But this denoted a foregone conclusion:
‘Tis a shrewd doubt, though it be but a dream.
– William Shakespeare
Othello, Act 3, Scene 3. Othello is talking about Iago’s claim that Cassio in a dream confessed to an adulterous affair between himself and Desdemona. Othello is all too ready to jump to conclusions and believe Cassio’s ridiculous "dream" without any evidence. He has lost his rational thought and thinks that the supposed dream is reality.