Source identified
Read & copy the quotation
“The robbed that smiles, steals something from the thief.”
- Source
- Othello
- Date
- c. 1603
- Local voice
- Fictional character · Duke of Venice
Meaning of “The robbed that smiles, steals something from the…”
Preserving some inward freedom after a loss denies the wrongdoer complete control over what the loss becomes.
Where does it come from?
Othello, Act I, Scene III, reviewed against the scan-backed 1910 First Folio facsimile on Wikisource. The Duke tells Brabantio that continuing to spend grief on an irreversible loss only compounds it; the retained modernized wording corresponds to the Folio's 'The rob'd that smiles, steales something from the Thiefe.' It is dramatic counsel inside the scene, not Shakespeare autobiography or clinical grief guidance.
Why the local voice matters
The Duke addresses Brabantio in Othello, Act 1, Scene 3.
