Will do, as if for furety. He holds me well;
The better shall my purpose work on him.
Caffio's a proper man. Let me fee now;
To get his place, and to plume up my will,
A double knavery-How? how?-Let's fee :-
After fome time to abuse Othello's ear,
That he is too familiar with his wife :-
He hath a perfon, and a smooth difpofe,
To be fufpected; fram'd to make women falfe.
The Moor is of a free and open nature,
That thinks men honeft that but feem to be fo;
And will as tenderly be led by the nose,
As affes are.

I have't;—it is engender'd:-hell and night
Muft bring this monstrous birth to the world's light.

ACT II.

[Exit.

SCENE I.

W

The capital of Cyprus.

A platform.

Enter Montano and two Gentlemen..

ΜΟΝΤΑΝΟ.

HAT from the cape can you difcern at sea?
1 Gent. Nothing at all: it is a high-wrought
flood;

I cannot 'twixt the heaven and the main

Defcry a fail.

Mont. Methinks, the wind hath spoke aloud at

land;

A fuller blaft ne'er shook our battlements :

If it hath ruffian'd fo upon the fea,

What

What ribs of oak, when mountains melt on them,
Can hold the mortice? What fhall we hear of this?
2 Gent. A fegregation of the Turkish fleet:
For do but stand upon the foaming shore,
The chiding billows feem to pelt the clouds;
The wind-fhak'd furge, with high and monstrous
main,

Seems to caft water on the burning Bear,
'And quench the guards of the ever-fixed pole.
I never did like moleftation view

On the enchafed flood.

Mont. If that the Turkish fleet

Be not infhelter'd, and embay'd, they are drown'd; It is impoffible they bear it out.

Enter a third Gentleman.

3 Gent. News, lads! our wars are done: The defperate tempeft hath fo bang'd the Turks, That their defignment halts. A noble fhip of Venice Hath feen a grievous wreck and fufferance

Of most part of their fleet.

Mont. How is this true?

3 Gent. The fhip is here put in, A Veroncfe; Michael Caffio,

Lieutenant of the warlike Moor Othello,

Is come on fhore: the Moor himself's at fea,
And is in full commiffion here for Cyprus.

And quench the guards of the ever-fixed pole.] Alluding to the ftar Arctophylax. JOHNSON,

2 The ship is here put in,

A Veronefe; Michael Caffio, &c.] The author of The Revijal is of opinion, that the poet intended to inform us, that Othello's lieutenant Caffio was of Verona, an inland city of the Venetian flate; and adds, that the editors have not been pleafed to fay what kind of ship is here denoted by a Veronea. By a Verona or Veronefe (for the Italian pronunciation muft be retained, otherwife the meafure will be defective) a ship from Verona is denoted, as we fay to this day of fhips in the river, fuch a one is a Dutchman, a Jamaica-man, &c. STEEVENS.

Mont.

Mont. I'm glad on't; 'tis a worthy governor.

3 Gent. But this fame Caffio, though he speak of

comfort

Touching the Turkifh lofs, yet he looks fadly,
And prays the Moor be fafe; for they were parted
With foul and violent tempeft.

Mont. Pray heavens, he be:

For I have ferv'd him, and the man commands
Like a full foldier. Let's to the fea-fide, ho!
As well to fee the veffel that's come in,
As to throw out our eyes for brave Othello,
[Even till we make the main, and the aerial blue
An indiftinct regard.]

Gent. Come, let's do fo;

For every minute is expectancy
Of more arrivance.

Enter Caffio.

Caf. Thanks to the valiant of this warlike ifle,
That fo approve the Moor: oh, let the heavens
Give him defence against the elements,

For I have loft him on a dangerous fea!
Mont. Is he well ship'd?

Caf. 3 His bark is ftoutly timber'd, and his pilot

3 His bark is foutly timber'd,

Therefore my hopes, not furfeited to death,

Of

Stand in bold cure.] I do not understand thefe lines. I know not how hope can be furfeited to death, that is, can be encreased, till it is destroyed; nor what it is to ftand in bold cure; or why hope fhould be confidered as a difeafe. In the copies there is no variation. Shall we read

Therefore my fears, not furfeited to death,

Stand in bold cure?

This is better, but it is not well. Shall we ftrike a bolder ftroke, and read thus ?

Therefore my hopes, not forfeited to death,

Stand bold, not fure. JOHNSON.

Therefore my hopes, not furfeited to death,

Stand in bold cure ] Prefumptuous hopes, which have no

foundation in probability, may be faid to furfeit themfelves to

death,

4 Of very expert and approv'd allowance;
Therefore my hopes, not furfeited to death,
Stand in bold cure.

Within.] A fail, a fail, a fail!
Caf. What noife?

Gent. The town is empty; on the brow o' the sea Stand ranks of people, and they cry,—a fail.

Caf. My hopes do fhape him for the governor. Gent. They do discharge their shot of courtesy: Our friends, at least. [Guns beard.

Caf. I pray you, Sir, go forth,

And give us truth who 'tis that is arriv'd.

Gent. I fhall.

[Exit. Mont. But, good lieutenant, is your general wiv'd? Caf. Moft fortunately: he hath atchiev'd a maid That paragons defcription, and wild fame; One that excels the quirks of blazoning pens, 5 And in the essential vesture of creation Does bear all excellency

Enter

death, or forward their own diffolution, To ftand in bold cure, is to erect themselves in confidence of being fulfilled. A parallel expreffion occurs in K. Lear, Act 3. Sc. 9.

"This reft might yet have balm'd his broken fenfes,
Which, if conveniency will not allow,

"Stand in hard cure."

In bold cure means, in confidence of being cured. STEEVENS. + Of very expert and approv'd allowance ;] I read,

Very expert, and of approv'd allowance. JOHNSON.

5 And in the ESSENTIAL vesture of creation

Does bear all excellency It is plain that fomething very hyperbolical was here intended. But what is there as it flands? Why this, that in the effence of creation the bore all excellency. The expreffion is intolerable, and could never come from one who fo well understood the force of words as our poet. The effential vefture is the fame as effential form. So that the expreffion is nonfenfe. For the vefture of creation fignifies the forms in which created beings are caft. And effence relates not to the form, but to the matter. Shakespeare certainly wrote,

And in TERRESTRIAL vesture of creation. And in this lay the wonder, that all created excellence should be contained within an earthly mortal form. WARBURTON.

Enter a Gentleman.

How now? who has put in?

Gent. 'Tis one Iago, Ancient to the general. Caf. He has had moft favourable and happy fpeed: Tempests themselves, high feas, and howling winds, The gutter'd rocks, and congregated fands, 'Traitors enfteep'd.to clog the guiltless keel;

As

I do not think the prefent reading inexplicable. The author feems to ufe effential, for exiftent, real. She excels the praifes of invention, fays he, and in real qualities, with which creation has invefted her, bears all excellency. JOHNSON.

Does bear all excellency] Such is the reading of the quartos, for which the folio has this,

And in the effential vefture of creation

Do's tyre the ingeniuer.

Which I explain thus,

Does tire the ingenious verfe.

This is the best reading, and that which the author fubstituted in his revifal. JOHNSON.

The reading of the quarto is fo flat and unpoetical, when compared with that fenfe which feems meant to have been given in the folio, that I heartily wish fome emendation could be hit on, which might entitle it to a place in the text. I believe the word tire was not introduced to fignify-to fatigue, but to attire, to drefs. The verb to attire, is often fo abbreviated. The effential vefture of creation tempts me to believe it was fo on this occafion. I would read fomething like this, And in the effential vefture of creation

Does tire the ingenuous virtue.

i. e. invefts her artless virtue in the fairest form of earthly fubftance.

It may, however, be obferved, that the word ingener did not anciently fignify one who manages the engines or artillery of an army, but any ingenious perfon, any master of liberal fcience. So in B. Jonfon's Sejanus, A&t 1. Sc. 1.

"No, Silius, we are no good ingeners,
"We want the fine arts,' "" &c.

Ingener therefore may be the true reading of this paffage.
In the argument of the fame play, Jonfon fays, that Sejanus
"worketh with all his ingene," apparently from the Latin
ingenium. STEEVENS.

Traitors enfteep'd

-] Thus the folio and one of the quartos. The firft copy reads-enfcerped, of which every

reader