Oth. I greet thy love, Not with vain thanks, but with acceptance bounteous, And will upon the inftant put thee to't: Within these three days let me hear thee fay, lago. My friend is dead; 'tis done, at your request: But let her live. Again, in King Edward III, 1599, that Prince speaking to the citizens of Calais : "But for yourselves, look you for no remorfe." Again, in Sir Clyomon Knight of the Golden Shield, 1599: "Who taketh no remorfe of womankind.” Again, in Sir John Oldcafile, 1600 : "Here ftand I craving no remorse at all." I could add many more instances, but fhall content myself to obferve that the fentiment of Iago bears no fimall resemblance to that of Arviragus in Cymbeline: "I'd let a parish of fuch Clotens blood, "And praife myself for charity." STEEVENS. If I am not deceived, this paffage has been entirely mistaken. I read : "Let him command. "An' to obey fhall be in me remorse, And for if is fufficiently common and Othello's impatience breaks off the fentence; I think, with additional beauty. FARMER. Before I faw Dr. Johnfon's edition of Shakspeare, my opinion of this paffage was formed, and written, and thus I understood it : Let him command any bloody bufinefs, and to obey shall be in me an act of pity and compaffion for wrong'd Othello. Remorfe frequently fignifies pity, mercy, compaffion, or a tenderness of heart, unattended with the ftings of a guilty confcience. TOLLET. The examples quoted by Mr. Tollet and fome by Mr. Steevens I have omitted, as I think those already inferted are fufficient to prove the meaning of the word. Mr. Monck Mafon fays, he may venture to affert, that Shakspeare feldom if ever ufes the word in any other sense. EDITOR. And to obey fhall be in me remorfe.] This mode of fpeaking is not confined to Shakspeare. Thus in Purchas's Pilgrim, vol. iv. 1196: "It could not be in them to make resistance.” HENDERSON. Oth Oth. Damn her, lewd minx! O, damn her! Come, go with me apart; I will withdraw, To furnish me with fome swift means of death For the fair devil. Now art thou my lieutenant. Iago. I am you own for ever. SCENE IV. Another apartment in the Caftle. Enter Defdemona, Emilia, and Clown. [Exeunt. Def. Do you know, firrah, where lieutenant Caffio Clown. I dare not fay, he lies any where. Clown. He is a foldier; and for me to fay a foldier lies, is ftabbing. Def. Go to; Where lodges he? Cloren. To tell you where he lodges, is to tell you where I lie. Def. Can any thing be made of this? Clown. I know not where he lodges; and for me to devife a lodging, and fay-he lies here, or he lies there, were to lie in mine own throat. Def. Can you enquire him out? and be edify'd by report? Clozen. I will catechize the world for him; that is, make queftions, and make them anfwer. 2 To tell you, &c.] This and the following fpeech are wanting in the first quarto. STEEVENS. 3 Clown. I will catechize the world for him; that is, make queftions and by them anfwer.] This Clown is a fool to fome purpose. He was to go feek for one; he says, he will afk for him, and by his own queflions make anfwer. Without doubt we should read, and bid them anfver; i. e. the world; those whom we question. WARBURTON Def Def. Seek him, bid him come hither: tell him, I have mov'd my lord in his behalf, and hope, all will be well. Clown. To do this is within the compafs of man's wit; and therefore I will attempt the doing of it. [Exit. Def. Where should I lose that handkerchief, Emi lia? Emil. I know not, madam. 4 Def. Believe me, I had rather have loft my purse Full of cruzadoes: And, but my noble Moor Is true of mind, and made of no fuch bafenefs As jealous creatures are, it were enough To put him to ill thinking. Emil. Is he not jealous? Def. Who, he? I think, the fun, where he was born, Drew all fuch humours from him. Emil. Look, where he comes. Def. I will not leave him now, 'till Caffio be Call'd to him.-How is it with you, my lord? Enter Othello: Oth. Well, my good lady [Afide.] O, hardness to diffemble! How do you, Defdemora ? Def. Well, my good lord. Oth. Give me your hand: This hand is moist, my lady. Def. It yet hath felt no age, nor known no for row. Oth. This argues fruitfulness, and liberal heart ;Hot, hot, and moift: This hand of yours requires A fe 4-cruzadoes :-] A Portuguese coin, in value three fillings flerling. GREY. So called from the cross ftamped upon it. JOHNSON. s Hot, hot, and moift:] Ben Jonfon feems to have attempted a ridi. A fequefter from liberty, fafting and prayer, For here's a young and fweating devil here, Def. You may, indeed, fay fo; For 'twas that hand that gave away my heart. 6 hands; But a ridicule on this paffage, in Every Man out of his Humour, a& v. fc. 2. where Sogliardo fays to Saviolina: "How does my fweet Lady? hot and moift? beautiful and lufty?" STEEVENS. Ben Jonfon was ready enough on all occafions to depreciate and ridicule our author, but in the prefent inftance, I believe,. he must be acquitted; for Every Man out of his Humour was printed in 1600, and written probably in the preceding year; at which time, we are almost certain that Othello had not been exhibited. MALONE. 6-The hearts, of old, gave hands z But our new heraldry is bands, not bearts.] It is evident that the first line fhould be read thus, The bands of old gave hearts; Otherwife it would be no reply to the preceding words, For 'twas that hand that gave away my heart : Not fo, fays her husband: The hands of old indeed gave hearts; but the cuffom now is to give hands without hearts. The expreffion of new heraldry was a fatirical allufion to the times. Soon after James the First came to the crown, he created the new dignity of baronets for money. Amongst their other prerogatives of honour, they had an addition to their paternal arms, of a hand gules in an efcutcheon argent And we are not to doubt but that this was the new bheraldry alluded to by our author: by which he infinuates, that fome then created had bands indeed, but not bearts; that is, money to pay for the creation, but no virtue to purchase the bonour. But the finest part of the poet's address in this allufion, is the compliment he pays to his old mi@refs Elizabeth. For James's pretence for raising money by this creation, was the reduction of Ulfter, and other parts of Ireland; the inemory of which he would perpetuate by that addition to their arms, it being the arms of Ulfter. Now the method used by Elizabeth in the reduction of that kingdom was fo different from this, the dignities fhe conferred being on thofe who employed their feel, and not their gold in this fervice, that nothing could add more to her glory, than the being compared to her fucceffor VOL. X. Xx in But our new heraldry is-hands, not hearts. Def. I cannot fpeak of this. Come now, your promife. Oth. What promife, chuck? Def. I have fent to bid Caffio come speak with you. Oth. I have a falt and fullen rheum offends me; 7 Lend in this point of view nor was it uncommon for the dramatie poets of that time to fatirize the ignominy of James's reign. So Fletcher, in The Fair Maid of the Inn. One fays, I will fend thee to Amboyna in the East Indies for pepper. The other replies, To Amboyna? So I might be pepper'd. Again, in the fame play, a failor fays, Defpife not this pitch'd canvas, the time was we have known them lined with Spanish ducats. WARBURTON. gave The hiftorical obfervation is very judicious and acute, but of the emendation there is no need. She fays, that her hand away her heart. He goes on with his fufpicion, and the hand which he had before called frank, he now terms liberal; then proceeds to remark, that the hand was formerly given by the heart ; but now it neither gives it, nor is given by it. JOHNSON. I think, with Dr. Warburton, that the new order of baronets is here again alluded to. See Merry Wives of Windfor, p. 284, and Spelman's Epigram there cited. 66 florentis nomen honoris "Indicat in clypei fronte cruenta manus. "Non quod fævi aliquid, aut ftricto fortiter ense BLACKSTONE. -our new heraldry, &c.] I believe this to be only a figurative expreffion, without the leaft reference to king James's creation of baronets. The abfurdity of making Othello fo familiar with British heraldry, the utter want of confiftency as well as policy in any fneer of Shakspeare at the badge of honours inftituted by a Prince whom on all other occafions he was folicitous to flatter, and at whofe court this very piece was acted in 1613, very ftrongly incline me to queftion the propriety of Dr. Warburton's hiftorical explanation. STEEVENS A paffage in Hamlet on the fubje of matrimony, in which hands and hearts are again introduced, may ferve to fupport the opinion of those, who think our author had here no particular allufion to the creation of the order of Baronets : "Since love our hearts, and Hymen did our hands "Unite commutual in moft facred bands.", MALONE. 7falt and forry rheum-] The old quartos has, -falt and fullen rheum That |