5 He has done my office: I know not, if't be true; But I for mere suspicion in that kind, Will do, as if for surety. He holds me well; The better shall my purpose work on him. Cassio's a proper man: Let me see now; To get his place, and to plume up my will, A double knavery,-How? how!-Let me see:After some time, to abuse Othello's ear, That he is too familiar with his wife:10 He hath a person, and a smooth dispose, To be suspected; fram'd to make women false. The Moor is of a free and open nature, That thinks men honest, that but seem to be so; And will as tenderly be led by the nose, As asses are. Jago. No more of drowning, do you hear? I have 't;-it is engender'd: Hell and night Must bring this monstrous birth to the world's light. [Exit. 1 Gent. Nothing at all: it is a high-wrought 35 I cannot, 'twixt the heaven and the main, Descry a sail. [land; Mont. Methinks, the wind hath spoke aloud at A fuller blast ne'er shook our battlements; If it hath ruffian'd so upon the sea, What ribs of oak, when mountains melt on them, Can hold the mortice? What shall we hear of this? 2 Gent. A segregation of the Turkish fleet: For do but stand upon the foaming shore, The chiding billow seems to pelt the clouds; The wind-shak'd surge, with high and monstrous Seems to cast water on the burning bear, [main, And quench the guards of the ever-fixed pole': I never did like molestation view Alluding to the star Arctophylax. 40 Lieutenant to the warlike Moor, Othello, Mont. I am glad on 't; 'tis a worthy governor. 3 Gent. But this same Cassio,-though he speak of comfort, Touching the Turkish loss,-yet he looks sadly, And prays the Moor be safe; for they were parted With foul and violent tempest. Mont. Pray heaven he be; For I have serv'd him, and the man commands Like a full soldier. Let's to the sea-side, ho! As well to see the vessel that's come in, As to throw out our eyes for brave Othello; 45 Even 'till we make the main, and the aërial blue, An indistinct regard. 50 55 Gent. Come, let's do so: For every minute is expectancy Of more arrivance. Enter Cassio. Cas. Thanks to the valiant of this warlike isle, That so approve the Moor; O, let the heavens Give him defence against the elements, For I have lost him on a dangerous sea! Mont. Is he well shipp'd? Cas. His bark is stoutly timber'd, and his pilot Of very expert and approv'd allowance'; Therefore my hopes, not surfeited to death, Stand in bold cure *. [Within.] A sail, a sail, a sail! 60 By a Veronese, a ship of Verona is denoted. and approv'd allowance, is put for allow'd and approv'd expertness. * The meaning, Mr. Steevens thinks, is, Therefore, my hopes, not being destroy'd by their own excess, but being reasonable and moderate, are likely to be fulfilled. Cas. Cas. What noise? Gent. The town is empty; on the brow o' the sea Cas. My hopes do shape him for the governor. Cas. I pray you, sir, go forth, [Exit. Mont. But, good lieutenant, is your general 10 Cas. Most fortunately: he hath atchiev'd a maid Iago. Sir, would she give you so much of her lips, As of her tongue she oft bestows on me, Des. Alas, she has no speech. I find it still, when I have list to sleep; Emil. You have little cause to say so. Bells in your parlours, wild cats in your kitchens, 15 Saints in your injuries, devils being offended, Players in your housewifery, and housewives in your beds. Gent. 'Tis one lago, ancient to the general. Tempests themselves, high seas, and howlingwinds, Mont. What is she? [captain, Cas. She that I spake of, our great captain's Des. I thank you, valiant Cassio. Cas. He is not yet arriv'd; nor know I aught Des. O, but I fear;-How lost you company? [Guns heard. Gent. They give this greeting to the citadel; This likewise is a friend. mistress. 25 30 35 140 45 50 Cas. See for the news.— [Anattendant goes out. Des. O, fie upon thee, slanderer! Iago. Nay, it is true, or else I am a Turk; You rise to play, and go to bed to work. Amil. You shall not write my praise. lago. No, let me not. Des. What would'st thou write of me, if thou should praise me? Lago. O gentle lady, do not put me to 't; For I am nothing, if not critical'. Des. Come on, assay:―There's one gone to the harbour. Iago. Ay, madam. Des. I am not merry; but I do beguile Iago. I am about it; but, indeed, my invention And thus she is deliver'd: If she be fair and wise,-fairness, and wit, witty? Iago. If she be black, and thereto have a wit, She'll find a white that shall her blackness fit. Des. Worse and worse. Emil. How, if fair and foolish? Iago. She never yet was foolish that was fair; For even her folly help'd her to an heir. Des. These are old fond paradoxes, to make fools laugh i' the alehouse. What miserable praise hast thou for her that's foul and foolish ? Pago. There's none so foul, and foolish thereunto, But does foul pranks which fair and wise ones do. Des. O heavy ignorance!-thou praisest the worst best. But what praise could'st thou bestow on a deserving woman indeed? one, that, in the authority of her merit, did justly put on the vouch [Kisses her. 60 of very malice itself 1? 2 That is, She excels the praises of invention, and in real (the author seeming to use essential for real) qualities, with which creation has invested her, bears all excellency. That is, censorious. Dr. Johnson says, To put on the couch of malice, is to assuine a character vouched by the testimony of malice itself. She that, being anger'd, her revenge being Bade her wrong stay, and her displeasure fly; She that in wisdom never was so frail, 15 Lago. To suckle fools, and chronicle small beer2. Des. O most lame and impotent conclusion!Do not learn of him, Emilia, though he be thy husband.-How say you, Cassio? is he not a most 20 profane and liberal counsellor ? 3 Cas. He speaks home, madam; you may relish him more in the soldier, than in the scholar. Iago. [Aside.] He takes her by the palm: Ay, well said, whisper: with as little a web as this, 25 will I ensnare as great a fly as Cassio. Ay, smile upon her, do; I will gyve' thee in thine own courtship. You say true; 'tis so, indeed :) if such tricks as these strip you out of your lieutenantry, it had been better you had not kiss'd your 30 three fingers so oft, which now again you are most apt to play the sir in. Very good; well kiss'd! an excellent courtesy! 'tis so indeed. Yet again your fingers to your lips? 'would, they were clyster-pipes for your sake!The Moor, I know his trumpet. Cas. 'Tis truly so. [Trumpet. 35 Des. Let's meet him, and receive him. Cas. Lo, where he comes! Enter Othello, and Attendants. Oth. O my fair warrior! Des. My dear Othello! Oth. It gives me wonder great as my content, As hell 's from heaven! If it were now to die, Des. The heavens forbid, But that our loves and comforts should increase, Even as our days do grow! Oth. Amen to that, sweet powers !— I cannot speak enough of this content, It stops me here; it is too much of joy; 1i. e. to exchange a delicacy for coarser fare. gross of language, of expression broad and brutal. [Aside. Oth. Come, let us to the castle.News, friends; our wars are done, the Turks are drown'd. How do our old acquaintance of this isle?— I have found great love amongst them. Oinysweet, In mine own comforts.-I pr'ythee, good Iago, [Exeunt Othello, Desdemona, and Attendants. Jago. Do thou meet me presently at the harbour. Come hither. If thou be'st valiant; as (they say): base men, being in love, have then a nobility in their natures more than is native to them,-list me. The lieutenant to-night watches on the court of guard:-First, I must tell thee this, -Desdemona is directly in love with him. Rod. With him! Why, 'tis not possible. Iago. Lay thy finger-thus, and let thy soul be instructed. Mark me with what violence she first lov'd the Moor, but for bragging, and telling her fantastical lies: And will she love him still for prating? let not thy discreet heart think it. Her eye must be fed; and what delight shall she have to look on the devil? When the blood is made dull with the act of sport, there should be,again to inflame it, and to give satiety a fresh appetite,-loveliness in favour; sympathy in years, manners, and beauties; all which the Moor is de40 fective in: Now, for want of these required conveniences, her delicate tenderness will find itself abus'd, begin to heave the gorge, disrelish and abhor the Moor; very nature will instruct her in it, and compel her to some second choice. Now, 45 sir, this granted, (as it is a most pregnant and unforc'd position,) who stands so eminently in the degree of this fortune, as Cassio does; a knave very voluble; no farther conscionable, than in putting on the mere form of civil and humane 50 seeming, for the better compassing of his salt and most hidden loose affection? Why, none; why, none: A slippery and subtle knave; a finder out of occasions; that has an eye can stamp and counterfeit advantages, though true advantage never 55 present itself: A devilish knave! Besides, the knave is handsome, young; and hath all those requisites in him, that folly and green minds' look. after: A pestilent complete knave; and the wo man hath found him already. 7 2 i. e. to keep the accounts of a household. 'i. e. 4i. e. a licentious talker. i. e. catch, shackle. i. e. out of method, without any settled order of discourse. 'i. e. the place where the guard musters. i. e. on thy mouth, to stop it while thou art listening to a wiser man. • Minds not yet fully formed. Rod. Rod. I cannot believe that in her; she is full of most bless'd condition'. Iago. Bless'd figs' end! the wine she drinks is made of grapes: if she had been bless'd, she would never have lov'd the Moor: Bless'd pud- 5 ding! Didst thou not see her paddle in the palm of his hand? didst not mark that? 10 Rod. Yes, that I did; but that was but courtesy. Iago. Lechery, by this hand! an index, and obscure prologue to the history of lust and foul thoughts. They met so near with their lips, that their breaths embrac'd together. Villainous thoughts, Roderigo! When these mutualities so marshal the way, hard at hand comes the master and main exercise, the incorporate conclusion:15 Pish! But, sir, be you rul'd by me: I have brought you from Venice. Watch you to-night; for the command, I'll lay't upon you: Cassio knows you not; I'll not be far from you: Do you find some occasion to anger Cassio, either by speaking 20 too loud, or tainting his discipline; or from what other course you please, which the time shall more favourably minister. Rod. Well. 4 30 Iago. Sir, he is rash, and very sudden in 25 choler; and, haply, with his truncheon may strike at you: Provoke him, that he may: for, even out of that, will I cause these of Cyprus to mutiny; whose qualification shall come into no true taste again, but by the displanting of Cassio. So shall you have a shorter journey to your desires, by the means I shall then have to prefer them; and the impediment most profitably removed, without the which there were no expectation of our prosperity. Rod. I will do this, if you can bring it to any opportunity. Tago. I warrant thee. Meet me by-and-by at the citadel: I must fetch his necessaries ashore. Farewell. [Exit. Rod. Adieu. 35 1401 45 50 Or, failing so, yet that I put the Moor SCENE II. Enter Herald, with a proclamation. Her. It is Othello's pleasure, our noble and valiant general, that, upon certain tidings now arriv'd,importing the mere 10 perdition of the Turkish fleet, every man put himself into triumph; some to dance, some to make bonfires, each man to what sport and revels his addiction leads him; for, besides these beneficial news, it is the celebration of his nuptials: So much was his pleasure should be proclaimed. All offices are open; and there is full liberty of feasting, from this present hour of five, 'till the bell hath told eleven. Heaven bless the isle of Cyprus, and our noble general Othello! [Exits Let's teach ourselves that honourable stop, Cas. Jago hath direction, what to do; Oth. Iago is most honest. liest, Michael, good night: To-morrow, with your ear- Cas. Welcome, Iago: We must to the watch. Jago. Not this hour, lieutenant; 'tis not yet ten o'clock: Our general cast us "thus early, for the 55 love of his Desdemona: whom let us not there 7 1i. e. qualities, disposition of mind. 2 Indexes were formerly prefixed to books. i. e. throwing a slur upon his discipline. + Sudden, is precipitately violent. i. e. whose resentment shall not be so qualified or tempered, as to be well tasted, as not to retain some bitterness. "A trifling, insignificant fellow may, in some respects, very well be called trash. "To trash a hound is a term of hunting still used in the North, and perhaps not uncommon in other parts of England. It is, to correct, to rate. A phrase from the art of wrestling. 'Rank garb may mean grossly, i. e. without mincing the matter. 10 Mere in this place signifies entire. "That is, appointed us to our stations, according to Dr. Johnson; whereas Mr. Steevens thinks, that cast us only means dismissed us, or got rid of our company. fore blame: he hath not yet made wanton the Cas. Indeed, she is a most fresh and delicate 5 creature. Iago. What an eye she has! methinks, it sounds a parley of provocation. Cas. An inviting eye; and yet, methinks, right modest. lago. And, when she speaks, is it not an alarum to love? Cas. She is, indeed, perfection. 10 Iago. Well, happiness to their sheets! Come, lieutenant, I have a stoop of wine; and here 15 without are a brace of Cyprus gallants, that would fain have a measure to the health of the black Othello. Cas. Not to-night, good lago; I have very poor and unhappy brains for drinking: I could well 20 wish courtesy would invent some other custom of entertainment. lago. O, they are our friends; but one cup: I'll drink for you. Cas. I have drunk but one cup to-night, and 25 that was craftily qualified too, and, behold, what innovation it makes here: I am unfortunate in the infirmity, and dare not task my weakness with any more. Iago. What, man! 'tis a night of revels; the 30 gallants desire it. Cas. Where are they? lago. Here at the door; I pray you, call them in. Whom love hath turn'd almost the wrong side outward, To Desdemona hath to-night carouz'd Am I to put our Cassio in some action - 35 40 And let me the canakin clink, clink; And let me the canakin clink: A soldier's a man; Cas. 'Fore heaven, an excellent song. lago. I learn'd it in England, where (indeed) they are most potent in potting: your Dane, your German, and your swag-bellied Hollander,Drink, ho!-are nothing to your English. Cas. Is your Englishman so exquisite in his drinking? Iago. Why, he drinks you, with facility, your Dane dead drunk; he sweats not to overthrow your Almain; he gives your Hollander a vomit, ere the next pottle can be fill'd. Cas. To the health of our general. Mont. I am for it, lieutenant; and I'll do you justice. lago. O sweet England! 4 King Stephen was a worthy peer", 6 And thou art but of low degree: Cas. Why, this is a more exquisite song than the other. Iago. Will you hear it again? Cas. No; for I hold him to be unworthy of his place, that does those things.-Well,-Heaven's above all; and there be souls that must be saved, Jand there be souls must not be saved. Iago. It's true, good lieutenant. Cas. For mine own part,-no offence to the general, nor any man of quality,-I hope to be saved. Iago. And so I do too, lieutenant. Cas. Ay, but, by your leave, not before me; the lieutenant is to be saved before the ancient, 45 Let's have no more of this: let's to our affairs.Forgive us our sins!-Gentlemen, let's look to our business. Do not think, gentlemen, I am drunk; this is my ancient;-this is my right hand, and this is my left hand:-I am not drunk 50 now; I can stand well enough, and I speak well enough. That may offend the isle.-But here they come: Mont. Good faith, a little one; not past a pint, Iago. Some wine, ho! [Tago sings. All. Excellent well. Cas. Why, very well then: you must not think then that I am drunk. [Exit. Mont. To the platform, masters; come, let's set the watch. Iago. You see this fellow, that is gone before;→→ 1i. e. slily mixed with water. 2 i. e. As quarrelsome as the discordia semina rerum; as quick in opposition as fire and water. A rouse appears to be a quantity of liquor rather too large. 4 These stanzas are taken from an old song, which the reader will find in Percy's Relicks of Ancient Poetry. i. e. a worthy fellow. fi. e. sorry fellow, paltry wretch. 'Tis |