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And pour'd them down before him.

Ang. We are fent,

To give thee, from our royal master, thanks;
Only to herald thee into his fight,

Not pay thee.

Rofe. And for an earnest of a greater honour,`` He bade me, from him, call thee Thane of Cawdor : In which addition, hail, moft worthy Thane!

For it is thine.

Ban. What, can the devil fpeak true ?
Macb. The Thane of Cawdor lives;
Why do you dress me in his borrow'd robes ?
Ang. Who was the Thane, lives yet;
But under heavy judgment bears that life,
Which he deferves to lofe. Whether he was
Combin'd with Norway, or did line the rebel
With hidden help and vantage; or that with both
He labour'd in his country's wrack, I know not:
But treafons capital, confefs'd, and prov'd,
Have overthrown him.

Macb. Glamis, and Thane of Cawdor!
The greatest is behind. Thanks for your pains.

[Afide.

[To Angus.

Do you not hope, your children fhall be Kings?

[To Banquo.

When thofe, that gave the Thane of Cawdor to me,
Promis'd no lefs to them?

Ban. That trufted home,

Might yet enkindle you unto the crown,

Befides the Thane of Cawdar. But 'tis ftrange:
And oftentimes, to win us to our harm,
The inftruments of darkness tell us truths,

Win us with honeft trifles, to betray us
In deepest confequence,

Coufins, a word, I pray you.
Macb. Two truths are told,

[To Roffe and Angus.

As happy prologues to the fwelling act

[Afide.

Of the imperial theme. I thank you, gentlemen

This fupernatural folliciting

Cannot be ill; cannot be good.-If ill,

Why

Why hath it giv'n me earnest of success,
Commencing in a truth? I'm Thane of Cawdor.
If good; why do I yield to that suggestion,
Whofe horrid image doth unfix my hair,
And make my seated heart knock at my ribs
Against the use of nature? prefent feats (9)
Are lefs than horrible imaginings.

My thought, whofe murder yet is but fantastical,
Shakes fo my fingle state of man, that function
Is fmother'd in furmife; and nothing is,

But what is not.

Ban. Look, how our partner's rapt!

Macb. If chance will have me King, why, chance may

crown me,

Without my ftir.

Ban. New honours, come upon him,

(9)

prefent fears

[Afide.

Are lefs than borrible imaginings.] Macbeth, while he is projecting the murder, which he afterwards puts in execution, is thrown into the most agonizing affright at the profpect of it: which foon recovering from, thus he reafons on the nature of his diforder. But imaginings are fo far from being more or less than present fears, that they are the fame things under different words. Shakespeare certainly wrote;

-prefent feats

Are lefs than horrible imaginings. i. e. When I come to execute this murder, I fhall find it much less dreadful than my frighted imagination now prefents it to me. A confideration drawn from the nature of the imagination.

Mr. Warburton. Macbeth, fpeaking again of this murder in a fubfequent fcene, ufes the very fame term;

I'm fettled, and bend up

Each corp'ral agent to this terrible feat. And it is a word, elsewhere, very familiar with our poet. I'll only add, in aid of my friend's correction, that we meet with the very fame fentiment, which our poet here advances, in OVID's Epiftles; Terror in bis ipfo major folet effe periclo.

Paris Helenæ. ver. 349. And it is a maxim with Machiavel, that many things are more fear'd afar off, than near at hand. E fono molte cose che difcofto paiono terribili, infopportabili, strani; & quando tu ti appreffi loro, le riescono bumane, fopportabili, domeftiche. Et pero fi dice, che sono maggiori li fpaventi che i mali, Mandragola, Atto. 3. Sc. 11. Like

N 4

Like our ftrange garments cleave not to their mould,
But with the aid of ufe.

Macb. Come what come may,

Time and the hour runs through the rougheft day.

Ban. Worthy Macbeth, we ftay upon your leisure. Mach. Give me your favour: my dull brain was wrought With things forgot. Kind gentlemen, your pains Are registred where every day I turn

The leaf to read them--Let us tow'rd the King; Think, upon what hath chanc'd; and at more time, [To Banquo. (The Interim having weigh'd it,) let us fpeak Our free hearts each to other.

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Ban. Very gladly.

Macb. Till then enough: come, friends.

SCENE changes to the Palace.

[Exeunt.

Flourish. Enter King, Malcolm, Donalbain, Lenox, and

Attendants.

S execution done on Cardor yet?

King⋅ Is

Or not thofe in commiffion yet return'd?
Mal. My liege,

They are not yet come back. But I have spoke
With one that faw him die; who did report,
That very frankly he confefs'd his treafons;
Implor'd your Highnefs' pardon, and fet forth
A deep repentance; nothing in his life
Became him like the leaving it. He dy'd,
As one, that had been ftudied in his death,
To throw away the dearest thing he own'd,
As 'twere a careless trifle.

King. There's no art,

To find the mind's conftruction in the face :
He was a gentleman, on whom I built
An abfolute truft.

Enter Macbeth, Banquo, Roffe, and Angus.

O worthieft Coufin !

The fin of my ingratitude e'en now

Was

Was heavy on me. Thou'rt fo far before, (10):
That swifteft wing of recompence is flow,

To overtake thee. Would thou'dft lefs deferv'd,.
That the proportion both of thanks and payment.
Might have been mine! only I've left to fay,
More is thy due, than more than all can pay..
Macb. The fervice and the loyalty I owe,
In doing it, pays itfelf. Your Highnefs' part
Is to receive our duties; and our duties (11)
Are to your throne, and state, children and fervants;
Which do but what they fhould, by doing every thing
Safe tow'rd your love and honour..

King. Welcome hither:

I have begun to plant thee, and will labour
To make thee full of growing. Noble Banquo,,
Thou haft no lefs deferv'd, and must be known
No lefs to have done fo: let me enfold thee,
And hold thee to my heart..

Ban. There if I grow,

The harvest is your own.

King. My plenteous joys,

Wanton in fulness, feek to hide themselves

(10) Thou art fo far before,.

That fwifteft wind of recompence is flaw ·

To overtake thee.] Thus the editions by Mr. Rowe and Mr. Pope::

whether for any reafon, or purely by chance,

cannot determine..

I have chose the reading of the more authentick copies, Wing.

We meet with the fame metaphor again in Troilus and Creffida,
But his evafion, wing'd thus fwift with fcorn,
Cannot outfly our apprehenfion.
and our duties

(11)

Are to your throne and ftate, children and fervants;
Which do but what they should, by doing every thing

Safe towards your love and honour.] This may be fenfe; but,, I own it gives me no very fatisfactory idea: And tho' I have not disturb'd the text, I cannot but embrace in iny mind the conjecture of my. ingenious friend Mr. Warburton, who would read;

by doing every thing,

Fiefs towards your love and honour.

i.e. We hold our duties to your throne, &c. under an obligation of doing every thing in our power: as we hold our Fifs, (feuda) thole: eftates and tenures, which we have on the terms of homage and fer

vices.

In drops of forrow. Sons, kinfmen, Thanes,
And you whofe Places are the nearest, know,
We will establish our Eftate upon

Our eldeft Malcolm, whom we name hereafter
The Prince of Cumberland: which honour muft,
Not unaccompanied, inveft him only;

But figns of Nobleness, like ftars, shall shine
On all defervers. Hence to Inverness,

And bind us further to you.

Mach. The reft is labour, which is not us'd for you;

I'll be myself the harbinger, and make joyful

The hearing of my wife with your approach;

So humbly take my leave.

King. My worthy Cawdor!

Macb. The Prince of Cumberland !—that is a step,

On which I muft fall down, or else o'er-leap,
For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires;

Let not light fee my black and deep defires:
The eye wink at the hand! yet let that be,
Which the eye fears, when it is done, to fee.

[Afide

[Exit.

King. True, worthy Banquo; he is full fo valiant; And in his commendations I am fed ;

Let us after him,

Whofe care is gone before to bid us welcome:

It is a banquet to me.

It is a peerless kinfman.

[Flourish. Exeunt.

SCENE, changes to an Apartment in Macbeth's Caftle, at Inverness.

Enter Lady Macbeth alone, with a letter.

Lady. T

HEY met me in the day of fuccefs; and I have learned by the perfecteft report, they have more in them than mortal knowledge. When I burnt in defire to queftion them further, they made themselves air, into which they vanished. While I ftood rapt in the wonder of it, came miffives from the King, who all-bail'd me Thane of Cawdor; by which title, before, these weird fifters Jaluted me, and referr'd me to the coming on of time, with hail, King that fhalt be! This have I thought good to deliver

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