Enter MACDUFF. How goes the world, fir, now? MACD Why, fee you not? ROSSE. Is't known, who did this more than They were fuborn'd: Malcolm, and Donalbain, the king's two fons, Are ftol'n away and fled; which puts upon them Sufpicion of the deed. 9 ROSSE. 'Gainft nature ftill: Thriftlefs ambition, that wilt ravin up Thine own life's means! Then 'tis moft like, " 2 Moft of the prodigies juft before mentioned are related by Holinfhed, as accompanying king Duffe's death; and it is in particular afferted, that horfes of fingular beauty and swiftnefs did eat their own feh. STEEVENS. 8 What good could they pretend? To pretend is here to propofe to themfelves, to fet before themselves as a motive of action,, JOHNSON. To pretend, in this inftance, as in many others, is fimply to intend, to defign. STEEVENS. So, in Goulart's Hiftories, 1607: The carauell arriued fafe at her pretended port." p. 575. Again, p. 586: "As for the Sclaaouian captaine, he caft himselfe into the fea, meaning to fwimme vnto the fhelfes peere vnto the fort, where hee pretended to faué himfelfe." RITSÓN. - 9 - that wilt ravin up-] The old copy reads will. Correated by Sir Thomas Hanmer. MALONE. Then 'tis moft like, ] To complete the measure, I suppose, with Sir T. Hanmer, that our author wrote Why, then it is moft like,-. STEEVENS. The fovereignty will fall upon Macbeth. 2 MACD. He is already nam'd; and gone to Scone, To be invested. Rosse. Where is Duncan's body? 3 MACD. Carried to Colmes-kill; you to Scone? Well, I will thither. MACD. No, coufin, I'll to Fife. MACD. Well, may you fee things well done there; adieu! Left our old robes fit easier than our new! ROSSE. Father, farewell. OLD M. God's benifon go with you; and with those That would make good of bad, and friends of foes! [Exeunt. Then 'tis moft like, The fovereignty will fall upon Macbeth.] Macbeth by his birth food next in the fucceffion to the crown, immediately after the fons of Duncan. King Malcolm, Duncan's predeceffor, had two daughters, the eldeft of whom was the mother of Duncan, the youngest, the morher of Macbeth. Holinfhed. STEEVENS. 3 Colmes-kill; or Colm-kill, is the famous Iona, one of the weftern ifles, which Dr Johnfon vifited, and defcribes in his Tour. Holinthed fcarcely mentious the death of any of the ancient kings of Scotland, without taking notice of their being buried with their predeceffors in Colme-kill. STEEVENS. It is now called Icolmkill. Kill in the Erfe language fignifies a burying-place. MALONE. АСТ III. SCENE I. Fores. A Room in the Palace. Enter BANQUO. BAN. Thou haft it now, King, Cawdor, Glamis, all, 4 As the weird women promis'd; and, I fear, Thou play'dit moft foully for't: yet it was faid, It should not stand in thy pofterity; Of But that myself fhould be the root, and father many kings. If there come truth from them, (As upon thee, Macbeth, their speeches thine,) 5 Why, by the verities on thee made good, May they not be my oracles as well, And fet me up in hope? But, hufh; no more. Thou haft it now, King, Cawdor, Glamis, all, As the weird women promis'd;] Here we have another paffage, that might lead us to fuppofe that the thaneship of Glamis defcended to Macbeth subsequent to his meeting the weird fifters, though that event had certainly taken place before. See p. 40. MALONE. 5 (As upon thee, Macbeth, their Speeches fhine,)--] Shine, for profper. WARBURTON. Shine, for appear with all the luftre of confpicuous truth. JOHNSON. I rather incline to Dr. Warburton's interpretation. So, in K. Henry VI. P. I. fc. ii : "Heaven, and our lady gracious, hath it pleased VOL. XI. K Senet founded. Enter MACBETH, as King; Lady MACBETH, as Queen; LENOX, Rosse, Lords, Ladies and Attendants. MACB. Here's our chief guest. LADY M. If he had been forgotten, It had been as a gap in our great feast, And all-thing unbecoming. MACB. To-night we hold a folemn fupper, fir, And I'll request your prefence. BAN. Let your highness Command upon me;' to the which, my duties © And I'll request your prefence.] I cannot help fufpeding this paffage to be corrupt, and would wish to read : And I requeft your prefence. Macbeth is fpeaking of the prefent, not of any future, time. Sir W. D'Avenant reads: And all requeft your presence. The fame mistake has happened in K. Richard III. A& I. fc. iii. where we find in the folio, "O Buckingham, I'll kiss thy princely hand,-" inftead of I kifs-the reading of the quarto. In Timon of Athens the fame errour is found more than once. MALONE. The old reading is, I believe, the true one. So, in King John: "I'll tell thee, Hubert, half my power" &c. 7 Let your highness STEEVENS. Command upon me;] Thus the old copy, and perhaps rightly, though modern editors have been content to read-Lay your highnefs &c Every uncouth phrase in an ancient author, fhould not be fufpe&ed of corruption. In As you like it an expreffion fomewhat fimilar occurs: "And take apon command what help we have." STEEVENS. The change was fuggefted by Sir W. Davenant's alteration of this play it was made by Mr. Rowe. MALOne. : Are with a moft indiffoluble tie For ever knit.8 MACB. Ride you this afternoon? BAN. Ay, my good lord. MACB. We should have elfe defir'd your good advice (Which still hath been both grave and profperous,) In this day's council; but we'll take to-morrow.9 Is't far you ride? -to the which, my duties Are with a moft indiffoluble tie For ever knit. So, in our author's Dedication of his Rape of Lucrece, to Lord Southampton, 1594: "What I have done is yours, being part in all I have devoted yours. Were my worth greater, my duty would fhow greater; mean time as it is, it is bound to your lordship" MALONE. 9 --we'll take to-morrow.] Thus the old copy, and, in my opinion, rightly. Mr. Malone would read We'll talk to-morrow. STEEVENS. I proposed this emendation fome time ago, and having fince met with two other paffages in which the fame mistake has happened, I truft I shall be pardoned for giving it a place in my text. Henry V. edit. 1623, we find, "For I can take, [talke] for Piftol's cock is up." Again, in The Two Gentlemen of Verona, 1623, p. 31: In King "It is no matter for that, fo the fleep not in her take." [inftead of talke, the old fpelling of talk.] On the other hand, in the firft fcene of Hamlet, we find in the folio, 1623: 66 -then no planet trikes, No fairy talkes,— So again, in the play before us: "The interim having weigh'd it, let us speak "Our free hearts each to other." Again, Macbeth says to his wife, -We will fpeak further." Again, in a subsequent scene between Macbeth and the affaffins: Was it not yefterday we spoke together?" In Othello we have almoft the fame fenfe, expreffed in other words : -To-morrow, with the earlieft, Let me have speech with you." |