PORTIA That he hath a neighbourly charity in him, for he borrowed a box of the ear of the Englishman and swore he would pay him again when he was able: I think the Frenchman became his surety and sealed under for another.
NERISSA How like you the young German, the Duke of Saxony’s nephew?
PORTIA Very vilely in the morning, when he is sober, and most vilely in the afternoon, when he is drunk: when he is best, he is a little worse than a man, and when he is worst, he is little better than a beast: and the worst fall that ever fell, I hope I shall make shift to go without him. […]
Scots had a reputation for fi ghting
Germans had a reputation for drinking
Moving on to the others, Portia says she’s sorry to be a jeer, but the Frenchman is so hyperactive and excitable that she would never know what to expect from him. The Englishman hasn’t a clue how to dress. His clothes are a mishmash of styles from everywhere. The Scottish man picks fi ghts. He boxed the Englishman’s ears and said he would do it again when he got the opportunity. The other German is nasty in the morning when he is sober and obnoxious in the afternoon when he is drunk.
NERISSA Do you not remember, lady, in your father’s time, a Venetian, a scholar and a soldier, that came hither in company of the Marquis of Montferrat?
PORTIA Yes, yes, it was Bassanio; as I think, he was so called.
