SCENE VI.
Manet Othello.
Oth.
This fellow's of exceeding honesty,
And knows all qualities, 9 note
with a learned spirit,
Of human dealings. 1 noteIf I prove her haggard,
2 noteTho' that her jesses were my dear heart-strings,
3 note
I'd whistle her off, and let her down the wind
To prey at fortune. Haply, for I'm black,
And have not those soft parts of conversation
That chamberers have; or, for I am declin'd
Into the vale of years, yet that's not much;
She's gone, I am abus'd, and my relief
Must be to loath her. Oh the curse of marriage!
That we can call these delicate creatures ours,
And not their appetites! I had rather be a toad,
And live upon the vapour of a dungeon,
Than keep a corner in the thing I love,
For others' use. Yet 'tis the plague of Great ones;
Prerogativ'd are they less than the base;
'Tis destiny unshunnable, like death.
Ev'n then, this 4 note
forked plague is fated to us,
-- 401 --
When we do quicken. Desdemona comes!
Enter Desdemona and Æmilia.
If she be false, oh, then heaven mocks itself:
I'll not believe't.
Des.
How now, my dear Othello?
Your dinner, and the generous Islanders,
By you invited, do attend your presence.
Oth.
I am to blame.
Des.
Why do you speak so faintly?
Are you not well?
Oth.
I have a pain upon my forehead here.
Des.
Why, that's with watching, 'twill away again;
Let me but bind it hard, within this hour
It will be well.
Oth.
Your napkin is too little.
[She drops her handkerchief.
Let it alone. Come, I'll go in with you.
Des.
I am very sorry, that you are not well.
[Exeunt.
Samuel Johnson [1765], The plays of William Shakespeare, in eight volumes, with the corrections and illustrations of Various Commentators; To which are added notes by Sam. Johnson (Printed for J. and R. Tonson [and] C. Corbet [etc.], London) [word count] [S11001].
