Unreal mock'ry, hence! Why, fo, being gone, [The Ghost vanishes. [The Lords rife. I am a man again: pray you, fit still. Meeting With most admir'd diforder. Mach. Can fuch things be, And overcome us like a Summer's cloud, When now I think, you can behold fuch fights; Reffe. What fights, my lord? Lady. I pray you, speak not; he grows worse and Question enrages him: at once, good night. Len. Good night, and better health Attend his Majesty! Lady. Good night, to all. [Exeunt Lords. Mach. It will have blood, they say; blood will have blood: Stones have been known to move, and trees to speak; VOL. V. Ee (27) Augurs, that understood Relations, have By By Magpies, and by Choughs, and Rooks, brought forth The secret'st Man of Blood.] Conscience, as we may learn from Plutarch, has sometimes supply'd the Office of Augury in this Point. One Bef fus, he tells us, who had a long Time before murther'd his Father, going to sup at a Friend's House, suddenly with his Spear pull'd down a Swallow's Nest, and kill'd all the Young Ones. The Company enquiring into the Reason of his Cruelty, Don't you hear, fays he, how they faljely accuse me of having kill'd my Father ? Vid. Plutarchum de Serd Numinis Vindicta. As remarkable a Story is recorded by him, in another Tract, upon which the Greeks founded their Proverb, Αϊ Ιβύκα γέρανοι. Ibycus the Poet being surpriz'd by Robbers in a Desart, as they were about to kill him, call'd out to a Flock of Cranes, that flew over his Head, to bear Witness of his Murther. These Murtherers sometime afterwards fitting in the Theatre, and feeing a Flight of Cranes, said in Triumph to By mag-pies, and by choughs, and rooks brought forth The fecret'ft man of blood. - What is the night? Lady. Almoft at odds with morning, which is which. Mach. How fay'st thou, that Macduff denies his person, At our great bidding? Lady. Did you send to him, Sir? Mach. I hear it by the way; but I will send : Lady. You lack the Seafon of all Nature's Sleep. Mach. Come, we'll to fleep; my strange and self abuse to one another; Behold, Ibycus's Avengers! The Words being overheard, the Robbers were apprehended, rack'd upon Sufpicion, and brought to a Confession of the Murther. And thus, as Aufonius says, Ibycus ut periit, vindex fuit altivolans Grus. Monfieur. Le Feure, in his Lives of the Greek Poets, has concluded with remarking on Ibycus, that as he liv'd a Poet, fo he dy'da Prophet. (28) There is not One of them,] Thus the modern Editors. But, One of Whom? Macbeth has just said, thathe heard, Macduff meant to disobey his Summons: and he would immediately subjoin, that there is not a Man of Macduff's Quality in the Kingdom, but He has a Spy under his Roof. This is understood, not express'd, as the Text as yet has stood. The old Folio's give us the Passage thus; There's not a one of them Here we again meet with a deprav'd Reading; but it is such a One, as, I am perswaded, has led me to the Poet's true Word and Meaning. There's not a Thane of them, i. e. a Nobleman: and so the Peers of Scotland were all call'd, till Earls were created by Malcolme the Son of Duncan. The Etymology of the Word is to be found in Spelman's Saxon Glossary, Wormius's Danish Hiftory, Cafaubon de Lingua Saxonica, &c. And my Emendation, I conceive, is fufficiently confirm'd by what Holingshead, from whom our Author has extracted fo many Particulars of History, expreffly says in proof of this Circumftance. For Macbeth had in every Nobleman's House one fly Fellow or other, in fee with him ; to reveal All that was faid or done, within the fame: by which Slight he oppress'd the most part of the Nobles of bis Realm. Is Is the initiate fear, that wants hard use : ! (29) [Exeunt. SCENE changes to the Heath. Thunder. Enter the three Witches, meeting Hecate, Wit. W THY, how now, Hecat', you look angerly. Hec. Have I not reason, Beldams, as you are ? Sawcy, and over-bold! how did you dare To trade and traffick with Macbeth, And I the mistress of your Charms, : (29) We're yet but young indeed.] If we transpose these Words, we shall find, they amount to no more than This, We are yet indeed but young. But this is far from comprizing either the Poet's, or Macbeth's, Meaning. I read, in Deed, i. e. but little inur'd yet to Acts of Blood and Cruelty: for Time and Practice harden Villains in their Taade, who are timorous till so harden'd. So Macbeth says before; Things bad begun strengthen themselves in III. So, afterwards, Direness, familiar to my flaught'rous Thoughts, So in 3d. Henr. VI. Made impudent with use of evil Deeds. Ecz Great : Great business must be wrought ere noon: And you all know, Security [Mufick and a Song. Hark, I am call'd; my little spirit, see, Sits in the foggy cloud, and stays for me. [Sing within. Come away, come away, &c. 1 Wit. Come, let's make haste, she'll foon be back again. [Ex. SCENE changes to a chamber. Len. My Enter Lenox, and another Lord. y former speeches have but hit your thoughts, Which can interpret farther : only, I fay, Things have been strangely borne, The gracious Duncan Was pitied of Macbeth-marry, he was dead :And the right-valiant Banquo walk'd too late. Whom you may say, if't please you, Fleance kill'd, For Fleance fled: men must not walk too late. Who cannot want the thought, how monstrous too It was for Malcolm, and for Donalbaine To kill their gracious father? damned fact ! How did it grieve Macbeth? did he not straight In pious rage the two delinquents tear, That were the flaves of drink, and thralls of fleep? Was not that nobly done? ay, wisely too; For 'twould have anger'd any heart alive To hear the men deny't. So that I fay, He has borne all things well; and I do think, That had he Duncan's fons under his key, (As, and't please heav'n, he shall not ;) they should find What 1 What 'twere to kill a father: so should Fleance. Lord. The Son of Duncan, (30) (30) The Sons of Duncan From whom this Tyrant holds the Due of Birth] I have set right this Passage against the Authority of our unobserving Editors. And the Proofs of my Emendation are obvious. In the first place, Macbeth could not be said to hold the Due of Birth from Both Duncan's Sons. The Succession to the Crown was the Right of Malcolm; and Donalbaine could have no Right to it, as long as his Elder Brother or any of his Issue were in Being. In the next place, the Sons of Duncan did not Both shelter in the English Court. Upon the Discovery of their Father's Murther, we find them thus determining. Malc.. -I'll to England. Donal. To Ireland I; our separated Fortune Shall keep us both the safer. This Determination, tis plain, they immediately put into Act, or Macbeth had very ill Intelligence : We hear, our bloody Coufins are bestow'd In England and in Ireland. Nor were they together, even at the Time when Malcolm difputed his Right with Macbeth. Who knows, if Donalbaine be with his Brother ? Len. For certain, Sir, he is not. Besides, Hector Boethius and Holingshead (the latter of whom our Author precisely follows;) both inform us, that Donalbaine remain'd in Ireland till the Death of Malcolm and his Queen; and then, indeed, he came over, invaded Scotland, and wrested the Crown from One of his Nephew's. Hath Ee3 |