Some horrible conceit. If thou doft love me,

Shew me thy thought.

Iago. My lord, you know I love you.

Oth. I think thou doft:

And for I know thou art full of love and honefty,

And weigh'ft thy words before thou giv'ft them breath

Therefore these ftops of thine fright me the more:
For fuch things, in a falfe difloyal knave,
Are tricks of cuftom; but, in a man that's juft,
4 They are clofe delations working from the heart,
That paffion cannot rule.

Iago. For Michael Caffio

I dare be fworn, I think that he is honeft.

Oth. I think fo too.

Iago. Men fhould be what they seem;

5 Or, thofe that be not, 'would they might feem none !
Oth. Certain, men should be what they seem.
Iago. Why, then, I think Caffio's an honeft man.
Oth. Nay, yet there's more in this :

I pray thee, fpeak to me as to thy thinkings,

They are cold dilations working from the heart,

That paffion cannot rule.] i. e. thefe ftops and breaks are cold dilations, or cold keeping back a fecret, which men of phlegmatic conftitutions, whofe hearts are not fwayed or governed by their paffions, we find, can do: while more fanguine tempers reveal themselves at once, and without referve. But the Oxford Editor for cold dilations, reads diftillations. WARB.

I know not why the modern editors are fatisfied with this reading, which no explanation can clear. They might eafily have found, that it is introduced without authority. The old copies uniformly give, clofe dilations, except that the earlier quarto has clofe denotements; which was the author's first expreffion, afterwards changed by him, not to cold dilations, for cold is read in no ancient copy; nor, I believe, to close dilations, but to clofe delations; to occult and fecret accufations, working involuntarily from the beart, which, though refolved to conceal the fault, cannot rule its paffion of refentment. JOHNSON. 5 Or, thofe that be not, would they might feem NONE!] There is no fenfe in this reading. I fuppofe Shakespeare wrote, would they might feem KNAVES. WARBURTON. I believe the meaning is, would they might no longer feem, or bear the fhape of men. JOHNSON.

Ee 2

As

As thou doft ruminate; and give thy worst of thoughts

The worst of words.

Iago. Good my lord, pardon me. Though I am bound to every act of duty,

I am not bound to that all flaves are free to. Utter my thoughts!Why, fay, they are vile and falfe

As where's that palace whereinto foul things Sometimes intrude not? Who has a breast fo pure, But fome uncleanly apprehenfions

Keep leets and law-days, and in feffion fit

With meditations lawful?

Oth. Thou doft confpire against thy friend, Iago, If thou but think'ft him wrong'd, and mak'ft his ear A ftranger to thy thoughts.

Iago. I do befeech you,

7 Though I

perchance, am vicious in my guess,

(As,

6 Keep leets and law-days,—] i. e. govern. A metaphor, wretchedly forced and quaint. WARBURTON.

Rather vifit than govern, but vifit with authoritative intrufion. JoHNSON.

7 THOUGH I, perchance, am vicious in my guess,] Not to mention that, in this reading, the fentence is abrupt and broken, it is likewife highly abfurd. I befeech you give yourfelf no uneafinefs from my unfure obfervance, though I am vicious in my guefs. For his being an ill gueffer was a reason why Othello fhould not be uneafy: in propriety, therefore, it fhould either have been, though I am not vicious, or because I am vicious. It appears then we should read:

I do befeech you,

THINK I, perchance, am vicious in my guess. Which makes the fenfe pertinent and perfect

WARBURTON.

Thou Iperchance, am vicious in my guess,] That abruptnefs in the fpeech which Dr. Warburton complains of, and would alter, may be easily accounted for. Iago seems defirous by this ambiguous hint, Though Ito inflame the jealousy of Othello, which he knew would be more effectually done in this manner, than by any expreffion that bore a determinate meaning. The jealous Othello would fill up the paufe in the speech, which lago turns off at laft to another purpose, and find a

more

(As, I confefs, it is my nature's plague
To spy into abuse; and oft my jealousy
Shapes faults that are not) that your wiflom yet,
From one that fo improbably conceits,

Would take no notice, nor build yourfelf a trouble
Out of his scattering and unfure obfervance.-
It were not for your quiet, nor your good,
Nor for my manhood, honefty, or wifdom,
To let you know my thoughts.

Oth. What doft thou mean?

Iago. Good name, in man and woman, dear my
lord,

Is the immediate jewel of their fouls:

Who fteals my purse, steals trash; 'tis fomething, no

thing;

'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,
And makes me poor indeed.

Oth. By heaven, I'll know thy thought

Iago. You cannot, if my heart were in your hand
Nor fhall not, whilft 'tis in my cuftody.

Oth. Ha!

Iago. Oh, beware, my lord, of jealoufy;
It is the green-ey'd monfter, 9 which doth make

more certain caufe of difcontent, and a greater degree of tor-
ture arifing from the doubtful confideration how it might have
concluded, than he could have experienced had the whole of
what he enquired after been reported to him with every circum-
ftance of aggravation.

We may fuppofe him imagining to himfelf, that Jago mentally continued the thought thus, Though I

than I choose to speak of.

know more

Vicious in my guefs does not mean that he is an ill-gucer, but that he is apt to put the work construction on every thing he attempts to account for. STEEVENS.

3

-imperfectly conceits,] In the old quarto it is,
improbably conceits,

Which I think preferable. JOHNSON.

which doth mock

The meat it feeds on.

-] i. e. loaths that which nourishes

Ee 3

and

The meat it feeds on. That cuckold lives in blifs, Who, certain of his fate, loves not his wronger; But, oh, what damned minutes tells he o'er,

Who doats, yet doubts, fufpects, yet strongly loves! Oth. Oh mifery!

Iago. Poor, and content, is rich, and rich enough; ' But riches, finelefs, is as poor as winter, To him that ever fears he fhall be poor.

Good heaven! the fouls of all my tribe defend
From jealousy!

Oth. Why? why is this?

Think'it thou, I'd make a life of jealousy?
To follow ftill the changes of the moon'

With fresh fufpicions? No; to be once in doubt,
Is once to be refolv'd. Exchange me for a goat,
When I fhall turn the bufinefs of my foul
3. To fuch exfuffolate and blown furmifes,

and futains it. beware of it.

Matching

This being a miferable ftate, lago bids him The Oxford Editor reads:

which doth make

The meat it feeds on.

Implying that its fufpicions are unreal and groundlefs, which is the very contrary to what he would here make his general think, as appears from what follows,

That cuckold lives in blifs, &c.

In a word, the villain is for fixing him jealous: and therefore bids him beware of jealoufy, not that it was an unreafonable, but a miferable ftate, and this plunges him into it, as we fee by his reply, which is only

Oh mifery! WARBURTON.

I have received Hanmer's emendation; becaufe to mock, does not fignify to loath; and because, when Iago bids Othello beware of jealoufy, the green-eyed monster, it is natural to tell why he fhould beware, and for caution he gives him two reasons, that jealoufy often creates its own caufe, and that, when the causes are real, jealousy is mifery. JOHNSON.

But riches, finelefs,-] Unbounded, endlefs, unnumbered treasures. JOHNSON

2

-as poor as winter,] Finely expreffed: winter producing no fruits. WARBURTON.

3 To fuch exfuffolate and blown furmifes,] This odd and farfetched word was made yet more uncouth in all the editions

before

Matching thy inference. 'Tis not to make me jealous,
To fay, my wife is fair, feeds well, loves company,
Is free of fpeech, fings, plays, and dances well,
4 Where virtue is, thefe are moft virtuous:
Nor from mine own weak merits will I draw
The smallest fear, or doubt of her revolt;
For fhe had eyes, and chofe me.-No, Iago,
I'll fee, before I doubt; when I doubt, prove:
And, on the proof, there is no more but this
Away at once with love, or jealousy.

Iago. I am glad of this; for now I shall have
reafon

To fhew the love and duty that I bear you
With franker fpirit. Therefore, as I am bound,
Receive it from me.-I fpeak not yet of proof.
Look to your wife; obferve her well with Caffio;
Wear your eye-thus; not jealous, nor fecure.
I would not have your free and noble nature
5 Out of felf bounty be abus'd; look to't:
I know our country difpofition well;
In Venice they do let heaven fee the pranks

They dare not fhew their husbands; their beft confcience

Is, not to leave undone, but keep unknown.

Oth. Doft thou fay fo?

before Hanmer's, by being printed, exfufficate. The allufion is to a bubble. Do not think, fays the Moor, that I fhall change the noble defigns that now employ my thoughts, to fufpicions which, like bubbles blown into a wide extent, have only an empty fhew without folidity, or that in confequence of fuch empty fears, I will clofe with thy inference against the virtue of my wife. JOHNSON.

4 Where virtue is, thefe ARE MOST virtuous:] An action in itfelf indifferent grows virtuous by its end and application. JOHNSON.

5 Out of felf-bounty be abus'd;] Self-bounty, for inherent generofity. WARBURTON.

our country difpofition

In Venice] Here Iago feems to be a Venetian.