Act 2, Scene 1

A seaport in Cyprus. A Platform.

[Enter Montano and two Gentlemen.]
Montano
722 What from the cape can you discern at sea?
First Gentleman
723 Nothing at all: it is a high-wrought flood;
724 I cannot, 'twixt the heaven and the main,
725 Descry a sail.
Montano
726 Methinks the wind hath spoke aloud at land;
727 A fuller blast ne'er shook our battlements:
728 If it hath ruffian'd so upon the sea,
729 What ribs of oak, when mountains melt on them,
730 Can hold the mortise? What shall we hear of this?
Second Gentleman
731 A segregation of the Turkish fleet:
732 For do but stand upon the foaming shore,
733 The chidden billow seems to pelt the clouds;
734 The wind-shak'd surge, with high and monstrous main,
735 Seems to cast water on the burning Bear,
736 And quench the guards of the ever-fixed pole;
737 I never did like molestation view
738 On the enchafed flood.
Montano
739 If that the Turkish fleet
740 Be not enshelter'd and embay'd, they are drown'd;
741 It is impossible to bear it out.
[Enter a third Gentleman.]
Third Gentleman
742 News, lads! our wars are done.
743 The desperate tempest hath so bang'd the Turks
744 That their designment halts; a noble ship of Venice
745 Hath seen a grievous wreck and sufferance
746 On most part of their fleet.
Montano
747 How! is this true?
Third Gentleman
748 The ship is here put in,
749 A Veronessa; Michael Cassio,
750 Lieutenant to the warlike Moor Othello,
751 Is come on shore: the Moor himself's at sea,
752 And is in full commission here for Cyprus.
Montano
753 I am glad on't; 'tis a worthy governor.
Third Gentleman
754 But this same Cassio,—though he speak of comfort
755 Touching the Turkish loss,—yet he looks sadly,
756 And prays the Moor be safe; for they were parted
757 With foul and violent tempest.
Montano
758 Pray heavens he be;
759 For I have serv'd him, and the man commands
760 Like a full soldier. Let's to the sea-side, ho!
761 As well to see the vessel that's come in
762 As to throw out our eyes for brave Othello,
763 Even till we make the main and the aerial blue
764 An indistinct regard.
Third Gentleman
765 Come, let's do so;
766 For every minute is expectancy
767 Of more arrivance.
[Enter Cassio.]
Cassio
768 Thanks you, the valiant of this warlike isle,
769 That so approve the Moor! O, let the heavens
770 Give him defence against the elements,
771 For I have lost him on a dangerous sea!
Montano
772 Is he well shipp'd?
Cassio
773 His bark is stoutly timber'd, and his pilot
774 Of very expert and approv'd allowance;
775 Therefore my hopes, not surfeited to death,
776 Stand in bold cure.
[Within.]
Cassio
777 A sail, a sail, a sail!
[Enter a fourth Gentleman.]
Cassio
778 What noise?
Fourth Gentleman
779 The town is empty; on the brow o' the sea
780 Stand ranks of people, and they cry, "A sail!"
Cassio
781 My hopes do shape him for the governor.
[Guns within.]
Second Gentleman
782 They do discharge their shot of courtesy:
783 Our friends at least.
Cassio
784 I pray you, sir, go forth,
785 And give us truth who 'tis that is arriv'd.
Second Gentleman
786 I shall.
[Exit.]
Montano
787 But, good lieutenant, is your general wiv'd?
Cassio
788 Most fortunately: he hath achiev'd a maid
789 That paragons description and wild fame,
790 One that excels the quirks of blazoning pens,
791 And in the essential vesture of creation
792 Does tire the ingener.—
[Re-enter second Gentleman.]
Cassio
793 How now! who has put in?
Second Gentleman
794 'Tis one Iago, ancient to the general.
Cassio
795 He has had most favourable and happy speed:
796 Tempests themselves, high seas, and howling winds,
797 The gutter'd rocks, and congregated sands,—
798 Traitors ensteep'd to clog the guiltless keel,—
799 As having sense of beauty, do omit
800 Their mortal natures, letting go safely by
801 The divine Desdemona.
Montano
802 What is she?
Cassio
803 She that I spake of, our great captain's captain,
804 Left in the conduct of the bold Iago;
805 Whose footing here anticipates our thoughts
806 A se'nnight's speed.—Great Jove, Othello guard,
807 And swell his sail with thine own powerful breath,
808 That he may bless this bay with his tall ship,
809 Make love's quick pants in Desdemona's arms,
810 Give renew'd fire to our extincted spirits,
811 And bring all Cyprus comfort! O, behold,
[Enter Desdemona, Emilia, Iago, Roderigo, and Attendants.]
Cassio
812 The riches of the ship is come on shore!
813 Ye men of Cyprus, let her have your knees.—
814 Hall to thee, lady! and the grace of heaven,
815 Before, behind thee, and on every hand,
816 Enwheel thee round!
Desdemona
817 I thank you, valiant Cassio.
818 What tidings can you tell me of my lord?
Cassio
819 He is not yet arrived nor know I aught
820 But that he's well, and will be shortly here.
Desdemona
821 O, but I fear—How lost you company?
Cassio
822 The great contention of the sea and skies
823 Parted our fellowship:—but, hark! a sail.
[Within.]
Cassio
824 A sail, a sail!
[Guns within.]
Second Gentleman
825 They give their greeting to the citadel:
826 This likewise is a friend.
Cassio
827 See for the news.
[Exit Gentleman.]
Cassio
828 Good ancient, you are welcome:—
[To Emilia.]
Cassio
829 Welcome, mistress:—
830 Let it not gall your patience, good Iago,
831 That I extend my manners; 'tis my breeding
832 That gives me this bold show of courtesy.
[Kissing her.]
Iago
833 Sir, would she give you so much of her lips
834 As of her tongue she oft bestows on me,
835 You'd have enough.
Desdemona
836 Alas, she has no speech.
Iago
837 In faith, too much;
838 I find it still when I have list to sleep:
839 Marry, before your ladyship, I grant,
840 She puts her tongue a little in her heart,
841 And chides with thinking.
Emilia
842 You have little cause to say so.
Iago
843 Come on, come on; you are pictures out of doors,
844 Bells in your parlours, wild cats in your kitchens,
845 Saints in your injuries, devils being offended,
846 Players in your housewifery, and housewives in your beds.
Desdemona
847 O, fie upon thee, slanderer!
Iago
848 Nay, it is true, or else I am a Turk:
849 You rise to play, and go to bed to work.
Emilia
850 You shall not write my praise.
Iago
851 No, let me not.
Desdemona
852 What wouldst thou write of me, if thou shouldst praise me?
Iago
853 O gentle lady, do not put me to't;
854 For I am nothing if not critical.
Desdemona
855 Come on, assay—There's one gone to the harbor?
Iago
856 Ay, madam.
Desdemona
857 I am not merry; but I do beguile
858 The thing I am, by seeming otherwise.—
859 Come, how wouldst thou praise me?
Iago
860 I am about it; but, indeed, my invention
861 Comes from my pate as birdlime does from frize,—
862 It plucks out brains and all: but my Muse labours,
863 And thus she is deliver'd.
864 If she be fair and wise,—fairness and wit,
865 The one's for use, the other useth it.
Desdemona
866 Well prais'd! How if she be black and witty?
Iago
867 If she be black, and thereto have a wit,
868 She'll find a white that shall her blackness fit.
Desdemona
869 Worse and worse.
Emilia
870 How if fair and foolish?
Iago
871 She never yet was foolish that was fair;
872 For even her folly help'd her to an heir.
Desdemona
873 These are old fond paradoxes to make fools laugh i' the
874 alehouse. What miserable praise hast thou for her that's foul
875 and foolish?
Iago
876 There's none so foul and foolish thereunto,
877 But does foul pranks which fair and wise ones do.
Desdemona
878 O heavy ignorance!—thou praisest the worst best. But what
879 praise couldst thou bestow on a deserving woman indeed,—one
880 that, in the authority of her merit, did justly put on the vouch
881 of very malice itself?
Iago
882 She that was ever fair and never proud;
883 Had tongue at will and yet was never loud;
884 Never lack'd gold and yet went never gay;
885 Fled from her wish, and yet said, "Now I may";
886 She that, being anger'd, her revenge being nigh,
887 Bade her wrong stay and her displeasure fly;
888 She that in wisdom never was so frail
889 To change the cod's head for the salmon's tail;
890 She that could think and ne'er disclose her mind;
891 See suitors following and not look behind;
892 She was a wight, if ever such wight were;—
Desdemona
893 To do what?
Iago
894 To suckle fools and chronicle small beer.
Desdemona
895 O most lame and impotent conclusion!—Do not learn of him,
896 Emilia, though he be thy husband.—How say you, Cassio? is he
897 not a most profane and liberal counsellor?
Cassio
898 He speaks home, madam: you may relish him more in the
899 soldier than in the scholar.
[Aside.]
Iago
900 He takes her by the palm: ay, well said, whisper:
901 with as little a web as this will I ensnare as great a fly as
902 Cassio. Ay, smile upon her, do; I will gyve thee in thine own
903 courtship. You say true; 'tis so, indeed: if such tricks as
904 these strip you out of your lieutenantry, it had been better you
905 had not kissed your three fingers so oft, which now again you are
906 most apt to play the sir in. Very good; well kissed! an excellent
907 courtesy! 'tis so, indeed. Yet again your fingers to your lips?
908 Would they were clyster-pipes for your sake!
[Trumpet within.]
Iago
909 —The Moor! I know his trumpet.
Cassio
910 'Tis truly so.
Desdemona
911 Let's meet him, and receive him.
Cassio
912 Lo, where he comes!
[Enter Othello and Attendants.]
Othello
913 O my fair warrior!
Desdemona
914 My dear Othello!
Othello
915 It gives me wonder great as my content
916 To see you here before me. O my soul's joy!
917 If after every tempest come such calms,
918 May the winds blow till they have waken'd death!
919 And let the laboring bark climb hills of seas
920 Olympus-high, and duck again as low
921 As hell's from heaven! If it were now to die,
922 'Twere now to be most happy; for, I fear,
923 My soul hath her content so absolute
924 That not another comfort like to this
925 Succeeds in unknown fate.
Desdemona
926 The heavens forbid
927 But that our loves and comforts should increase
928 Even as our days do grow!
Othello
929 Amen to that, sweet powers!—
930 I cannot speak enough of this content;
931 It stops me here; it is too much of joy:
932 And this, and this, the greatest discords be
[Kissing her.]
Othello
933 That e'er our hearts shall make!
[Aside.]
Iago
934 O, you are well tun'd now!
935 But I'll set down the pegs that make this music,
936 As honest as I am.
Othello
937 Come, let us to the castle.—
938 News, friends; our wars are done, the Turks are drown'd.
939 How does my old acquaintance of this isle?
940 Honey, you shall be well desir'd in Cyprus;
941 I have found great love amongst them. O my sweet,
942 I prattle out of fashion, and I dote
943 In mine own comforts.—I pry'thee, good Iago,
944 Go to the bay and disembark my coffers:
945 Bring thou the master to the citadel;
946 He is a good one, and his worthiness
947 Does challenge much respect.—Come, Desdemona,
948 Once more well met at Cyprus.
[Exeunt Othello, Desdemona, and Attendants.]
Iago
949 Do thou meet me presently at the harbour. Come hither. If thou
950 be'st valiant,—as, they say, base men being in love have then a
951 nobility in their natures more than is native to them,—list me.
952 The lieutenant to-night watches on the court of guard: first, I
953 must tell thee this—Desdemona is directly in love with him.
Roderigo
954 With him! why, 'tis not possible.
Iago
955 Lay thy finger thus, and let thy soul be instructed. Mark me
956 with what violence she first loved the Moor, but for bragging,
957 and telling her fantastical lies: and will she love him still for
958 prating? Let not thy discreet heart think it. Her eye must be
959 fed; and what delight shall she have to look on the devil? When
960 the blood is made dull with the act of sport, there should
961 be,—again to inflame it and to give satiety a fresh appetite,—
962 loveliness in favour; sympathy in years, manners, and beauties;
963 all which the Moor is defective in: now, for want of these
964 required conveniences, her delicate tenderness will find itself
965 abused, begin to heave the gorge, disrelish and abhor the Moor;
966 very nature will instruct her in it, and compel her to some
967 second choice. Now sir, this granted;—as it is a most pregnant
968 and unforced position,—who stands so eminently in the degree of
969 this fortune as Cassio does? a knave very voluble; no further
970 conscionable than in putting on the mere form of civil and
971 humane seeming, for the better compass of his salt and most
972 hidden loose affection? why, none; why, none;—a slipper and
973 subtle knave; a finder out of occasions; that has an eye can
974 stamp and counterfeit advantages, though true advantage never
975 present itself: a devilish knave! besides, the knave is
976 handsome, young, and hath all those requisites in him that folly
977 and green minds look after: a pestilent complete knave; and the
978 woman hath found him already.
Roderigo
979 I cannot believe that in her; she is full of most blessed
980 condition.
Iago
981 Blest fig's end! the wine she drinks is made of grapes: if
982 she had been blessed, she would never have loved the Moor:
983 blessed pudding! Didst thou not see her paddle with the palm of
984 his hand? didst not mark that?
Roderigo
985 Yes, that I did; but that was but courtesy.
Iago
986 Lechery, by this hand; an index and obscure prologue to the
987 history of lust and foul thoughts. They met so near with their
988 lips that their breaths embraced together. Villainous thoughts,
989 Roderigo! when these mutualities so marshal the way, hard at
990 hand comes the master and main exercise, the incorporate
991 conclusion: pish!—But, sir, be you ruled by me: I have brought
992 you from Venice. Watch you to-night: for the command, I'll lay't
993 upon you: Cassio knows you not:—I'll not be far from you: do you
994 find some occasion to anger Cassio, either by speaking too loud,
995 or tainting his discipline, or from what other course you
996 please, which the time shall more favourably minister.
Roderigo
997 Well.
Iago
998 Sir, he is rash, and very sudden in choler, and haply with his
999 truncheon may strike at you: provoke him, that he may; for even
1000 out of that will I cause these of Cyprus to mutiny, whose
1001 qualification shall come into no true taste again but by the
1002 displanting of Cassio. So shall you have a shorter journey to
1003 your desires by the means I shall then have to prefer them; and
1004 the impediment most profitably removed, without the which there
1005 were no expectation of our prosperity.
Roderigo
1006 I will do this, if I can bring it to any opportunity.
Iago
1007 I warrant thee. Meet me by and by at the citadel: I must
1008 fetch his necessaries ashore. Farewell.
Roderigo
1009 Adieu.
[Exit.]
Iago
1010 That Cassio loves her, I do well believe it;
1011 That she loves him, 'tis apt, and of great credit:
1012 The Moor,—howbeit that I endure him not,—
1013 Is of a constant, loving, noble nature;
1014 And, I dare think, he'll prove to Desdemona
1015 A most dear husband. Now, I do love her too;
1016 Not out of absolute lust,—though, peradventure,
1017 I stand accountant for as great a sin,—
1018 But partly led to diet my revenge,
1019 For that I do suspect the lusty Moor
1020 Hath leap'd into my seat: the thought whereof
1021 Doth, like a poisonous mineral, gnaw my inwards;
1022 And nothing can or shall content my soul
1023 Till I am even'd with him, wife for wife;
1024 Or, failing so, yet that I put the Moor
1025 At least into a jealousy so strong
1026 That judgement cannot cure. Which thing to do,—
1027 If this poor trash of Venice, whom I trash
1028 For his quick hunting, stand the putting on,
1029 I'll have our Michael Cassio on the hip;
1030 Abuse him to the Moor in the rank garb,—
1031 For I fear Cassio with my night-cap too;—
1032 Make the Moor thank me, love me, and reward me
1033 For making him egregiously an ass
1034 And practicing upon his peace and quiet
1035 Even to madness. 'Tis here, but yet confus'd:
1036 Knavery's plain face is never seen till us'd.
[Exit.]

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Word definitions on hover

Notes

TLN 729archaic vocab
“What ribs of oak, when mountains melt on them, Can hold the mortise”
A 'mortise' is a carpentry joint — the socket cut into a timber to receive a projecting tenon so two pieces lock together. Montano is asking: if mountains of water crash down on a ship, what oak timbers, however strong their joints, could hold together? The image makes the ship's hull a piece of carpentry being torn apart at its seams by the weight of the sea.
TLN 731historical topical
“A segregation of the Turkish fleet”
'Segregation' here means dispersal or scattering, not social separation. The Gentleman is reporting that the storm has broken the Ottoman fleet into separate fragments. The word carries a military-naval sense: the fleet has been separated and can no longer act as a unit.
historical Cyprus and the Ottoman threat
TLN 734archaic vocab
“high and monstrous main”
'Main' means the open sea — the vast stretch of deep ocean as distinct from the coast or harbour. The phrase 'monstrous main' piles up the image of a sea so huge and wild that the waves appear to reach the sky and nearly extinguish the stars.
TLN 735classical allusion
“burning Bear, And quench the guards of the ever-fixed pole”
'The burning Bear' is the constellation Ursa Minor (the Little Bear or Little Dipper), which appears to 'burn' as a fixed star. 'The guards of the ever-fixed pole' are the two outer stars of Ursa Minor, Kochab and Pherkad, which sailors called 'the Guards' because they circle and appear to guard the Pole Star (Polaris). The Gentleman is saying the waves are so enormous they seem about to splash out the guiding stars that navigators rely on.
TLN 789archaic vocab
“paragons description and wild fame”
Cassio is saying Desdemona surpasses ('paragons') any description or reputation however extravagant ('wild fame'). 'Paragon' as a verb means to surpass or to match as an equal or superior — the opposite of today's sense of 'a paragon of virtue' where the person is the ideal. She is not merely the best example of beauty; she exceeds every attempt to describe it. 'Quirks of blazoning pens' (line 790) means the clever flourishes of writers who pen formal praise (blazons).
TLN 797archaic vocab
“gutter'd rocks, and congregated sands,— Traitors ensteep'd to clog the guiltless keel”
'Gutter'd' means furrowed or channeled — rocks worn into grooves by the sea, forming hidden hazards just below the surface. 'Ensteep'd' means submerged or soaked in water. 'Congregated sands' are shoals — sand-bars that gang up like conspirators. Cassio is personifying these sea-hazards as traitors lying in wait to wreck innocent ships; even these dangers, he says, made an exception for Desdemona and let her pass.
TLN 806classical allusion
“Great Jove, Othello guard, And swell his sail with thine own powerful breath”
Cassio calls on Jove (Jupiter), the king of the Roman gods and lord of the sky and storms, to personally guard Othello's ship. The specific request — that Jove 'swell his sail with thine own powerful breath' — invokes his power as the god of wind and thunder, asking him to become Othello's pilot. It is both a prayer and a compliment to Othello's stature: only the king of the gods is adequate to protect him.
TLN 813cultural context
“let her have your knees”
Cassio is asking the men of Cyprus to kneel before Desdemona — the formal gesture of respect shown to a queen or high noble. He is treating her as the general's consort, the equivalent of a commanding presence on the island, whose arrival deserves full ceremonial honor.
TLN 843rhetorical device
“you are pictures out of doors, Bells in your parlours, wild cats in your kitchens, Saints in your injuries, devils being offended”
Iago delivers a series of rapid paradoxes: women are silent as painted pictures in public but noisy as bells at home; they pretend saintly patience when wronged but turn devilish if merely annoyed; they appear to work diligently but actually lounge. This is antithetical listing — each pair sets a public performance against a private reality — and Iago uses it to imply that all women are fundamentally two-faced. Desdemona correctly identifies it as slander.
TLN 848historical topical
“it is true, or else I am a Turk”
Iago uses 'Turk' as a byword for an infidel, an untrustworthy outsider, or simply a liar — 'or else I am a Turk' means 'or call me a heathen if I am wrong.' For an English audience in 1603, 'Turk' carried connotations of cruelty, treachery, and non-Christian religion; to call oneself a Turk was to swear by the most contemptible thing imaginable. The play elsewhere uses 'Turk' with similar force (Othello 2.3 asks 'Are we turn'd Turks?').
historical Cyprus and the Ottoman threat
TLN 860archaic vocab
“my invention Comes from my pate as birdlime does from frize”
'Birdlime' is a sticky paste made from holly bark, spread on branches to trap birds by their feet. 'Frize' (frieze) is a coarse, rough-textured woolen cloth. Iago is pretending to struggle for inspiration: trying to pull an idea from his head is like trying to pull birdlime off rough cloth — the stickiness catches everything and tears it away. The simile performs fake effort while actually revealing Iago's mind as a trap.
TLN 866cultural context
“How if she be black and witty”
Here 'black' means dark-complexioned (dark hair or dark skin, as opposed to the blond or fair ideal of Elizabethan beauty standards) rather than African or Moorish. Iago's response — 'She'll find a white that shall her blackness fit' — puns on 'white' as both a fair-complexioned man and a target or mark in archery; a black-haired witty woman will find a pale-complexioned target to suit her. The exchange reveals Elizabethan color-coding of attractiveness as both aesthetic and moral.
TLN 894archaic vocab
“To suckle fools and chronicle small beer”
Iago's 'praise' of the ideal woman ends with this — the best she can hope for is nursing babies and keeping track of the household's supply of weak beer. 'Chronicle small beer' means to record trivial domestic accounts, like how much cheap beer was in the cellar — the most petty imaginable bookkeeping. Iago has built up an elaborate catalog of impossible female virtues only to demolish them with this contemptuous final line. Desdemona calls it 'most lame and impotent.'
TLN 901rhetorical device
“as little a web as this will I ensnare as great a fly as Cassio”
In an aside to the audience, Iago watches Cassio whisper and bow to Desdemona while waiting for Othello's ship and announces his plan. The 'web' is the spider's trap; Cassio is the fly. Calling Cassio a 'great fly' is ironic — Iago means Cassio is a significant target, but 'fly' also trivializes him: a fly caught in a spider's web is helpless once the web closes. This is the first direct statement of Iago's plot against Cassio in Act 2.
historical The Stage Machiavel
TLN 902archaic vocab
“I will gyve thee in thine own courtship”
'Gyve' means to shackle or fetter — gyves are iron leg-irons used on prisoners. Iago is saying: I will chain you with your own polite behavior. Cassio's elaborate courtesy toward Desdemona (the bowing, the hand-kissing) will become the instrument of his imprisonment; Iago will turn his social manners into the chains that bind him.
TLN 919classical allusion
“laboring bark climb hills of seas Olympus-high, and duck again as low As hell's from heaven”
Othello compares the height of storm-waves to Olympus, the mountain home of the Greek gods — the tallest and most sacred peak in the classical world — and the trough of the waves to the distance between hell and heaven. The paired extremes (Olympus vs. hell, heaven vs. the deep) express the violence of the seas he has just crossed and simultaneously hint at the emotional extremes he is feeling: arriving at the summit of happiness.
TLN 921rhetorical device
“If it were now to die, 'Twere now to be most happy; for, I fear, My soul hath her content so absolute That not another comfort like to this Succeeds in unknown fate”
Othello says: if I were to die right now, this would be the best moment to die, because I am so perfectly happy that nothing in the unknown future could match it. This is the play's most explicit foreshadowing: Othello's joy is so complete that he fears it cannot last. The speech peaks his happiness at the very moment the audience knows Iago is preparing to destroy it.
TLN 935rhetorical device
“I'll set down the pegs that make this music”
In an aside, Iago watches Othello and Desdemona kiss and immediately announces he will 'set down the pegs' — loosen the tuning pegs of a stringed instrument so that it falls out of harmony. The metaphor turns their love into a musical instrument that Iago controls: he will detune it until the 'well tuned' harmony they share becomes discord. It is one of the play's central images of Iago as the hidden saboteur of a perfect union.
historical The Stage Machiavel
TLN 956historical topical
“she first loved the Moor, but for bragging, and telling her fantastical lies”
Iago tells Roderigo that Desdemona only loved Othello because of his boastful war stories and exaggerated tales — and now that the novelty has worn off, she will want someone younger and handsomer like Cassio. This is Iago's invention: the play has already shown us (1.3) that Desdemona fell in love with Othello because of his genuine story of hardship and adventure, told to her father. Iago cynically reframes authentic love as mere gullibility.
historical The 'Moor' on the Elizabethan stage
TLN 965archaic vocab
“begin to heave the gorge, disrelish and abhor the Moor”
'Heave the gorge' means to retch or feel nauseated — the gorge is the throat or gullet, and heaving it is the physical sensation of dry-heaving. Iago is predicting that Desdemona will eventually feel physical revulsion toward Othello. The violence of the metaphor — nausea and retching — reflects the contempt underneath Iago's seemingly practical argument and frames his racist assumption that attraction to Othello is inherently unnatural.
historical The 'Moor' on the Elizabethan stage
TLN 971archaic vocab
“his salt and most hidden loose affection”
'Salt' means lascivious, lecherous, or lustful in Elizabethan usage — it derives from the notion of salt as a sharpener of appetite and irritant. Iago is accusing Cassio of concealing intense sexual desire ('loose affection') behind the surface of polite manners ('civil and humane seeming'). The argument is that Cassio's courtesy is calculated cover for his lust.
TLN 1019archaic vocab
“I do suspect the lusty Moor Hath leap'd into my seat”
Iago suspects that Othello has slept with his wife Emilia — 'leaped into my seat' means taken his place in the marriage bed. 'Seat' here is a figurative term for the husband's marital position. This accusation of cuckolding (a wife's infidelity) is Iago's second stated motive for revenge, alongside resentment over the lieutenancy. He offers no evidence; editors generally treat it as another improvised rationalization.
TLN 1027archaic vocab
“this poor trash of Venice, whom I trash For his quick hunting”
Iago calls Roderigo 'trash of Venice' (worthless person) and uses 'trash' also as a hunting verb: to 'trash' a dog was to hold it back on a leash or weight it so it does not outrun the hunt. Iago is saying he must restrain and control Roderigo — keep him on a leash — to make him useful at the right moment rather than blundering ahead. The double use of 'trash' as noun and verb in a single breath is characteristically compact.
TLN 1029archaic vocab
“I'll have our Michael Cassio on the hip”
'Have someone on the hip' is a wrestling term meaning to have an opponent in a hold from which they cannot escape — a throw that puts them at your mercy. Iago is saying he will get Cassio into a position where Cassio is completely in his power. Shylock uses the same phrase in The Merchant of Venice (1.3) when he thinks he has Antonio at a disadvantage.
TLN 1036rhetorical device
“Knavery's plain face is never seen till us'd”
Iago closes the act with an epigram: a villainous plan is never visible until it is put into action. 'Knavery's plain face' means the true nature of a deception — 'plain' here means obvious, bare, unmasked — but it only becomes obvious after the deed is done. The couplet neatly captures Iago's whole method: everything he does is hidden in plain sight until it is too late.