Merchant of Venice. - Repositories

124 NOTES [ACT 1.
I. 37. thought. Here used in the ordinary sense.
1. 38. such a thing. Does Salarino mean by this, such a sit-^
nation as that in which Antonio is placed^ or, such an accident
as the one imagined just now?
1. 39. What word should be emphasized in reading this line ?
1. 40. to think. This apparent infinitive is really not an
infinitive at all, but a gerund, a construction that will be understood
by Latin students. In order to give the intended
meaning in modern English, it will be necessary to change
the verb to the participle in "-ing," and to prefix some other
preposition than "to." In the present instance "to think"
translates best as "in thinking," or "because of thinking."
This gerund originally had a different ending to distinguish it
from the infinitive.
1. 42. in one bottom. What common proverb would express
the idea of this line ?
1. 47. Not. .. neither. Would two negatives be right here
to-day ?
1. 50. Janus. Why is it especially fitting here that Salarino
should swear by the two-headed Roman god? {Clas. Diet.)
1. 54. aspect'. Accent the second syllable.
1. 55. in way of. What ellipsis before way ?
1. 56. Nestor. The oldest and most serious-minded of the
Greek warriors that went to the Trojan war. {Clas. Diet.)
1. 67. your most noble kinsmaa. liVT^iose kinsman ?