The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated) (989 page)

As salt as wolves in pride, and fools as gross

As horny as wolves, and as foolish as

As ignorance made drunk. But yet, I say,

Drunken morons. But, I wonder,

If imputation and strong circumstances,

If calculations and circumstantial evidence,

Which lead directly to the door of truth,

Which in inference lead towards the truth,

Will give you satisfaction, you may have't.

Might give you the proof you need, you would accept it.

OTHELLO

Give me a living reason she's disloyal.

Give me a good reason that she is disloyal to me.

IAGO

I do not like the office:

I do not like this task,

But, sith I am enter'd in this cause so far,

But, since I am already this far in,

Prick'd to't by foolish honesty and love,

Led to it by foolish honesty and my love for you,

I will go on. I lay with Cassio lately;

I will continue. I slept near Cassio lately

And, being troubled with a raging tooth,

And, in pain from a toothache,

I could not sleep.

I could not sleep.

There are a kind of men so loose of soul,

Some men have a loose soul

That in their sleeps will mutter their affairs:

That causes them to talk in their sleep –

One of this kind is Cassio:

Cassio is a man like that.

In sleep I heard him say 'Sweet Desdemona,

While he was asleep I heard him say, “Sweet Desdemona,

Let us be wary, let us hide our loves;'

Let us be careful and hide our love”

And then, sir, would he gripe and wring my hand,

And then, sir, he grabbed and held onto my hand,

Cry 'O sweet creature!' and then kiss me hard,

Crying “Sweet darling!” and then kissing me hard

As if he pluck'd up kisses by the roots

As if he were taking the kisses out by force

That grew upon my lips: then laid his leg

From my lips. Then he placed his leg

Over my thigh, and sigh'd, and kiss'd; and then

Over my thigh, and sighed, and kisse me again,

Cried 'Cursed fate that gave thee to the Moor!'

And cried out “How awful that you belong to the Moor!”

OTHELLO

O monstrous! monstrous!

O awful! awful!

IAGO

Nay, this was but his dream.

No, this was only a dream.

OTHELLO

But this denoted a foregone conclusion:

But it marks something that already happened.

'Tis a shrewd doubt, though it be but a dream.

It’s a good reason to doubt, even though it is only a dream.

IAGO

And this may help to thicken other proofs

It may help support other proofs,

That do demonstrate thinly.

If they are not very convincing on their own.

OTHELLO

I'll tear her all to pieces.

I will destroy her!

IAGO

Nay, but be wise: yet we see nothing done;

No, be smart. We do not know anything yet,

She may be honest yet. Tell me but this,

She might be honest. Tell me this:

Have you not sometimes seen a handkerchief

Have you seen a handkerchief

Spotted with strawberries in your wife's hand?

Spotted with strawberries, held by your wife?

OTHELLO

I gave her such a one; 'twas my first gift.

I gave it to her, it was my first gift to her.

IAGO

I know not that; but such a handkerchief--

I did not know about that, but this handkerchief –

I am sure it was your wife's--did I to-day

I am sure it was your wife’s – I saw today,

See Cassio wipe his beard with.

And Cassio wiped his beard with it.

OTHELLO

If it be that--

If that was hers–

IAGO

If it be that, or any that was hers,

If it was hers, or anything else that belonged to her,

It speaks against her with the other proofs.

Then it speaks strongly against her alongside the other proofs.

OTHELLO

O, that the slave had forty thousand lives!

O, if Cassio had forty thousand lives!

One is too poor, too weak for my revenge.

One life is too few for me to get my revenge.

Now do I see 'tis true. Look here, Iago;

Now I see it is true. Look, Iago,

All my fond love thus do I blow to heaven.

I am getting rid of all of my love for Desdemona.

'Tis gone.

It’s gone.

Arise, black vengeance, from thy hollow cell!

Come to me, vengeance!

Yield up, O love, thy crown and hearted throne

My Love, give up your spot in my life

To tyrannous hate! Swell, bosom, with thy fraught,

To Hate instead! O, my chest, fill with pain

For 'tis of aspics' tongues!

As if you are full of snakes’ tongues!

IAGO

Yet be content.

Please, be calm.

OTHELLO

O, blood, blood, blood!

O, blood!

IAGO

Patience, I say; your mind perhaps may change.

Be patient. Your mind might change.

OTHELLO

Never, Iago: Like to the Pontic sea,

No, Iago, never. Like a river to the sea

Whose icy current and compulsive course

Whose cold stream and steady course

Ne'er feels retiring ebb, but keeps due on

Never fades away but continues on

To the Propontic and the Hellespont,

To the seas in front of it,

Even so my bloody thoughts, with violent pace,

So too my revengeful thoughts violently

Shall ne'er look back, ne'er ebb to humble love,

never look back or calm to love

Till that a capable and wide revenge

Until a they are able to have their full revenge

Swallow them up. Now, by yond marble heaven,

And let that swallow them up. Now, I swear by the sky

Kneels

In the due reverence of a sacred vow

In a sacred, holy vow,

I here engage my words.

To make my words lead to action.

IAGO

Do not rise yet.

Do not get up yet.

Kneels

Witness, you ever-burning lights above,

Heaven, be my witness,

You elements that clip us round about,

Everything that surrounds us daily,

Witness that here Iago doth give up

Witness that I, Iago, give up

The execution of his wit, hands, heart,

The power of my mind, my hands, and my heart

To wrong'd Othello's service! Let him command,

To Othello who has been wronged! Let him command,

And to obey shall be in me remorse,

And I will obey him,

What bloody business ever.

No matter what happens.

They rise

OTHELLO

I greet thy love,

I thank you for your love,

Not with vain thanks, but with acceptance bounteous,

Not vainly, but with devoted acceptance.

And will upon the instant put thee to't:

This instant I will task you:

Within these three days let me hear thee say

Within the next three days, I must hear you say

That Cassio's not alive.

That Cassio is no longer alive.

IAGO

My friend is dead; 'tis done at your request:

My friend will die. At your request it will be done,

But let her live.

But let her live.

OTHELLO

Damn her, lewd minx! O, damn her!

Damn her, evil whore! O, damn her!

Come, go with me apart; I will withdraw,

Go away from me. I will withdraw to my room

To furnish me with some swift means of death

To figure out some way to kill

For the fair devil. Now art thou my lieutenant.

That beautiful demon. You are my lieutenant.

IAGO

I am your own for ever.

I am yours forever.

Exeunt

Enter DESDEMONA, EMILIA, and Clown

DESDEMONA

Do you know, sirrah, where Lieutenant Cassio lies?

Do you know, sir, where Cassio lies?

Clown

I dare not say he lies any where.

I would not say he lies anywhere.

DESDEMONA

Why, man?

Why would you say that?

Clown

He's a soldier, and for one to say a soldier lies,

Because he is a soldier, and one who says that soldier lies

is stabbing.

might be stabbed.

DESDEMONA

Go to: where lodges he?

Come on now, where does he stay?

Clown

To tell you where he lodges, is to tell you where I lie.

To tell you where he stays is the same as telling you where I lie.

DESDEMONA

Can any thing be made of this?

What does this mean?

Clown

I know not where he lodges, and for me to devise a

I do not know where he stays, so to say that he

lodging and say he lies here or he lies there, were

stays anywhere, here or there, is the same

to lie in mine own throat.

as lying.

DESDEMONA

Can you inquire him out, and be edified by report?

Can you ask about him, and report back to me?

Clown

I will catechise the world for him; that is, make

I will ask the world about him.

questions, and by them answer.

DESDEMONA

Seek him, bid him come hither: tell him I have

Find him and ask him to come to me. Tell him that I have

moved my lord on his behalf, and hope all will be well.

influenced Othello to take him back and that I hope all will be well.

Clown

To do this is within the compass of man's wit: and