What bloody work foever ". Oth. I greet thy love, Not with vain thanks, but with acceptance bounteous, 6 let bim command, And to obey fhall be in me remorse, And What bloody work foever.] Let him command whatever blondy bufinefs, and in me it shall be an act, not of cruelty, but of tenderness, to obey him; not of malice to others, but of tenderness for him. If this fenfe be thought too violent, 1 fee nothing better than to follow Pope's reading, as it is improved by Theobald. JOHNSON. The quarto, 1622, has not the words-in me. They first appeared in the folio. Theobald reads, Nor to obey, &c. About Dr. Johnson's explanation of this paffage is fo juft, that any further comment on it appears to me unneceffary. We have fo often had occafion to point out the ancient ufage of the word remorse, i. e. pity, that I fhall only here refer to fome of the paffages in which it may be found. See Vol. II. p. 112, n. 1, and Vol. IV. p. 295, n. 2, and P. 544, n. I. See alfo p. 559, n. 8, of the play before us. the year 1680 the word began to be difufed in this fenfe; for in Anthony Wood's Diary, we find the following paffage, ad ann. 1652: "One of thefe, a moft handfome virgin, arrai'd in coftly and gorgeous apparel, kneel'd down to Thomas Wood, with tears and prayers to fave her life: And, being strucken with a deep remorse, took her under his arme, went with her out of the church," &c. In his revised work, which he appears to have finished about the year 1680, instead of the words "a deep remorse," we find "a profound pitie." In the prologue to Town Shifts, a comedy, printed in 1671, remorse is employed in its ancient fenfe : "Why should you be fuch ftrangers to remorse, "To judge before you try ?" MALONE. Again, in King Edward III. 1599, that prince speaking to the citizens of Calais : "But for yourselves, look you for no remorse." I could add many more inftances, but fhall content myself to obferve that the fentiment of Iago bears no fmall refemblance to that of Arviragus in Cymbeline: I'd let a parish of fuch Clotens blood, "And praife myself for charity." STEEVENS. 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 business, 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. So, in The Two Gentlemen of Verona, A&t IV. fc. iii. the crimelefs Eglamour is called remorsefull. So, in King Richard III. A& III. fc. vii. 0 0 3 And will upon the inftant put thee to't: Within these three days let me hear thee say, Jago. My friend is dead; 'tis done, at your requeft *: But let her live. Oth. Damn her, lewd minx! O. damn her?! SCENE IV. The fame. [Exeunt. Enter DESDEMONA, EMIL1A, and Clown. Def. Do you know, firrah, where lieutenant Caffio lies? Clown. I dare not fay, he lies any where. Def. Why, man? Clown. He is a foldier; and for me to fay a foldier lies, is stabbing. Def. Go to; Where lodges he? "As well we know your tenderness of heart, "And gentle, kind, effeminate remorse." So, in Holinfhed's Corqueft of Ireland, p. 13. "to have remorse and compaffion upon others diftreffes ;" and in the dedication, "to have regard and remorse to your faid land." TOLLET. If I am not deceived, this paffage has been entirely mistaken. I read: Let bim command, "An' to obey shall be in me remorse, and Othello's impatience And for if is fufficiently common: breaks off the fentence; I think, with additional beauty. What bloody work foever.] So the quartos. The folio: What bloody bufinefs ever. STEEVENS. FARMER. * at your requeft:] Thus the folio. The quarto, 1622, reads as you request. MALONE. 70, damn ber!] Thus the quarto, 1622. Folio: O damn her, damn her, MALONE. Clown. Clown. To tell you where he lodges, is to tell you where I lie. Dej. 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 my own throat. Def. Can you enquire him out? and be edify'd by report ? Clown. I will catechize the world for him ;, that is, make queftions, and by them answer 9. Def. Seek him, bid him come hither: tell him, I have moved my lord in his behalf, and hope, all wilt 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, Emilia ? Emil. I know not, madam. Def. Believe me, I had rather have loft my purse Emil. Is he not jealous? 8 To tell you, &c.] This and the following fpeech are wanting in the first quarto. STEEVENS. 9 and by them anfwer.] i. e. and by them, when answered, form my own answer to you. The quaintnels of the expreflion is in character. Dr. Warburton for by, which is found both in the quarto, 1622, and the folio, reads-bid, "i.e. bid the world, those whom he questions." The modern editors, following a quarto of no authority, printed in 1630, read-and make them answer. MALONE. To do this is within the compafs of man's wit; and therefore, &c.] So, in K. Lear: "I cannot draw a cart, nor eat wild oats; "If it be man's work, I'll do it.” MALONE. 2 - cruzadoes :-] A Portugueze coin, in value three fhillings fterling. GREY. So called from the crofs ftamped upon it. JOHNSON. 004 Def. 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 3.-How is it with you, my lord? Enter OTHELLO. Oth. Well, my good lady:—[Afide.] O, hardness to diffemble! How do you, Desdemona? Def. Well, my good lord. Oth. Give me your hand: This hand is moist, my lady. For here's a young and fweating devil here, Def. You may, indeed, fay fo; For 'twas that hand that gave away my heart. 3 till Caffio be call'd to bim.-] Thus the folic. The quarto, 1622, reads-Let Callio be call'd to him. MALONE. 4 Hot, bot, and moift:] Ben Jonfon feems to have attempted a ridicule on this paffage, in Every man out of bis Humour, A&t.V.fc. ii. where Sogliardo fays to Saviolina: "How does my tweet lady? bet and moift beautiful and lufty ?" STEEVENS. Ben Jonfon was ready enough on allo ccafions to depretiate and ridicule our authour, but in the prefent inftance, I believe, he must be acquitted; for Every Man cut of bis Humour was printed in 1600, and written probably in the preceding year; at which time, we are almoft certain that Orbello had not been exhibited. MALONE. 5-exercife devout;] Exercife was the religious term. Henry the feventh (fays Bacon)had the fortune of a true chriftian as well as of a great king, in living exercifed, and dying repentant." So, Lord Haftings in K. Richard III. fays to a priest: "I am in debt for your last exercife." See Vol. VI. p. 531, n. 1. MALONE. Oth. Oth. Aliberal hand: The hearts, of old, gave hands; But our new heraldry is-hands, not hearts". -The bearts, of old, gave bands; Def. But our new heraldry is-bands, not bearts.] It is evident that the first line fhould be read thus, The bands of old gave bearts :' Otherwife it would be no reply to the preceding words, For 'twas that band that gave away my beart: Not fo, fays her husband: The bands of old indeed gave bearts; but the custom now is to give bands without hearts. The expreffion of new beraldry 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 heraldry 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 addrefs in this allufion, is the compliment he pays to his old miftrefs Elizabeth. For James's pretence for raifing money by this creation, was the reduction of Ulfter, and other parts of Ireland; the memory of which he would perpetuate by that addition to their arms, it being the arms of Ulfter. Now the method ufed by Elizabeth in the reduction of that kingdom was fo different from this, the dignities fhe conferred being on those who used their feel, and not their gold in this fervice, that nothing could add more to her glory, than the being compared to her fucceffor in this point of view: nor was it uncommon for the dramatick 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 Eaft Indies for pepper. The other replies, To Amboyna fo 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. The hiftorical obfervation is very judicious and acute, but of the emendation there is no need. She fays, that her hand gave away ber beart. 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 band was formerly given by the heart; but now it neither gives it, nor is given by it. JOHNSON. 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 whose court |