It were not for your quiet, nor your good, Oth. What dost thou mean? Iago. Good name, in man, and woman, dear my lord, Is the immediate jewel of their souls: Who steals my purse,steals trash; 'tis something, nothing; 'Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands; But he, that filches from me my good name, Robs me of that, which not enriches him, Oth. By heaven, I'll know thy thought. Iago. You cannot, if my heart were in your hand; Nor shall not, whilst 'tis in my custody. Oth. Ha! Iago. O, beware, my lord, of jealousy ; It is the green-ey'd monster, which doth mock Who dotes, yet doubts; suspects, yet strongly loves! Iago. Poor, and content, is rich, and rich enough; But riches, fineless, is as poor as winter,' To him that ever fears he shall be poor : Good heaven, the souls of all my tribe defend Oth. Why? why is this? Think'st thou, I'd make a life of jealousy, To follow still the changes of the moon With fresh suspicions? No : to be once in doubt, To such exsufflicate and blown surmises, * Matching thy inference. 'Tis not to make me jealous, [9] Unbounded, endless, unnumbered treasures. JOHNSON. [1] Finely expressed: winter producing no fruits. WARBURTON. [2] Exsufficate I think is used in the sense of swollen, and appears to have been formed from sufflatus. MALONE. 31* VOL. VIII. And, on the proof, there is no more but this,- Iago. I am glad of this; for now I shall have reason To show the love and duty that I bear you With franker spirit: therefore, as I am bound, I know our country disposition well; In Venice they do let heaven see the pranks They dare not show their husbands; their best conscience Is-not to leave undone, but keep unknown. Oth. Dost thou say so? Iago. She did deceive her father, marrying you; And, when she seem'd to shake, and fear your looks,3 She lov'd them most. Oth. And so she did. Iago. Why, go to, then ; She that, so young, could give out such a seeming, He thought, 'twas witchcraft:-But I am much to blame; For too much loving you. Oth. I am bound to thee for ever. Iago. I see, this hath a little dash'd your spirits. Iago. Trust me, I fear it has. I hope, you will consider, what is spoke Comes from my love ;- But, I do see you are mov'd :I am to pray you, not to strain my speech To grosser issues, nor to larger reach, Than to suspicion. Oth. I will not. [3] This and the following argument of lago ought to be deeply impressed on every reader. Deceit and falsehood, whatever conveniencies they may for a time promise or produce, are, in the sum of life, obstacles to happiness. Those, who profit by the cheat, distrust the deceiver, and the act, by which kindness is sought, puts an end to confidence. The same objection may be inade with a lower degree of strength against the imprudent generosity of disproportionate marriages. When the first heat of passion is over, it is easily succeeded by suspicion, that the same violence of inclination, which caused one irregularity, may stimulate to another; and those who have shown, that their passions are too powerful for their prudence, will, with very slight appearances against them, be censured as not very likely to restrain them by their virtue. JOHNSON. [4] Close as oak, means, close as the grain of the oak. To seel a hawk, is to sew up his eyelids. STEEVENS. [5] Issues, for conclusions. WARBURTON. Iago. Should you do so, my lord, My speech should fall into such vile success As my thoughts aim not at. Cassio's my worthy friend:My lord, I see you are mov'd. Oth. No, not much mov'd :— I do not think but Desdemona's honest. Iago. Long live she so! and long live you to think so! Of her own clime, complexion, and degree; Oth. Farewell, farewell: If more thou dost perceive, let me know more ; [Going. Oth. This fellow's of exceeding honesty, And knows all qualities, with a learned spirit, [Exit. Of human dealings: If I do prove her haggard, 8 [6] Will, is for wilfulness. It is so used by Ascham. A rank will is selfwill overgrown and exuberant. JOHNSON. [7] Press hard his re-admission to his pay and office. JOHNSON. [8] A haggard hawk is a wild hawk, a hawk irreclaimable. JOHNSON Though that her jesses were my dear heart-strings, For others' uses. Yet, 'tis the plague of great ones ; Even then this forked plague is fated to us, Des. How now, my dear Othello? Your dinner, and the generous islanders 9 Des. Why is your speech so faint ? are you not well? Oth. I have a pain upon my forehead here. Des. Faith, that's with watching; 'twill away again : Let me but bind it hard, within this hour It will be well. Oth. Your napkin 2 is too little ; [He puts the handkerchief from him, and it drops. Let it alone. Come, I'll go in with you. Des. I am very sorry that you are not well. [Exeunt OTH. and DESD. Emil. I am glad I have found this napkin ; This was her first remembrance from the Moor: My wayward husband hath a hundred times Woo'd me to steal it but she so loves the token, (For he conjur'd her, she would ever keep it,) That she reserves it evermore about her, [9] Jesses are short straps of leather tied about the foot of a hawk, by which she is held on the fist. HANMER. [] The falconers always let fly the hawk against the wind; if she flies with the wind behind her, she seldom returns. If therefore a hawk was for any reason to be dismissed, she was let down the wind, and from that time shifted for herself, and preyed at fortune. JOHNSON. [2] Ray says, that a pocket handkerchief is so called about Sheffield in Yorkshire. STEEVENS. To kiss, and talk to. I'll have the work ta'en out,3 And give it Iago: What he'll do with it, heaven knows, not I ; I nothing, but to please his fantasy. Enter IAGO. Iago. How now! what do you here alone? Emil. Do not you chide; I have a thing for you. Iago. To have a foolish wife. Emil. O, is that all? what will you give me now For that same handkerchief? lago. What handkerchief? Emil. What handkerchief? Why, that the Moor first gave to Desdemona ; Emil. No, faith; she let it drop by negligence; Iago. A good wench; give it me. Emil. What will you do with it, that you have been so earnest To have me filch it? Iago. Why, what's that to you ? [Snatching it. Emil. If it be not for some purpose of import, Give it me again: Poor lady! she'll run mad, When she shall lack it. Iago. Be not you known of't: I have use for it. Go, leave me. [Exit EMILIA. I will in Cassio's lodging lose this napkin, Burn like the mines of sulphur.-I did say so :- Look, where he comes! Not poppy, nor mandragora,4 [3] That is copied. Her first thoughts are to have a copy made of it for her husband, and restore the original to Desdemona. But the sudden coming in of Iago, in a surly humour, makes her alter her resolution, to please him. The same phrase occurs between Cassio and Bianca, sc. iv. BLACKSTONE. [4] The mandragoras or mandrake has a soporific quality, and the ancients when they wanted an opiate of the most powerful kind. STEEV |