Mojo, The Bard, & Me

No, Corin, being old, thou canst not guess;

Though in thy youth thou was’t as true a lover

As ever sigh'd upon a midnight pillow:

Silvius

As You Like It                                     Act II, Scene iv   Line 24

Repair thy wit, good youth, or it will fall

To cureless ruin.

Shylock

The Merchant Of Venice                                               Act IV, Scene i   Line 141

I'm giving you two lines today; two lines that back to back address youth versus old. The first one is a young man talking to an old man, and the second is an old man talking to a younger one.

The second quote is from one of Wills’ most famous characters: Shylock. He’s addressing one of Antonio’s friends who’s really just one of the peanut gallery in this, the courtroom scene. The friend, Gratiano, has just gone into a bit of a rant about what a schmuck Shylock is. And Shylock replies with

Till thou canst rail the seal from off my bond,
Thou but offend'st thy lungs to speak so loud:
Repair thy wit, good youth, or it will fall
To cureless ruin. I stand here for law.

A pretty reasonable, and mild response considering that Gratiano just called him a damn’d, inexecrable dog. All Shylock is saying is that unless you can change the contract with your rant, which you can’t, you might as well put a sock on it, because the law is on my side. And of course he’s right.

Now the bottom line is that Shylock has come down through the intervening centuries with a pretty bad rap. He’s often pictured in society as an evil character, when he’s really done nothing wrong. There was not one bit of deceit in the contract he signed with Antonio: pay the debt by the date on the contract or forfeit one pound of your flesh. It was right there in black and white and Antonio saw it when he signed the contract and took the money. Now the date has passed and Antonio’s not paid the debt. And everyone thinks that Shylock should give in. Why should he?

It’s an interesting question and one that is at the crux of one of the major plots of the play. It’s a question that you could spend a lifetime on. But nonetheless, with today’s line Shylock is simply pointing out what’s true to a young fellow who’s not as smart as he is.

So that’s an older fellow telling a younger one what’s what. The first Totally Random line today is from a young guy speaking to an older one. Silvius is in love with Phebe and right here he’s talking to an older fellow, Corin, about it. Corin’s trying to offer some advice on the matter, but young Silvius is convinced that Corin is too old to understand, and too old to remember what love is all about, and maybe just plain too old period. But it really is a great line, isn’t it?

Though in thy youth thou was’t as true a lover

As ever sigh'd upon a midnight pillow:

I think you’ve got to read it a few times to let it properly sink in, but it’s a beautiful line. It really is.

But putting the beauty aside, what do you think? Is he too old?

Well I think I’m a little biased on the side of Corin and Shylock. But maybe that’s just because I’m too old.

                                      That old vs young theme is as old as the hills. And them there hills is pretty old.