N

A CT I.

SCENE, A Street in VENICE.

茶

Enter Rodorigo and Iago.

RODORIGO.

EVER tell me, I take it much unkindly,

That thou, Iago, who haft had my purfe,

As if the ftrings were thine, fhouldit know of this.

Iago. But you'll not hear me.

If ever I did dream of fuch a matter, abhor me.

Rod.

(1) Othello] The groundwork of this play is built on a novel of Cinthio Giraldi, (Dec. 3. Nov. 7.) who feems to have defign'd his tale a document to young ladies againft difproportion'd marriage di non fe accompagnare con buomo, cui la natura & il cielo, & il modo della vita difgiunge da noi That they fhould not link themselves to fuch,

against

Rod Thou told't me, thou didst hold him in thy hate,
Iago. Defpife me,

If I do not.

Three great ones of the city,

In perfonal fuit to make me his lieutenant,

Off capp'd to him and, by the faith of man, (2)

1 know my price, I'm worth no worse a place.

But he, as loving his own pride and purpose,

against whom, nature, providence, and a different way of living have interpos'd a bar. Our Poet inculcates no fuch moral: but rather, that a woman may fall in love with the virtues and fhining qualities of a man; and therein overlook the difference of complexion and colour. Mr. Rymer has run riot against the conduct, manners, fenriments, and diction, of this play: but in fuch a ftrain, that one is mov'd rather to laugh at the freedom and coarsenefs of his raillery, than provok'd to be downright angry at his cenfures. To take a fhort fample of his criticism;"Shakespeare in this play calls 'em the fuper fuptle Venetians: yet examine thoroughly the tragedy, "there is nothing in the noble Desdemona, that is not below any "country chamber-maid with us. And the account, he gives of their noblemen and fenate, can only be calculated for the latitude of Gotham. The character of the Venetian state is to employ ftrangers in their wars: but shall a poet thence fancy, that they will fet a negro to be their general? or truft a Moor to defend them against the Turk? With us a Black a-modr might rife "to be a trumpeter; but Shakespeare would not have him lefs than a lieutenant general. With us a Moor might marry fome little drab, or fmallcoal-wench; Shakespeare would provide him the daughter and heir of fome great lord, or privy-counsellor; and all the town fhould reckon it a very fuitable match. Yet the English are not bred up with that hatred and averfion to the Moors, as are the Venetians, who fuffer by a perpetual hoftility from them. Littora littoribus contraria. Nothing is more odious in nature "than an improbable lie: and certainly never was any play fraught “like this of Othello with improbabilities," &c.

Thus this critick goes on; but fuch reflexions require no ferious anfwer. This tragedy will continue to have lafting charms enough to make us blind to fuch abfurdities, as the Peet thought were not worth his cane.addon

(2) Oft-capt to him:] Thus the oldeft quarto, and fome modern editions; but I have chofe to restore the reading of the first and fecond folio impreffions, off-capt; i. e. food cap in hand, foliciting him. So, in Antony;I have ever held my cap off to thy fortunes. And in Timon;

And let his very breath, whom thou'lt obferve,
Blow off thy cap...

Evade them with a bombaft circumftance,
Horribly ftuft with epithets of war,
And, in conclufion

Non-fuits my mediators." Certes, fays he,
"I have already chofe my Officer."
And what was he?

Forfooth, a great arithmetician,

One Michael Caffio;-("the Florentin's (3)
A fellow almoft damn'd in a fair wife;")

(3) For footh, a great arithmetician,

One Michael Caffio, a Florentine,

That

A fellow almoft damn'd in a fair wife.] Thus has this paffage ignorantly been corrupted, (as Mr. Warburton 1kewife faw with me ;) by falfe pointing, and an inadvertence to matter of fact, thro the whole courfe of the editions. By the bye, this play was not publifh'd even fingly, that I can find, till fix years after the Author's death and by that interval became more liable to errors. I'll fubjoin the correction, and then the reafons for it.

And, in conclufion,

That never, &c.

This pointing fets circumstances right, as I fhall immediately explain; and it gives a variety, in Iago reporting the behaviour of Orbelle, to ftart into thefe breaks; now, to make Othello fpeak;then, to interrupt what Orbello fays, with his own private reflexions;

then, again, to proceed with Othello's fpeeches:-for this not only marks the inquietude of Iago's mind upon the fubject in hand; but likewife fhews the actor in the variation of tone and gefture, whilft he (in a breath, as 'twere) perfonates alternately Othello and himself. Besides, to come to the neceffity of the change made; Lago, not Caffio, was the Florentine; Iago, not Caffio, was the married man; Iago's wife attends Defdemona to Cyprus Caffio has a mistress there, a common ftrumpet; and Iago tells him in the fourth act,

She gives it out, that you hall marry her,

Which would be very abfurd, if Caffio bad been already married at Venice. Befides, our Poet follows the authority of his novel in giving the villainous enfign a fair wife." "Havea fimilmente menata queflo Malvagio la fua Moglie in Cipri, la quale era bella & honefta gioAnd it is very good reafon for rejecting lago, becaufe he was a married man, and might be thought too much govern'd by his wife

of wane.

That never fet a fquadron in the field,
Nor the divifion of a battle knows

More than a spinfter; but the bookish theorick,
Wherein the toged counselors can propofe (4)
As masterly as he; mere prattle, without practice,

Is

to be capable of this charge. And this was a natural objection in an unmarried general, as Othello was when he chofe his officers. Iago therefore was the fellow almoft damn'd in a fair wife: which is an expreffion obfcure enough to deserve a fhort explanation. The Poet means, Iago had fo beautiful a wife, that fhe was his heaven on earth; that he idoliz'd her; and forgot to think of happiness in an afterftate, as placing all his views of blifs in the fingle enjoyment of her. In this fenfe, beauty, when it can fo feduce and ingrofs a man's thoughts, may be faid almost to damn him. Jeffica, fpeaking of BafJanie's happiness in a wife, fays fomething almoft equal to this. For having fuch a bleffing in his lady,

He finds the joys of heaven here on earth;

And if on earth he do not merit it,

In reafon he should never come to heaven. Merch. of Venice. Beaumont and Fletcher likewife, in their King and no King, make Tigranes fpeak of fuch a degree of beauty fufficient to damn fouls. -had the fo tempting fair,

That the could wish it off for damning fouls.

i. e. either, for that it did damn fouls; or, for fear it fhould.

(4) Wherein the tongued confuls. ] So the generality of the impreffions read; but the oldeft quarto has it, toged; (which gave the hint for my emendation;) the fenators, that affifted the duke in council, in their proper gowns Iago, a little lower, fays to Brabantio.

Zounds, Sir, you're robb'd: for fhame put on your gown. Now, I think, 'tis pretty certain, that lago does not mean, "Slip on "c your night gown, but your gown of office, your fenatorial gown; put on your authority, and purfue the thief who has ftole your "daughter." Befides, there is not that contraft of terms betwixt tongued, as there is betwixt toged, and foldier fhip. This reading is peculiarly proper here; and the fame oppofition is almoft for ever made by the Roman writers. For instance;

Cicero in Offic.

Cedant Arma Togæ,

Idem in Pifonem.

-Sed qudd Pacis eft Infigne & Otii, Toga: contrà autèm Arma, Tumultis atque Belli.

Vell. Paterculus de Scipione Emiliano.

paternifque Lucii Pauli Virtutibus fimillimus, omnibus Belli ac Toge dotibus, &c.

Caffius Ciceroni.

Etenim tua Toga omnium Armis felicior.

Is all his foldierfhip-he had th' election;
And I, of whom his eyes had feen the proof
At Rhodes and Cyprus, and on other grounds
Chriftian and heathen must be belee d and calm'd (5)
By Debitor and Creditor, this Counter Cafter;
He, in good time, muft his lieutenant be,

And I, (God bless the mark!) his moor-fhip's ancient.
Rod. By Heav'n, I rather would have been his hangman.
Jago. But there's no remedy, 'tis the curfe of fervice;
Preferment goes by letter and affection,

And not by old gradation, where each second

Ovid. Metamor. lib. xv.

Cæfar in urbe fuâ Deus eft; quem Marte Togâque,
Præcipuum, &c.

Iden in Epift. ex Ponto, li. 2. Ep. 1:

-Jam nunc bac à me, juvenum, bellôque togâque
Maxime.

-nocitura Togâ, nocitura petuntur

Militia.

Juvenal, Sat. 10,

And in a great number of paffages more, that might be quoted. But now let me proceed to explain, why I have ventured to fubftitute counfellors in the room of confuls: and then, I hope, the alteration will not appear arbitrary. The Venetian nobility, 'tis well known, conftitute the great council of the fenate, and are a part of the ad miniftration; and fummon'd to affift and counsel the Doge, who is prince of the fenate, and, in that regard, has only precedency before the other magiftrates. So that, in this refpect, they may very properly be call'd counsellors. Again, when the officer comes from the duke to Brabantio, in a fubfequent fcene of this act, he fays,

The Duke's in council, and your noble self,

I'm fure, is fent for.

And when Brabantio comes into the fenate, the duke fays to him; We lack'd your counsel, and your help to night.

Now Brabantio was a fenator, but no conful. Befides, tho' the government of Venice was democratic at firft, under confuls and tribunes; that form of power has been totally abrogated, fince Doges have been elected and whatever confuls of other ftates may be refident there, yet they have no more a voice, or place, in the public councils, or in what concerns peace or war, than foreign ambaffadors can have in our parliament.

(5) Must be led and calm'd.] There is no confonance of metaphor in thefe two terms. I have chofe to read with the first folio, and feveral other of the old editions.. Belee'd is a fea-term as well as calm'd; and a fhip is faid to be belee'd, when the lies clofe under the wind, on the lee-fhore; makes no fail.

9

Stood