FOOTNOTES:
—I am prest unto it:; Ready.
—Sometimes from her eyes; In old English, sometimes is synonymous with formerly; id est, some time ago, at a certain time. It appears by the subsequent scene, that Bassanio was at Belmont with the Marquis de Montferrat, and saw Portia in her father's lifetime.
—superfluity comes sooner by white hairs,; Id est, superfluity sooner acquires white hairs—becomes old. We still say, how did he come by it—MALONE.
—the Neapolitan prince.; The Neapolitans in the time of Shakespeare were eminently skilled in all that belonged to horsemanship.
—that's a colt, indeed, for he doth nothing but talk of his horse,; Colt is used for a restless, heady, gay youngster, whence the phrase used of an old man too juvenile, that he still retains his colt's tooth.—JOHNSON.
—the county Palatine.; Shakespeare has more allusions to particular facts and persons than his readers commonly suppose. The Count here mentioned was, perhaps, Albertus Alasco, a Polish Palatine, who visited England in our author's lifetime, was eagerly caressed and splendidly entertained, but, running in debt, at last stole away, and endeavoured to repair his fortune by enchantment.—JOHNSON.
County and Count in old language, were synonymous. The Count Albertus Alasco was in London in 1583.
—the young German, the Duke of Saxony's nephew.; In Shakespeare's time the Duke of Bavaria visited London, and was made Knight of the Garter. Perhaps in this enumeration of Portia's suitors, there may be some covert allusion to those of Queen Elizabeth.—JOHNSON