Did I my soul and fortunes consecrate. The rites for which I love him are bereft me, By his dear absence. Let me go with him. Oth. Your voices, lords: beseech you, let her will Vouch with me, heaven, I therefore beg it not, Nor to comply with heat-the young affects Make head against my estimation! Duke. Be it as you shall privately determine, Either for her stay or going: th' affair cries haste, And speed must answer it. First Sen. You must away to-night. Oth. With all my heart. Duke. At nine i' the morning here we'll meet again.— Othello, leave some officer behind, And he shall our commission bring to you; With such things else of quality and respect As doth import you. Oth. So please your grace, my ancient; A man he is of honesty and trust : To his conveyance I assign my wife, With what else needful your good grace shall think Good night to every one.-[To Brab.] And, noble signior, If virtue no delighted beauty lack, Your son-in-law is far more fair than black. First Sen. Adieu, brave Moor; use Desdemona well. Bra. Look to her, Moor, if thou hast eyes to see: She has deceiv'd her father, and may thee. [Exeunt Duke, Senators, Officers, &c. Oth. My life upon her faith!-Honest Iago, Rod. Iago, [Exeunt Othello and Desdemona. Iago. What say'st thou, noble heart? Iago. Why, go to bed, and sleep. Rod. I will incontinently drown myself. Iago. If thou dost, I shall never love thee after. Why, thou silly gentleman! Rod. It is silliness to live when to live is torment; and then have we a prescription to die when death is our physician. Iago. O villanous! I have looked upon the world for four times seven years; and since I could distinguish betwixt a benefit and an injury, I never found man that knew how to love himself. Ere I would say, I would drown myself for the love of a guinea-hen, I would change my humanity with a baboon. Rod. What should I do? I confess it is my shame to be so fond; but it is not in my virtue to amend it. Iago. Virtue! a fig! 'tis in ourselves that we are thus or thus. Our bodies are gardens; to the which our wills are gardeners so that if we will plant nettles, or sow lettuce; set hyssop, and weed-up thyme; supply it with one gender of herbs, or distract it with many; either to have it steril with idleness, or manured with industry; why, the power and corrigible authority of this lies in our wills. If the balance of our lives had not one scale of reason to poise another of sensuality, the blood and baseness of our natures would conduct us to most preposterous conclusions: but we have reason to cool our raging motions, our carnal stings, our unbitted lusts; whereof I take this that you call love to be a sect or scion. Rod. It cannot be. Iago. It is merely a lust of the blood and a permission of the will. Come, be a man: drown thyself! drown cats and blind puppies. I have professed me thy friend, and I confess me knit to thy deserving with cables of perdurable toughness; I could never better stead thee than now. Put money in thy purse; follow thou the wars; defeat thy favour with an usurped beard; I say, put money in thy purse. It cannot be that Desdemona should long continue her love to the Moor,-put money in thy purse,-nor he his to her: it was a violent commencement, and thou shalt see an answerable sequestration;-put but money in thy purse. — These Moors are changeable in their wills:-fill thy purse with money: the food that to him now is as luscious as locusts shall be to him shortly as bitter as coloquintida. She must change for youth: when she is sated with his body, she will find the error of her choice: she must have change, she must: therefore put money in thy purse.(24)-If thou wilt needs damn thyself, do it a more delicate way than drowning. Make all the money thou canst: if sanctimony and a frail vow betwixt an erring barbarian and a supersubtle Venetian be not too hard for my wits and all the tribe of hell, thou shalt enjoy her; therefore make money. A pox of drowning thyself! it is clean out of the way: seek thou rather to be hanged in compassing thy joy than to be drowned and go without her. Rod. Wilt thou be fast to my hopes, if I depend on the issue? Iago. Thou art sure of me :-go, make money:-I have told thee often, and I re-tell thee again and again, I hate the Moor: my cause is hearted; thine hath no less reason. Let us be conjunctive in our revenge against him: if thou canst cuckold him, thou dost thyself a pleasure, me a sport. There are many events in the womb of time, which will be delivered. Traverse; go; provide thy money. We will have more of this to-morrow. Adieu. Rod. Where shall we meet i' the morning? Tago. At my lodging. Rod. I'll be with thee betimes. Iago. Go to; farewell. Do you hear, Roderigo? Rod. What say you? Iago. No more of drowning, do you hear? Rod. I am changed: I'll go sell all my land. That thinks men honest that but seem to be so; As asses are. I have 't ;—it is engender'd :—hell and night [Exit. Must bring this monstrous birth to the world's light. [Exit. ACT II. SCENE I. A seaport town in Cyprus. A platform. Enter MONTANO and two Gentlemen. Mon. What from the cape can you discern at sea? I cannot 'twixt the heaven and the main Descry a sail. Mon. Methinks the wind hath spoke aloud at land; 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, And quench the guards of th' ever-fixèd pole: On the enchafed flood. Mon. If that the Turkish fleet Be not enshelter'd and embay'd, they're drown'd; Enter a third Gentleman. Third Gent. News, lads! our wars are done. The desperate tempest hath so bang'd the Turks, That their designment halts: a noble ship of Venice Hath seen a grievous wreck and sufferance On most part of their fleet. Mon. How! is this true? The ship is here put in, A Veronesa; Michael Cassio, (26) Mon. I'm glad on't; 'tis a worthy governor. Third 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. Mon. Pray heavens he be; For I have serv'd him, and the man commands Like a full soldier. Let's to the seaside, ho! |