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In night, and on the court of guard and safety 6! 'Tis monstrous.-Iago, who began it?

Mon. If partially affin'd', or leagu'd in office,

• In night, and on the court of guard and fafety!] The old copies have on the court and guard of fafety; the words having undoubedly. been tranfpofed by negligence at the prefs. For this emendation, of which I am confident every reader will approve, I am answerable. The court of guard was the common phrafe of the time for the guardroom. It has already been used by Iago in a former fcene; and what ftill more strongly confirms the emendation, Iago is there fpeaking of Cof and describing him as about to be placed in the very station where he now appears: "The lieutenant to-night watches on the court of guard.” Again, in Antony and Cleopatra:

"If we be not reliev'd within this hour,
"We must return to the court of guard."

The fame phrafe occurs in Sir John Oldraftle, 1600, and in many other old plays. A fimilar mistake has happened in the prefent feene, where in the original copy we find,

"Have you forgot all place of sense and duty ?” inftead of all fenfe of place and duty.

I may venture to affert with confidence, that no editor of Shakfpeare has more fedulously adhered to the ancient copies than I have done, or more steadily oppofed any change grounded merely on obfolete or unusual phrafeology. But the error in the prefent cafe is fo apparent, and the phrafe, the court of guard, fo eftablished by the uniform ufage of the poets of Shakspeare's time, that not to have corrected the miftake of the compofitor in the prefent inftance, would in my apprehenfion have been unwarrantable. If the phraseology of the old copies had merely been unufual, I should not have ventured to make the flighteft change: but the frequent occcurrence of the phrafe, the court of guard, in all our old plays, and that being the word of art, leave us not room to entertain a doubt of its being the true reading.

Mr. Steevens fays, a phrafeology as unufual occurs in A MidjummerNight's Dream; but he forgets that it is fupported by the ufage of contemporary writers. When any fuch is produced in fupport of that before us, it ought certainly to be attended to.

I may add, that the court of fafety may in a metaphorical fenfe be understood; but who ever talked of the guard [i. e. the fafety] of safety ? MALONE.

"Tis monstrous.] This word was used as a trifyllable, as if it were written monferous. MALONE.

7 If partially affin'd,] Affin'd is bound by proximity of relationhip; but here it means related by nearness of office. In the first icene it is ufed in the former of these fenfes :

"If I, in any just term, am offin'd

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leagu'd in office,] Old copies-league. Corrected by Mr. Pope.

MALONE.

Then

Thou doft deliver more or less than truth,
Thou art no foldier.

lago. Touch me not fo near:

I had rather have this tongue cut from my mouth,
Than it should do offence to Michael Caffio;
Yet, I perfuade myfelf, to fpeak the truth
Shall nothing wrong him. Thus it is, general.
Montano and myfelf being in fpeech,

There comes a fellow, crying out for help;
And Caffio following him with determin'd fword,
To execute upon him: Sir, this gentleman
Steps in to Caffio, and entreats his paufe;
Mytelf the crying fellow did purfue,
Left, by his clamour (as it fo fell out)

The town might fall in fright: he, fwift of foot,
Out-ran my purpofe; and I return'd the rather
For that I heard the clink and fall of fwords,
And Caffio high in oath; which, till to-night,
I ne'er might fay before: When I came back,
(For this was brief,) I found them close together,
At blow, and thruft; even as again they were,
When you yourself did part them.

More of this matter can I not report :

But men are men; the best fometimes forget:-
Though Caffio did fome little wrong to him,-
As men in rage ftrike thofe that with them beft,-
Yet, furely, Caffio, I believe, receiv'd,

From him that fled, fome ftrange indignity,
Which patience could not país.

Oth. I know, lago,

Thy honesty and love doth mince this matter,
Making it light to Caffio: - Caffio, I love thee;
But never more be officer of mine.-

9-cut from my mouth,] Thus the folio. The quarto, 1622, reads -this tongue out from my mouth. MALONE.

› And Caffio following him-] The word bim in this line feems to have crept into it from the compofitor's eye glancing on that below.

MALONE.

Enter

Enter Defdemona, attended,

Lock, if my gentle love be not rais'd up ;-
I'll make thee an example.

Def. What is the matter, dear?

Oth. All's well now, fweeting; Come away to bed. Sir, for your harts, myself will be your furgeon: [to Mon. Lead him off.

Iago, look with care about the town;

[Montano is led off.

And filence those whom this vile brawl diftra&ted.-
Come, Desdemona; 'tis the foldiers' life,

To have their balmy flumbers wak'd with ftrife.

[Exeunt all but Iago and Caffio.

Iago. What, are you hurt, lieutenant ?

Caf. Ay, paft all furgery.

Jago. Marry, heaven forbid!

Caf. Reputation, reputation, reputation! O, I have loft my reputation! I have loft the immortal part, fir, of myfelf, and what remains is beftial.-My reputation, Iago, my reputation.

Iago. As I am an honeft man, I thought you had received fome bodily wound; there is more offence 3 in that, than in reputation. Reputation is an idle and moft falfe impofition; oft got without merit, and loft without deferving: You have loft no reputation at all, unless you repute yourself fuch a lofer. What, man! there are ways to recover the general again: You are but now caft in his mood, a punishment more in policy than in malice; even fo as one would beat his offenceless dog, to affright an imperious lion: fue to him again, and he's yours.

Caf. I will rather fue to be defpifed, than to deceive

2 Lead bim off. I am perfuaded, thefe words were originally a marginal direction. In our old plays all the ftage-directions were couched in imperative terms: Play mufick-Ring the bell;-Lead him off. MALONE.

3

there is more offence, &c.] Thus the quartos. The folio reads, there is more fenfe, &c. STEEVENS.

4- caft in bis mood,] Ejected in his anger. JOHNSON.

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fo good a commander, with fo flights, fo drunken, and fo indifcreet an officer. Drunk? and speak parrot? and fquabble? fwagger? fwear? and difcourte fuftian with one's own fhadow?-O thou invifible fpirit of wine, if thou haft no name to be known by, let us call theedevil!

Iago. What was he that you follow'd with your fword? What had he done to you?

Caf. I know not.

Iago. Is it poffible?

Caf. I remember a mafs of things, but nothing diftinctly; a quarrel, but nothing wherefore.-O, that men fhould put an enemy in their mouths, to fteal away their brains! that we fhould, with joy, revel, pleafure, and applaufe, transform ourselves into beafts!

Iago. Why, but you are now well enough; How came you thus recover'd'?

Caf. It hath pleased the devil, drunkennefs, to give place to the devil, wrath: one unperfectness fhews me another, to make me frankly defpife myself.

Iago. Come, you are too fevere a moraler: As the time, the place, and the condition of this country ftands, I could heartily with this had not befallen; but, fince it is as it is, mend it for your own good.

Caf. I will afk him for my place again; he hall tell me, I am a drunkard! Had I as many mouths as Hydra, fuch an answer would ftop them all. To be now a fenfible man, by and by a fool, and presently a beaft! O

5

fo flight,] Thus the folio. The quarto, 1622, reads-so light. MALONE.

6

• and speak parrot?] A phrafe fignifying to act foolishy and childishly. So Skelton:

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Thefe maidens full mekely with many a divers flour

Freshly they drefs and make sweete my boure,

"With Spake parrot I pray you full courteoufly thei faye.”

So, in Lylly's Woman in the Moon, 1597:

WARBURTON.

"Thou pretty parrot, speak, awhile." STEEVENS. From Drunk, &c. to shadow, inclufively, is wanting in the quarto, 1622. By "Speak parrot," furely the poet meant, "talk idly," and not, as Dr. Warburton supposes, "act foolishly." MALONE.

ftrange!

ftrange! Every inordinate cup is unblefs'd, and the ingredient is a devil.

lago. Come, come, good wine is a good familiar creature, if it be well ufed; exclaim no more against it. And, good lieutenant, I think, you think I love you. Caf. I have well approved it, fir.-I drunk!

lage. You, or any man living, may be drunk at fome time, man. I'll tell you what you fhall do. Our general's wife is now the general;-I may fay fo in this reSpect, for that he hath devoted and given up himself to the contemplation, mark, and denotement of her parts and graces :-confefs yourself freely to her; importune her; fhe'll help to put you in your place again: the is of fo free, fo kind, fo apt, fo bleffed a difpofition, that she holds it a vice in her goodness, not to do more than the is requested: This broken joint, between you and her husband, entreat her to fplinter; and, my fortunes against any lay worth naming, this crack of your love fhall grow ftronger than it was before. Caf. You advise me well.

Iago. I proteft, in the fincerity of love, and honest kindness.

Caf. I think it freely; and, betimes in the morning, will I befeech the virtuous Desdemona to undertake for me: I am defperate of my fortunes, if they check me here. Iago. You are in the right. Good night, lieutenant; I must to the watch.

Caf. Good night, honeft Iago.

[Exit Caffio.

Iago. And what's he then, that fays-I play the vil

lain?

When this advice is free, I give, and honest,

7 — mark, and denotement-] The old copies, by an accidental inverfion of the letter a, have devotement. The fame mistake has happened in Hamlet, and in feveral other places. See Vol. I. p. 292, n. 9. Mr. Theobald made the correction. MALONE.

8 This broken joint,] Thus the folio. The original copy readsThis brawl. MALONE.

9- this advice is free,] This counsel has an appearance of honeft openness, of frank good-will. JoHNSON.

Probal

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