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Shakespeare's Comedy of the Merchant of Venice
Shakespeare's Comedy of the Merchant of Venice Author:William Shakespeare Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: St. Mark's Place ACT I Scene I. Venice. A Street Enter Antonio, Salarino, and Salanio Antonio. In sooth, I know not why I am so sad. It wearies ... more »me, you say it wearies you; But how I caught it, found it, or came by it, What stuff 't is made of, whereof it is born, I am to learn; And such a want-wit sadness makes of me That I have much ado to know myself. Salarino. Your mind is tossing on the ocean ; There where your argosies with portly sail, Like signiors and rich burghers on the flood, Or, as it were, the pageants of the sea, Do overpeer the petty traffickers, That curtsy to them, do them reverence, As they fly by them with their woven wings. Salanio. Believe me, sir, had I such venture forth, The better part of my affections would Be with my hopes abroad. I should be still Plucking the grass, to know where sits the wind, Peering in maps for ports and piers and roads; And every object that might make me fear 20 Misfortune to my ventures, out of doubt, Would make me sad. Salarino. My wind, cooling my broth, Would blow me to an ague when I thought What harm a wind too great might do at sea. I should not see the sandy hourglass run But I should think of shallows and of flats, And see my wealthy Andrew dock'd in sand, Vailing her high-top lower than her ribs, To kiss her burial. Should I go to church And see the holy edifice of stone, 30 And not bethink me straight of dangerous rocks, Which, touching but my gentle vessel's side, Would scatter all her spices on the stream, Enrobe the roaring waters with my silks, And, in a word, but even now worth this, And now worth nothing? Shall I have the thought To think on this, and shallJlJac.k the thought That such a thing bechanc'd would make me sad? But tell not me ; I know Antonio Is sa...« less