The Merchant of Venice
ACT FIRST
Scene One
[Venice. A Street]
Enter Antonio, Salarino, and Salanio.
Ant. In sooth, I know not why I am so sad:
It wearies me; you say it wearies you;
But how I caught it, found it, or came by it,
What stuff 'tis made of, whereof it is born, 4
I am to learn;
And such a want-wit sadness makes of me,
That I have much ado to know myself.
Salar. Your mind is tossing on the ocean; 8
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, 12
That curtsy to them, do them reverence,
As they fly by them with their woven wings.
Salan. Believe me, sir, had I such venture forth,
The better part of my affections would 16
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
1 sooth: truth
9 argosies: large merchant ships
11 pageants: festival cars or floats
12 overpeer: tower over
13 curtsy: bow with the swell
16 affections: emotions
17 still: always
21 out of doubt: undoubtedly
