In instigating the jealousy of the Moor, Iago in these lines, likens the human mind to a palace, wherein courts of inquiry are held, on proper law days,' at regular sessions of such courts, meditations are had upon causes not as pure as those that ought to occupy the mind. Iago has now commenced to work toward his aim. In the great scene wherein the Poet, with the master's handas if familiar with the known depths of the abyss into which Iago enters and all the psychological reasons that prompt him to action-portrays how consummately Iago works upon the mind of Othello until he puts the Moor "At least into a jealousy so strong That judgment cannot cure," and then he is happy, in the realization of the crime, to which his natural erotic lust of cruelty and envy has led him. Sec. 484. Iago's crime against Othello. "Iago. Oth. Cassio, Look to your wife; observe her well with Wear your eye-thus, not jealous, nor secure: I know our country disposition well; In Venice they do let heaven see the pranks They dare not show their husbands; their best con science Is not to leave undone, but keep unknown. Dost thou say so? Iago. She did deceive her father, marrying you; Oth. And, when she seem'd to shake, and fear your looks, And so she did. Iago. Why, go to, then; She that, so young, could give out such a seeming, 1 Court-leet is the oldest court with criminal jurisdiction; it was a court of record and had power similar to that of the Sheriff's tourn in the county. Dyer, 30b; 4 Bl. Comm. 273. He thought, 'twas witchcraft:-But I am much to I humbly do beseech you of your pardon, Cth. I am bound to thee forever." In thus destroying, for all time, his faith in his wife, Iago here commits the greatest crime that he could against Othello, for as his love for Desdemona exceeded all else on earth, the act of Iago in breaking his faith in her, destroyed his happiness forever. Breach of faith is always the real basis of crime and as the effect of such loss of faith is the more far reaching, nothing could have been more cruel toward Othello than this awakening of his jealousy for his wife, for this was the ruling passion of his life. When the power or possibility of confidence in humanity is killed, society itself is impossible, and as Othello's whole life was bound up in Desdemona, when his confidence in her was gone, his life was wrecked. This was the deliberate aim of Iago and hence shows the greater criminal instinct which he possessed. As observed by Goll,2 "if humanity itself had occupied the place of Othello, then Iago would be the greatest criminal in the world," for while Brutus killed because of the exalted motive which placed the welfare of his fellows above his own, Iago worked to accomplish the destruction of all about him, from the mere lust of cruelty and envy. And thus the motives of the "creatures of crime," as presented by the immortal genius of Shakespeare, can be best understood with the help of the scientist in criminology. Sec. 485. Proof of guilt beyond reasonable doubt.— "Oth. Villain, be sure thou prove my love a whore; Be sure of it, give me the ocular proof; 1 Othello, the Moor of Venice, Act III, Scene III. "Goll's Criminal Types in Shakespeare, 257, 258. Make me to see it; or (at the least) so prove it, Othello, in these lines, demands proof of the guilt of Desdemona "beyond a reasonable doubt." This is the degree of proof that the law always accords one accused of crime and in demanding proof of her guilt to this extent, the Poet made him merely stand for her legal rights. A presumption of innocence surrounds all those accused of crime, however hardened the criminal may be, and when this rule of evidence would be extended to those accused of the vilest crimes, Othello did not ask too much for the poor innocent wife of his bosom, in invoking this common rule of evidence. In every trial of one accused of crime, the court instructs the jury that if they have "a reasonable doubt" of the guilt of the accused, they should acquit, or, in other words, the prosecution must "so prove it, That the probation bear no hinge, nor loop, or the proof of the crime is not legally established. Sec. 486. False indictment on suborned testimony.- I was, (unhandsome warrior as I am,), Shakespeare here makes Desdemona speak in the language of the law, with the precision of an experienced barrister. As it is always a preliminary to a trial for crime, to arraign the accused, she was "arraigning his 1 1 Othello, the Moor of Venice, Act III, Scene III. 2 Sherwood's Criminal Law; Bishop's Criminal Law. 'Greenleaf on Evidence. Othello, the Moor of Venice, Act III, Scene IV. unkindness," with her soul giving evidence against him. An indictment is the written accusation of crime against a person, and upon which he is tried by a jury.1 The indictment is generally returned by a grand-jury, upon the sworn evidence of one or more witnesses. Of course, if the witness was "suborned," or procured to swear falsely, the indictment would be a false charge. So, after reasoning over Othello's unkindness, charged as he was by her soul, Desdemona's supreme love acquitted him, even to the discredit of her own soul, whose evidence she discarded because of her belief in him. It is a beautiful presentation of her love and trust, and the contrast is the more noticeable, because of Othello's lack of confidence in her. 1 Bishop's Criminal Procedure; 4 Bl. Comm. 302. Sec. 487. Judge cannot right his own cause.— impatience chokes her pleading tongue, The Roman goddess of love is here represented in the attitude of a judge, who, because of this position, could not decide the issue between herself and Adonis in her own favor, since a judge cannot adjudicate in his own cause. It is somewhat remarkable that even in delineating the tender passion and while describing the mad passion of the "divine mother of the Roman people," the Poet should use legal phrases, or resort to judicial reference to illustrate his thoughts. Sec. 488. Law-giver unable to enforce law. "Poor queen of love, in thine own law forlorn, 112 This verse does not alone present the sad picture of the goddess of love in her total inability to arouse even a spark of affection in the object of her passion, but it does. 1 Venus and Adonis, 217, 222. Venus and Adonis, 251, 252. |