But what ferve for the thunder??-Precious villain! Gra. The woman falls; fure, he has kill'd his wife. Emil. Ay, ay; O, lay me by my mistress' fide! Gra. He's gone, but his wife's kill'd. Mon. 'Tis a notorious villain. Take you this weapon, Which I have here recover'd from the Moor: Come, guard the door without; let him not pafs, [Exeunt MoN. and GRA. Oth. I am not valiant neither, Emil. What did thy fong bode, lady? Hark, can't thou hear me? I will play the fwan, 7 Are there no ftones in beaven, But what ferve for the thunder ] Othello does not want a thunder. bolt for Iago. He only afks, if there are no leffer degrees of chaftifement more proportioned to the guilt of mortals, ready to drop down on fuch villains as lago, though Omnipotence withholds its thunder, as too noble an inftrument for the punishment of crimes like his ? The fame thought occurs in The Revenger's Tragedy, 1607: "Is here no thunder left? oris't kept up "In ftock, for heavier vengeance ?" Shakspeare might however mean, does heaven referve its thunder only to make a noife? has it no implements of mifchief to punish as well as terrify? "quum fulmina torques, "Necquicquam horremus? cæcique in nubibus ignes "Terrificant animos, et inania murmura mifcent?" STEEV. The meaning, I think, is, Has not Heaven one fupernumerary bolt, to hurl directly at the head of this atrocious villain? Muft all the stores of its arfenal be referved for common and ordinary thunder, which, though fometimes deftructive, is in the ufual courfe of nature not fpecifically pointed at a particular object? 66 Magne regnator deûm, "Tam lentus audis fcelera? tam lentus vides? "Ecquando fævâ fulmen emittes manu, Si nunc ferenum eft ? Cur dextra, divûm rector atque hominum, vacat "Tua, nec trifulcâ mundus ardefcit face? "In bunc tones, bunc figas." MALONE. 8 And die in mufick, &c.] This, and the two former lines of the fpeech, are wanting in the first quarto. STEEVENS. Moor, Moor, fhe was chafte; fhe lov'd thee, cruel Moor: Oth. I have another weapon in this chamber, It is a fword of Spain, the ice-brook's temper9 ;- [dies, Gra. [within.] If thou attempt it, it will coft thee dear; Thou hast no weapon, and perforce must suffer. Oth. Look in upon me then, and speak with me, Or, naked as I am, I will affault thee. Re-enter GRATIANO. Gra. What is the matter? 9 the ice-brook's temper;] The quarto, 1622, has Ise brookes, which is only the old fpelling of Ice-brooke's, the reading of the folio. Sir William Blackftone doubts whether ice-brooks are ufual in the climate of Spain. How that fact may be, I know not; and I am confident Shakspeare did not inquire. MALONE. I believe the old reading changed to ice-brock is right. Steel is hardened by being put red hot into very cold water. JOHNSON. The particular name of the ice-brook may be determined by the fol lowing paffages in Martial. It was undoubtedly the brook or rivulet called Salo (now Xalon), near Bilbilis in Celtiberia. In this the Spaniards plunged all their fwords and other weapons while hot from the forge; and to the icy qualities of the waters, they were indebted for their stubborn temper: Again: Again: Sævo Bilbilin optimam metallo Et ferro Plateam fuo fonantem, Quibus remiffum corpus aftringes brevi, Pugio, quem curvis fignat brevis orbita venis, Again, in Juftin, 1. 44. "Præcipua his quidem ferri materia, fed aqua ipfa ferro violentior; quippe temperamento ejus ferrum acrius redditur; nec ullum apud eos telum probatur quod non aut in Bilbili fluvio aut Chalybe tingatur. Unde etiam Chalybes fluvii hujus finitimi appellati, ferroque cæteris præftare dicuntur." Thefe parts of Spain have been at all times famous for the temper of their arms. STEEVENS. A better never did itself fuftain Now, how doft thou look now? O ill-ftarr'd wench 3! O curfed, curfed flave!-Whip me, ye devils, Dead? O! O! O! A better never did itself fuftain Upon a foldier's thigb :] So, in The Two Neble Kinfmen, 1634: 66 On his thigh a fword "Hung by a curious baldrick, when he frowns, "To feal his will by; better, on my conscience, 2 - though you MALONE. do fee me Weapon'd;] This uncommon participle is ufed by Sidney in his Arcadia. MALONE. 3 -O ill-farr'd quench!] This, and the fix preceding lines, are omitted in the first quarto. Wench originally fignified only a young woman. Caffandra, in Whetstone's Promos, &c. 1578, fays of herself, "Oh wretched wench, where may I first complayne?" Again: "Therefore, fweet winche, helpe me to rue my woe." The word is ufed without any dishonourable meaning in the Bible. "And a wench told him," &c. And again, by Gawin Douglas, in his verfion of the Æneid; 66 audetque viris concurrere virgo." "This wenfche ftoutlye rencounter durft with men." STEEV. Enter Enter LODOVICO, MONTANO, CASSIO, carried in a chair, and Officers, with IAGO, prifoner. Lod. Where is this rash and most unfortunate man? Lod. Where is that viper? bring the villain forth. fable: If that thou be'ft a devil, I cannot kill thee. [Othello wounds Iago. Lod. Wrench his fword from him. Iago. I bleed, fir; but not kill'd. Oth. I am not forry neither; I'd have thee live Lod. O thou Othello, that waft once fo good, Oth. Why, any thing: An honourable murderer, if you will; For nought I did in hate, but all in honour. Oth. Ay. Caf. Dear general, I never gave you cause 7. I Why he hath thus enfnar'd my foul and body? Iago. Demand me nothing: What you know, you know: From this time forth I never will speak word. 4-towards his feet ;-] To fee if, according to the common opinion, his feet be cloven. JOHNSON 5 For, in my fenfe, 'tis happiness to die.] The fame thought has alrea dy occurred in Antony and Cleopatra: 'Tis well thou'rt gone, "If it be well to live." STEEVENS. 6 - in the practice-] In the fnare, by the fratagem. JOHNSON. See Vol. VIII. p. 564, n. 2. MALONE. 7 Dear general, I never gave you cause.] Our poet, probably without knowing it, has used the words of The Spanish tragedy, 1605: "Hieronimo, I never gave thee caufe?" MALONE. Lod. Lod. What? not to pray? Gra. Torments will ope your lips. Oth. Well, thou dost best. Lod. Sir, you fhall understand what hath befall'n, By Roderigo. Oth. O villain! Caf. Moft heathenifh, and moft grofs! Lod. Now here's another difcontented paper, Oth. G the pernicious caitiff! How came you, Caffio, by that handkerchief Caf. I found it in my chamber: And he himself confefs'd, but even now*, Oth. O fool! fool! fool! Caf. There is, besides, in Roderigo's letter,- with us; Lod. You muft forfake this room, and go Your power and your command is taken off, And Caffio rules in Cyprus. For this flave,If there be any cunning cruelty, 8-in the interim-] The first copy has in the nick. It was, I fuppofe, thought upon revifal, that nick was too familiar. JoHNSON. -confefs'd, but even now,] The quarto, 1622, reads-confefs'd it even now. The folio-confefs'd it, but even now, The word it was manifeftly caught by the compofitor's eye glancing on the fubfequent line. MALONE. That |