Though great ones are their object. 'Tis even so;
When the more important ones are their true object. It’s true for us too,
For let our finger ache, and it indues
When our finger hurts, it makes
Our other healthful members even to that sense
The rest of our body align with that pain
Of pain: nay, we must think men are not gods,
And hurt as well. No, we must not think men are gods,
Nor of them look for such observances
Nor think that they will always act as if
As fit the bridal. Beshrew me much, Emilia,
It is their wedding day. O curse me, Emilia,
I was, unhandsome warrior as I am,
I am such a poor soldier, and I
Arraigning his unkindness with my soul;
Blamed him for his unkindness,
But now I find I had suborn'd the witness,
When really I was judging him
And he's indicted falsely.
And thinking of him wrongly.
EMILIA
Pray heaven it be state-matters, as you think,
I pray that it is state matters, like you think,
And no conception nor no jealous toy
And no imagination or jealousy
Concerning you.
That is about you.
DESDEMONA
Alas the day! I never gave him cause.
I would rue that day! I never gave him a reason for such thoughts.
EMILIA
But jealous souls will not be answer'd so;
But jealous men do not need reason.
They are not ever jealous for the cause,
They are not jealous for a cause,
But jealous for they are jealous: 'tis a monster
But simply because they are jealous. It’s a monster
Begot upon itself, born on itself.
That creates itself.
DESDEMONA
Heaven keep that monster from Othello's mind!
God, keep that monster away from Othello!
EMILIA
Lady, amen.
Amen to that.
DESDEMONA
I will go seek him. Cassio, walk hereabout:
I will go to him. Cassio, stay here –
If I do find him fit, I'll move your suit
If I find him able to talk to, I will plead your case
And seek to effect it to my uttermost.
With all my strength.
CASSIO
I humbly thank your ladyship.
I humbly thank you.
Exeunt DESDEMONA and EMILIA
Enter BIANCA
BIANCA
Save you, friend Cassio!
Hello, Cassio!
CASSIO
What make you from home?
How are you so far from home?
How is it with you, my most fair Bianca?
How are you, my beautiful Bianca?
I' faith, sweet love, I was coming to your house.
Truly, sweet love, I was on my way to you.
BIANCA
And I was going to your lodging, Cassio.
And I was on my way to your house, Cassio.
What, keep a week away? seven days and nights?
What, should I stay away from you for a full week? Seven days and nights?
Eight score eight hours? and lovers' absent hours,
One hundred and sixty eight hours? And these are the hours of lovers apart,
More tedious than the dial eight score times?
Which are much longer than regular ones.
O weary reckoning!
O what a tedious waiting!
CASSIO
Pardon me, Bianca:
Forgive me, Bianca –
I have this while with leaden thoughts been press'd:
I have been depressed with heavy thoughts,
But I shall, in a more continuate time,
But hopefully I will soon
Strike off this score of absence. Sweet Bianca,
Make up this absent time. Sweet Bianca,
Giving her DESDEMONA's handkerchief
Take me this work out.
Could you copy this pattern for me?
BIANCA
O Cassio, whence came this?
Cassio, where did this come from?
This is some token from a newer friend:
This must be a gift from a newer girl.
To the felt absence now I feel a cause:
Now I know why you were absent.
Is't come to this? Well, well.
Has it come to this?
CASSIO
Go to, woman!
Go do it, woman!
Throw your vile guesses in the devil's teeth,
Get rid of your evil guesses and send them back
From whence you have them. You are jealous now
To where you got them. You are jealous
That this is from some mistress, some remembrance:
That this is from some new mistress of mine:
No, in good troth, Bianca.
It’s not, truly, Bianca.
BIANCA
Why, whose is it?
Then whose is it?
CASSIO
I know not, sweet: I found it in my chamber.
I don’t know, my sweet. I found it in my room.
I like the work well: ere it be demanded--
I like the stitching, and before I have to give it back –
As like enough it will--I'ld have it copied:
Which I certainly will – I would like to have it copied for me.
Take it, and do't; and leave me for this time.
Take it and stitch it for me, and leave me for now.
BIANCA
Leave you! wherefore?
Leave you! Why?
CASSIO
I do attend here on the general;
I am waiting here for Othello,
And think it no addition, nor my wish,
And I do not think it will help me
To have him see me woman'd.
If he sees me with a woman.
BIANCA
Why, I pray you?
Why?
CASSIO
Not that I love you not.
Though I do love you.
BIANCA
But that you do not love me.
But you don’t love me.
I pray you, bring me on the way a little,
Please, bring me along with you
And say if I shall see you soon at night.
And tell me if I will see you later.
CASSIO
'Tis but a little way that I can bring you;
I can only bring you a little ways
For I attend here: but I'll see you soon.
Since I must wait here. I will see you soon.
BIANCA
'Tis very good; I must be circumstanced.
Alright, fine. I will obey the circumstance.
Exeunt
Enter OTHELLO and IAGO
IAGO
Will you think so?
Do you think so?
OTHELLO
Think so, Iago!
Think so! Iago!
IAGO
What,
What,
To kiss in private?
Did they kiss in private?
OTHELLO
An unauthorized kiss.
A wrong, secret kiss.
IAGO
Or to be naked with her friend in bed
Or perhaps they were naked together in bed
An hour or more, not meaning any harm?
For an hour or so, but didn’t do anything?
OTHELLO
Naked in bed, Iago, and not mean harm!
Naked in bed, and not do anything! Absurd!
It is hypocrisy against the devil:
That would be like the devil being a hypocrite and not really doing evil.
They that mean virtuously, and yet do so,
If they meant to not have sex, and yet laid together like that,
The devil their virtue tempts, and they tempt heaven.
Then they are asking to be tempted, and condemned.
IAGO
So they do nothing, 'tis a venial slip:
Then if they do not do anything, it is only a minor slip-up.
But if I give my wife a handkerchief,--
But, if I give my wife a handkerchief–
OTHELLO
What then?
Then what?
IAGO
Why, then, 'tis hers, my lord; and, being hers,
Well, then it is hers, my lord. And since it is hers,
She may, I think, bestow't on any man.
She can give it to anyone.
OTHELLO
She is protectress of her honour too:
She is also the owner of her honor, though –
May she give that?
Can she give that to anyone?
IAGO
Her honour is an essence that's not seen;
Her honor is a quality, not a tangible object.
They have it very oft that have it not:
Many times people do not even have the honor they think they do.
But, for the handkerchief,--
But a handkerchief–
OTHELLO
By heaven, I would most gladly have forgot it.
By God, I wish I could forget about it
Thou said'st, it comes o'er my memory,
What you said clouds my thinking
As doth the raven o'er the infected house,
And, like a raven flying over a cursed house,
Boding to all--he had my handkerchief.
Foreshadows evil. He has my handkerchief!
IAGO
Ay, what of that?
So, what of it?
OTHELLO
That's not so good now.
That is no good.
IAGO
What,
Well
If I had said I had seen him do you wrong?
What if I said that I had seen him do something wrong?
Or heard him say,--as knaves be such abroad,
Or if I heard him say – like evil men,
Who having, by their own importunate suit,
Who of their own forceful manipulation
Or voluntary dotage of some mistress,
Or the love of some woman
Convinced or supplied them, cannot choose
Get what they are after, cannot help themselves
But they must blab--
But talk about it–
OTHELLO
Hath he said any thing?
Did he say something?
IAGO
He hath, my lord; but be you well assured,
He did, my lord, but you should know
No more than he'll unswear.
That he will only deny it.
OTHELLO
What hath he said?
What did he say?
IAGO
'Faith, that he did--I know not what he did.
Well, that he did– I don’t know what he did.
OTHELLO
What? what?
What? Tell me.
IAGO
Lie--
That he laid
OTHELLO
With her?
With her?
IAGO
With her, on her; what you will.
With her, on her, whatever you think.
OTHELLO
Lie with her! lie on her! We say lie on her, when
Lay with her! On her! I would rather hear, instead of “lie on her”
they belie her. Lie with her! that's fulsome.
that people were lying about her. Lay with her! That’s disgusting.
--Handkerchief--confessions--handkerchief!--To
–Handkerchief–confessions–handkerchief! He must
confess, and be hanged for his labour;--first, to be
confess and then be hung for his confession. –No, first
hanged, and then to confess.--I tremble at it.
hung, and then he can confess. – I am shaking with anger.
Nature would not invest herself in such shadowing
Nature would not let me feel like this, in such
passion without some instruction. It is not words
passion, if there was no truth to the matter. Simple words
that shake me thus. Pish! Noses, ears, and lips.
can’t shake me like this. Bah! Noses, ears, lips.
--Is't possible?--Confess--handkerchief!--O devil!--
Is it possible? – Confess – handkerchief! – O devil!
Falls in a trance
IAGO
Work on,
Keep going,
My medicine, work! Thus credulous fools are caught;
My poisonous imaginations that I gave him! Naively trusting fools are easily caught
And many worthy and chaste dames even thus,
And many worthy, pure women are,
All guiltless, meet reproach. What, ho! my lord!
Even though they are blameless, punished. What, Othello!
My lord, I say! Othello!
Othello!
Enter CASSIO
How now, Cassio!
Hello, Cassio!
CASSIO
What's the matter?
What is going on?
IAGO
My lord is fall'n into an epilepsy:
Othello has fallen into an epileptic fit.
This is his second fit; he had one yesterday.
This is his second one – the first one was yesterday.
CASSIO
Rub him about the temples.
Rub his temples.
IAGO
No, forbear;
No, just wait –
The lethargy must have his quiet course:
The fit should run its course.
If not, he foams at mouth and by and by
If it doesn’t, he begins to foam at the mouth
Breaks out to savage madness. Look he stirs:
And become mad. Look, he wakes.
Do you withdraw yourself a little while,
Go away for a little while,
He will recover straight: when he is gone,
He will recover quickly. When he is gone,
I would on great occasion speak with you.
I greatly need to talk to you.
Exit CASSIO
How is it, general? have you not hurt your head?
General, how are you? Did you hurt your head?
OTHELLO
Dost thou mock me?
Are you mocking me?
IAGO
I mock you! no, by heaven.
Mocking you! Of course not.
Would you would bear your fortune like a man!
But I wish you could bear your misfortune like a man!
OTHELLO
A horned man's a monster and a beast.
A man who has been cheated on is more of a monster and an animal.
IAGO
There's many a beast then in a populous city,
Well there are many animals, then, in a crowded city,
And many a civil monster.
And many monsters are still polite.
OTHELLO
Did he confess it?
Did he confess to it?
IAGO
Good sir, be a man;
Good sir, act like a man.
Think every bearded fellow that's but yoked
Every married fellow
May draw with you: there's millions now alive
Has the same situation you do. There are millions
That nightly lie in those unproper beds
Who go to bed each night with their cheating wives
Which they dare swear peculiar: your case is better.
Whom they think are loyal to them
. Your situation is better.
O, 'tis the spite of hell, the fiend's arch-mock,
O, it is indeed a curse, the worst kind of mocking,
To lip a wanton in a secure couch,
To kiss a loose woman
And to suppose her chaste! No, let me know;
And believe she is pure! No, I would rather know,
And knowing what I am, I know what she shall be.
And then I will know what I really am and what she really is.
OTHELLO
O, thou art wise; 'tis certain.
You are certainly wise.
IAGO
Stand you awhile apart;
Go away from the situation for a little
Confine yourself but in a patient list.
And calm down in patience.
Whilst you were here o'erwhelmed with your grief--
While you were overwhelmed here in a fit of sadness –
A passion most unsuiting such a man--
Which is not the proper response for a man –
Cassio came hither: I shifted him away,
Cassio came here. I ushered him away
And laid good 'scuse upon your ecstasy,
And made up an excuse for your fit,
Bade him anon return and here speak with me;
But asked him to come back and talk with me,
The which he promised. Do but encave yourself,
Which he agreed to do. So hide yourself
And mark the fleers, the gibes, and notable scorns,
And make a note of all of the sneers and scorns
That dwell in every region of his face;
That will show up on his face.
For I will make him tell the tale anew,
I will make him tell the story again –
Where, how, how oft, how long ago, and when
Where, how, how often, when it started, and when
He hath, and is again to cope your wife:
He plans again to go to your wife.
I say, but mark his gesture. Marry, patience;
Again, make a note of his actions. Be patient,
Or I shall say you are all in all in spleen,
Or I will think that you are taken up by your rage
And nothing of a man.
And not really a man.
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated) Page 602