Mad let us grant him, then; and now remains
That we find out the cause of this effect,
Or rather say, the cause of this defect,
For this effect, defective, comes by cause:
Thus it remains, and the remainder thus.
Let us now turn to Portia, happy, witty Portia, with a soul far above the fickle spendthrift, Bassanio, but with all a woman’s devotion, adoring him in spite of his faults. Her gentle dignity in accepting the hoped-for result of his choice of the caskets is sweetly evinced in the following:
Por.—You see me, Lord Bassanio, where I stand,
Such as I am; though for myself alone
I would not be ambitious in my wish,
To wish myself much better; yet, for you