excellent fish to enter (initiate) a young angler, being easy to be taken." On the adjective use of fool, cf. "fool multitude," ii 9. 25 below.

108. Moe. More. See A. Y. L. p. 176.

110. For this gear. For this purpose, or matter; an expression some times used, as here, without very definite meaning.

116. You shall seek all day. Shall and should are often used in all three persons, by the Elizabethan writers, to denote mere futurity. See Gr. 315, 322 fol.

124. By something showing. This adverbial use of something (=some. what), which occurs twice in this speech, is common in S. Gr. 68.

More swelling port. Grander state. Cf. "greatest port," iii. 2. 283 below, and "keep house, and port, and servants," T. of S. i. 1. 208.

125. Would grant continuance. That is, continuance of. Such ellipsis is common in the Elizabethan writers. Cf. ii. 6. 9 and iv. 1. 380 below; and see Gr. 394 (cf. 202).

126. Make moan to be abridg'd. "Complain that I am curtailed." Cf. "made moan to me," iii. 3. 23 below.

130. Gag'd. Engaged, bound.

keep An oath," etc.

136. Still. See on 17 above.

Cf. T. and C. v. 1. 46: "gaging me to

137. Within the eye of honour. Within the range of what can be viewed (or regarded) as honourable.

139. Occasions.

Needs; here a quadrisyllable. See on 8 above. 141. Flight. A technical term to denote the range of an arrow. Wr. quotes Ascham's Toxophilus: "You must have divers shafts of one flight, feathered with divers wings, for divers winds."

142. More advised. More careful. See Rich. II. i. 3. 188: "advised purpose," that is, deliberate purpose. Cf. the modern use of unadvised. 143. To find the other forth. To find the other out. Cf. "to find his fellow forth," C. of E. i. 2. 37; and "inquire you forth," T. G. of V. ii. 4. 186. 144. Childhood proof. Experiment of my childhood.

146. Like a wilful youth. Elliptical for "like what will happen with a wilful (that is, wilful in his prodigality) youth." For wilful Warb. reads "witless," and the Coll. MS. "wasteful."

148. That self way. That same way. Cf. "this self place," 3 Hen. VI. iii. I. II; "that self mould, Rich. II. i. 2. 23, etc. This use of self is found before Chaucer (“self lond," Robt. of Glouc., A.D. 1298); and even so late a writer as Dryden has "at that self moment."

154. Circumstance. Circumlocution; as in Ham. i. 5. 127, C. of E. v. 1. 28, Oth. i. I. 13, etc.

156. In making question, etc. "In doubting my readiness to do my utmost in your service" (Wr.).

160. Prest. Ready; the old French prest (now prêt), Italian and Spanish presto, from Latin adv. præsto, through the late Latin præstus. Cf. Per. iv. prol. 45.

161. Richly left. Cf. "those rich-left heirs," Cymb. iv. 2. 226.

163. Sometimes. In time past, formerly. Sometimes and sometime are used interchangeably by S. in this and their other senses. Cf. also Col. i. 21, iii. 7 with Eph. ii. 13.

See Gr. 68a.

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165. Nothing undervalued. Nowise inferior. Cf. ii. 7. 53 below. 166. Brutus Portia. See Julius Cæsar, in which this woman well reputed, Cato's daughter," is a prominent character.

170. Like a golden fleece, etc. The Argonautic expedition is alluded to again, iii. 2. 243 below: "We are the Jasons, we have won the fleece." 175. I have a mind presages. That is, which presages. This omission of the relative was very common in S.'s time. Cf. M. for M. ii. 2. 34: "I have a brother is condemned to die;" W. T. v. 1. 23: "You are one of those Would have him wed again." In modern usage, the objective is sometimes omitted, but the nominative very rarely. Gr. 244.

Thrift. Success. Cf. "well-won thrift" and "thrift is blessing,” i. 3. 44, 80 below.

178. Commodity. Property. In iii. 3. 27 below the word is used in the obsolete sense of advantage or gain. Cf. W. T. iii. 2. 94: “To me can life be no commodity;" Lear, iv. I. 23: "our mere defects Prove our commodities," etc.

183. Presently. Immediately. Cf. Temp. iv. 1. 42: "Ariel. Presently? Prospero. Ay, with a twink;" and again, v. I. 101: "Prospero. And presently, I prithee. Ariel. I drink the air before me, and return Or ere your pulse beat twice;" T. G. of V. ii. 7. 89: “Come, answer not, but to it presently!" See also 1 Sam. ii. 16, and Matt. xxvi. 53.

185. To have it of my trust, etc. Of obtaining it either on my credit as a merchant, or as a personal favour.

Note the rhyme in the last couplet, as often at the close of a scene.

SCENE II.-1. Aweary. Cf. M. N. D. v. 1. 255, Macb. v. 5. 49, etc. 6. It is no mean happiness. So in the quartos. The folios have "no small happiness." The repetition is in Shakespeare's manner.

Gr. 406.

18. But this reasoning is not in the fashion. The 1st folio has, "But this reason is not in fashion;" and below, "It is not hard" for "Is it not hard." 23. Nor refuse none. For the double negative, cf. K. John, v. 7. 112: "This England never did, nor never shall," etc. 28. But one who you shall rightly love. Who is the object, not the subject, of love, as appears from the question which follows: What affection have you for any of the suitors that are already come? Who for whom is not unusual in the writers of the time. Cf. ii. 6. 30 below. Gr. 274. 30. Are already come. On are come (=have come), see Gr. 295. 33. Level at. Aim at, guess. Cf. 2 Hen. IV. iii. 2. 286: "the foeman may with as great aim level at the edge of a penknife." The noun is used in the same way, as in Hen. VIII. i. 2. 2: "I stood i' the level of a full-charg'd confederacy."

36. Makes it a great appropriation, etc. That is, takes great credit to himself for it. S. nowhere else uses either appropriation or appropriate. 38. Then is there the County Palatine. The folio has it, "Than is there the Countie Palentine." Than and then are different forms of the same word, used interchangeably by old writers.. Cf. R. of L. 1440. For county =count, see R. and J. (where it occurs eleven times), A. W. iii. 7. 22, etc. 40. An you will not. The folio has And you." And or an for if is very common in old writers, as well as and if or an if. See Gr. 105.

41. The weeping philosopher. Heracleitus, of Ephesus, who, from his melancholy disposition, is represented in various old traditions as the contrast to Democritus ("the laughing philosopher"), weeping over the frailties and follies at which the latter laughed.

43. I had rather to be married. Had rather and had better are good English, though many writers of grammars tell us that we should say would rather, etc., instead. Cf. A. Y. L. p. 158. In Rich. II. iii. 3. 192, we find the impersonal form, "me rather had." See Gr. 230. Rather is the comparative of rath (see Milton, Lycidas: "the rath primrose "), and is often found in the old writers in the sense of earlier, sooner. Thus Spenser, Shep. Kal. Feb., speaks of "the rather lambes." The to is omitted by the quartos and many modern editors, but it is found in the folio. Cf. Oth. i. 3. 191: "I had rather to adopt a child," etc. For to with the infinitive, and examples of its use by S. where it would now be omitted, and its omission where it would now be used, see Gr. 349 fol.

46. How say you by, etc. By here, as not unfrequently about or concerning. Cf. ii. 9. 25: "may be meant by the fool multitude." So Latimer (Serm.): "How think you by the ceremonies," etc. So in 1 Cor. iv. 4, “I know nothing by myself," that is, am conscious of nothing (of guilt) concerning (or against) myself. Gr. 145. For "Monsieur le Bon" the early eds. have "Mounsier Le Boune."

52. Throstle. Pope's emendation for the "trassell" of the quartos and Ist folio. The other folios have "tarssell" or "tassell."

A-capering. See Gr. 24.

62. A proper man's picture. A proper man is a man as he should be " (Craik); often, a handsome man. S. uses properer (R. and J. ii. 4. 217) and properest (Much Ado, v. 1. 174) in the same sense. Improper (= unbecoming) he uses but once (Lear, v. 3. 221).

64. Suited. Dressed. Cf. "richly suited," A. W. i. 1. 170, and Milton's "civil-suited morn" (Il Pens.).

Doublet. "The doublet (so called from being originally lined or wadded for defence) was a close-fitting coat, with skirts reaching a little below the girdle." The "round hose were coverings for the legs, not the feet "trowsers or breeches, reaching to the knee." The phrase "doub let and hose," as equivalent to "coat and breeches," occurs often in S. See M. W. iii. 3. 35, Much Ado, v. 1. 203, A. Y. L. iii. 2. 206, 232, etc. "French hose "" are referred to in Macb. ii. 3. 16 and Hen. V. iii. 7. 56. Bonnet, originally the name of a stuff, came to be applied to the man's cap made of it, as it still is in Scottish.

67. The Scottish lord. The Scottish of the quartos, printed before the accession of James I., was changed to other in the folio of 1623, to avoid giving offence to that monarch. Warb. sees in this passage an allusion to the "constant promises of assistance that the French gave the Scots in their quarrels with the English."

71. Sealed under for another. Became surety for another box on the ear. 74. Vilely. Vildly or vildely in the early eds., as almost always. 80. You should refuse. For the should, see Gr. 322.

90. Some other sort. Some other way; or perhaps sort may be =lot, as W. suggests. Cf. "draw the sort," T. and C. i. 3. 376. Imposition =

=con

dition imposed. In iii. 4. 33 the word is used again in this literal sense of something "laid upon one as a burden or duty.

92. Sibylla. Here used as a proper name, like "Sibyl" in T. of S. i. 2. 70. So Bacon, in Colours of Good and Evil, 10, speaks of "Sybilla, when she brought her three books," and in Adv. of L. ii. 23. 33, of "Sybillaes books." But in Oth. iii. 4. 70 we have "A sibyl," and in 1 Hen. VI. i. 2. 56, "nine sibyls." The reference here is to the Cumaan sibyl, who obtained from Apollo a promise that her years should be as many as the grains of sand she was holding in her hand. The story is told by Ovid, Met. xv.

94. This parcel of wooers. Cf. "This youthful parcel of noble bachelors," A. W. ii. 3. 58.

96. I wish them a fair departure. The quartos read, "I pray God grant them," etc. It has been supposed that the latter was the original reading, and that it was changed in the folio on account of the act of Parliament, in the time of James I., against the use of the name of God on the stage. But the folio has the word God in more than a dozen places in the play, and Portia herself (though W. thinks it would not "suit her lips" in this case) has used it twice already in this very scene. In ii. 2, Launcelot uses it often and profanely.

105. Thy praise. The quartos (followed by some modern eds.) add "How now! what news?"

106. Seek for you. The folios omit for.

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110. With so good heart as, etc. We now seldom use so . . . as, prefer. ring as... as, except where so requires special emphasis. Gr. 275. 112. Condition. Nature, disposition. Cf. Oth. ii. 1. 255: "she 's full of most blessed condition;" and Rich. III. iv. 4. 157: I have a touch of your condition," etc. Cf. also "best conditioned," iii. 2. 295 below. 116. Whiles. The genitive singular of while (which was originally a noun) used as an adverb. It occurs in Matt. v. 25. See Gr. 137.

SCENE III.-1. Ducats. The value of the Venetian silver ducat was about that of the American dollar.

4. For the which. This archaism is occasionally found in S., as in the Bible (Gen. i. 29, etc.). The who is never found; perhaps, as Abbott suggests, because which is considered an adjective and indefinite, while who is not. So in French we have lequel, but not le qui. See Gr. 270. 6. May you stead me? Can you assist me? May originally expressed ability, as the noun might still does. Can, on the other hand, signified to know or have skill." We have both words in their old sense in Chaucer's line (C. T. 2314), "Now helpe me, lady, sith ye may and can." This archaic can is found in Ham. iv. 7. 85: "they can well on horseback," that is, are well skilled in riding. On stead, cf. M. for M. i. 4 17: "Can you so stead me As bring me to the sight of Isabella?" and A. W. v. 3. 87: "to reave her Of what should stead her most."

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Pleasure me. So in M. W. i. 1. 251: "What I do is to pleasure you, coz." See also Much Ado, v. 1. 129 and 3 Hen. VI. iii. 2. 22. Cf. Gr. 390. II. A good man. That is, "good" in the commercial sense-“ -"having pecuniary ability; of unimpaired credit" (Wb.).

13. Ho, no, etc. The reading of all the early eds. 15. In supposition. Doubtful, risked at sea.

16. Tripolis. The old name of Tripoli, a seaport of Syria, formerly of great commercial importance.

17. Rialto. The chief of the islands on which Venice is built was called Isola di Rialto (rivo alto), the Island of the Deep Stream. The name Rialto came also to be applied to the Exchange, which was on that island. It is the Exchange which is here meant—“a most stately building.. where the Venetian gentlemen and the merchants doe meete twice a day, betwixt eleven and twelve of the clocke in the morning, and betwixt five and sixe of the clocke in the afternoon" (Coryat's Crudities, 1611). The bridge known as the Rialto (Ponte di Rialto) was begun in 1588 and finished in 1591.

18. Squandered. Scattered. So in Howell's Letters, 1650, we have "islands that lie squandered in the vast ocean.' Even Dryden (Annus Mirab.) has "They drive, they squander the huge Belgian fleet." S. uses the word only here and in A. Y. L. ii. 7. 57: "squandering glances." 19. There be land-rats. In old English, besides the present tense am, etc., there was also this form be, from the Anglo-Saxon beon. The 2d pers. sing. was beest. The 1st and 3d pers. plu. be is often found in S. and the Bible. Cf. Gr. 300.

27. If it please you. This impersonal form (cf. the French s'il vous plait), after being contracted into if you please, has come to be considered as personal, and we now say if I please, if he pleases, etc. The verb thus gets a new meaning, to please becoming to be pleased.

30. And so following. And so forth. S. uses the phrase nowhere else. 36. For he is a Christian. We should now say, for being a Christian. When thus used, for is often followed by that, as in the next line. Of course we could now say, "I hate him, for he is a Christian," but the meaning would be different. In this case, as in the other, the for is equivalent to because, but it connects more loosely, as the comma indicates. The difference in meaning is perhaps better illustrated by a case like the following (M. for M. ii. 1. 27):

"You may not so extenuate his offence
For I have had such faults;"

that is, the fact that I have been guilty is no excuse for him. The modern reading would make nonsense of it.

39. Usance. Interest. Thomas, in his Historye of Italye, 1561, says: "It is almoste incredyble what gaine the Venetians receiue by the vsury of the Jewes, both pryuately and in common. For in euerye citee the Jewes kepe open shops of vsurie, taking gaiges of ordinarie for xv. in the hundred by the yere and if at the yeres ende, the gaige be not redemed, it is forfeite, or at the least dooen away to a great disaduantage: by rea son whereof the Jewes are out of measure wealthie in those parties."

40. Upon the hip. To "catch upon the hip" was a phrase used by wrestlers. Some make it refer to hunting, "because, when the animal pursued is seized upon the hip, it is finally disabled from flight." Cf. iv. I. 330 below, and Oth. ii. 1. 314.

45. Which he calls interest. Usance, usury, and interest were equivalent