for at this time.

PORTIA

I thank you for your wish, and am well pleased

To wish it back on you: fare you well Jessica.

Thanks you for the wish, and I’m happy

To wish the same back to you. Goodbye, Jessica. Take care.

Exeunt JESSICA and LORENZO

Now, Balthasar,

As I have ever found thee honest-true,

So let me find thee still. Take this same letter,

And use thou all the endeavour of a man

In speed to Padua: see thou render this

Into my cousin's hand, Doctor Bellario;

And, look, what notes and garments he doth give thee,

Bring them, I pray thee, with imagined speed

Unto the tranect, to the common ferry

Which trades to Venice. Waste no time in words,

But get thee gone: I shall be there before thee.

Now, Balthasar,

I have found you to be ever honest and true,

And I hope to find you that way, still. Take this letter,

And with as much speed as possible for a man

Get to Padua. Put this letter

Into my cousin’s—Dr. Bellario—hands.

Take whatever papers and clothes he gives to you

And bring them, please, as quickly as you can

To the ferry—the public ferry—

That goes to and from Venice. Don’t waste time talking,

Just get going. I will be there before you.

BALTHASAR

Madam, I go with all convenient speed.

Madam, I will go as fast as possible.

Exit

PORTIA

Come on, Nerissa; I have work in hand

That you yet know not of: we'll see our husbands

Before they think of us.

Come on, Nerissa, I have things in the works

You don’t know about yet. We’ll see our husbands

Before they even think of us.

NERISSA

Shall they see us?

Will they see us?

PORTIA

They shall, Nerissa; but in such a habit,

That they shall think we are accomplished

With that we lack. I'll hold thee any wager,

When we are both accoutred like young men,

I'll prove the prettier fellow of the two,

And wear my dagger with the braver grace,

And speak between the change of man and boy

With a reed voice, and turn two mincing steps

Into a manly stride, and speak of frays

Like a fine bragging youth, and tell quaint lies,

How honourable ladies sought my love,

Which I denying, they fell sick and died;

I could not do withal; then I'll repent,

And wish for all that, that I had not killed them;

And twenty of these puny lies I'll tell,

That men shall swear I have discontinued school

Above a twelvemonth. I have within my mind

A thousand raw tricks of these bragging Jacks,

Which I will practise.

They will see us, Nerissa, but we will be dressed

In a way that they will think we are

what we are not. I will bet you

That when we are both dressed like young men

I will be the handsomer of the two

And I will wear my sword with much more grace

And speak like just like an adolescent boy

With a squeaking voice, and my ladylike steps

Will become a manly stride. I’ll talk about frightening things

Like a fine bragging young man, and tell clever lies

About how honorable ladies wanted my love,

But when I wouldn’t give it to them, they fell sick and died

I could do nothing about it! Then, I’ll feel sorry

And wish that what I had done had not killed them.

I’ll tell twenty of these little lies.

And men will swear I just graduated from school

A year ago. I have in my head

A thousand of these sort of tricks for young men

That I will use.

NERISSA

Why, shall we turn to men?

Why will we turn into men?

PORTIA

Fie, what a question's that,

If thou wert near a lewd interpreter!

But come, I'll tell thee all my whole device

When I am in my coach, which stays for us

At the park gate; and therefore haste away,

For we must measure twenty miles to-day.

What sort of question is that!

As if you were an improper interviewer!

But, come on, I’ll tell you the whole plan

When we are in my coach which is waiting for us

At the park gate. We must hurry away.

We have to make at least twenty miles today.

Exeunt

Enter LAUNCELOT and JESSICA

LAUNCELOT

Yes, truly; for, look you, the sins of the father

are to be laid upon the children: therefore, I

promise ye, I fear you. I was always plain with

you, and so now I speak my agitation of the matter:

therefore be of good cheer, for truly I think you

are damned. There is but one hope in it that can do

you any good; and that is but a kind of bastard

hope neither.

Yes, it’s true. Look—the sins of fathers

Are paid for by their children. So, I

I worried for you. I’ve always been direct with

you and so I will say what is bothering me in this case:

Be happy, for I really think you are

going to hell. There is only one hope

for you, but that is a sort of illegitimate

hope.

JESSICA

And what hope is that, I pray thee?

Tell me, what hope is that?

LAUNCELOT

Marry, you may partly hope that your father got you

not, that you are not the Jew's daughter.

Well, you can hope that your father is not your father,

and that you are not the Jew’s daughter.

JESSICA

That were a kind of bastard hope, indeed: so the

sins of my mother should be visited upon me.

That would be an illegitimate hope, yes, and the

sins of my mother would be upon me in that case.

LAUNCELOT

Truly then I fear you are damned both by father and

mother: thus when I shun Scylla, your father, I

fall into Charybdis, your mother: well, you are

gone both ways.

Well, in that case, I’m afraid you will go to hell because of your father and

your mother. If you do not fall into one trap—your father—you

will fall into the other one—your mother. So, you are

a goner either way.

JESSICA

I shall be saved by my husband; he hath made me a

Christian.

I will be saved by my husband. He has made me a

Christian.