the Merchant of Venice.
15361530of any con
stant man: what wor
se and wor
se?
15371531With leaue
Bassanio I am halfe your
selfe,
15381532and I mu
st freely haue the halfe of any thing
15391533that this
same paper brings you.
15411535heere are a few of the vnplea
sant'
st words
15421536that euer blotted paper. Gentle Lady
15431537when I did
fir
st impart my loue to you,
15441538I freely told you all the wealth I had
15451539ranne in my vaines, I was a gentleman,
15461540and then
I told you true: and yet deere Lady
15471541rating my
selfe at nothing, you
shall
see
15481542how much
I was a Braggart, when I told you
15491543my
state was nothing, I
should then haue told you
15501544that
I was wor
se then nothing; for indeede
15511545I haue ingag'd my
selfe to a deere friend,
15521546ingag'd my friend to his meere enemie
15531547to feede my meanes. Heere is a letter Lady,
15541548the paper as the body of my friend,
15551549and euery word in it a gaping wound
15561550i
ssuing life blood. But is it true
Salerio 15571551hath all his ventures faild, what not one hit,
15581552from Tripolis, from Mexico and England,
15591553from Li
sbon, Barbary, and
India,
15601554and not one ve
ssell
scape the dreadfull touch
15631557Be
sides, it
should appeare, that if he had
15641558the pre
sent money to di
scharge the Iew,
15651559hee would not take it: neuer did
I know
15661560a creature that did beare the
shape of man
15671561so keene and greedie to confound a man.
15681562He plyes the Duke at morning and at night,
15691563and doth impeach the freedome of the
state
15701564if they deny him iu
stice. Twentie Merchants,
15711565the Duke him
selfe, and the Magni
ficoes
15721566of greate
st port haue all per
swaded with him,
F3 but