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Till I am even'd with him, wife for wife;
Or, failing so, yet that I put the Moor
At least into a jealousy so strong
That judgement cannot cure."
It does not however appear in the Tragedy, that Iago actually practised on the virtue of Desdemona, as he does in the Tale; for, as Mr. Knight observes, "It is a part of the admirable knowledge of human nature possessed by Shakspere, that Iago does not, even for a moment entertain the thought of tampering with the virtue of Desdemona, either through Cassio or Roderigo, or any other instrument." No, in all probability Shakspere departed in this instance from the Novel, purposely to bring this highest testimony to the virtue of Desdemona; her purity was not only superior to assault or artifice, but above the reach of trial: had she been tried, and remained firm, her virtue would have been heroic,—removed from the possibility of trial, it is divine. And here we observe the well-balanced contrast to the villainy of Iago: the characters are extremes, or they would not correspond.
Minor points of comparison will suggest themselves on a perusal of the Story. In the latter, the Ensign, at the entreaty of the Moor, attacks and wounds the Captain; but in the Play it is a natural conclusion of Iago's treatment of Roderigo to induce him to do the deed: this perfects the plot as regards Roderigo; he had been the dupe and tool of Iago as long as he could serve his purposes; but
