* MACBETH.] In order to make a true estimate of the abilities and merit of a writer, it is always neceffary to examine the genius of his age, and the opinions of his contemporaries. A poet who should now make the whole action of his tragedy depend upon enchantment, and produce the chief events by the affiftance of fupernatural agents, would be cenfured as tranfgreffing the bounds of probability, be banished from the theatre to the nursery, and condemned to write fairy tales inftead of tragedies; but a survey of the notions that prevailed at the time when this play was written, will prove that Shakspeare was in no danger of fuch cenfures, fince he only turned the fyftem that was then univerfally admitted, 10 his advantage, and was far from overburdening the credulity of his audience. The reality of witchcraft or enchantment, which, though not ftridly the fame, are confounded in this play, has in all ages and countries been credited by the common people, and in moft, by the learned themfelves. The phantoms have indeed appeared more frequently, in proportion as the darkness of ignorance has been more giols; but it cannot be shown, that the brighteft gleams of knowledge have at any time been fufficient to drive them out of the world. The time in which this kind of credulity was at its height, feems to have been that of the holy war, in which the Chriftians imputed all their defeats to enchantments or diabolical oppofition, as they afcribed their fuccefs to the affiftance of their military faints; and the learned Dr. Warburton appears to believe (Suppl. to the Introduction to Don Quixote) that the firft accounts of enchantments were brought into this part of the world by thofe who returned from their eastern expeditions. But there is always fome distance between the birth and maturity of folly as of wickednefs: this opinion had long exifted, though perhaps the application of it had in no foregoing age been fo frequent, nor the reception fo general. Olympiodorus, in Photius's extracts, tells us of one Libanius, who practifed this kind of military magic, and having promised opPIS TATOV κατὰ βαρβάρων ἐνεργεῖν, to perform great things againft the Barbarians without foldiers, was, at the inftance of the emprefs Placidia, put to death, when he was about to have given proofs of his abilities. The emprefs fhowed fome kindness in her anger, by cutting him off at a time fo convenient for his reputation. But a more remarkable proof of the antiquity of this notion may be found in St. Chryfoftom's book de Sacerdotio, which exhibits a fcene of enchantments not exceeded by any romance of the middle age: he fuppofes a fpe&ator overlooking a field of battle attended by one that points out all the various objects of horror, the engines of deftru&ion, and the arts of laughter. Δεικνύτο δὲ ἔτι παρὰ τοῖς εναντίοις καὶ πετομένες ἵππος διὰ τινος μαγγανείας, καὶ ὁπλίτας δι' ἀέρος φερομένες, καὶ πάσην γοητείας δύναμιν καὶ ἰδέαν. Let him then proceed to fhow him in the oppofite armies horfes flying by enchantment, armed men tranfported through the air, and every power and form of magic. Whether St. Chryfoftom believed that fuch performances were really to be feen in a day of battle, or only endeavoured to enliven his description, by adopting the notions of the vulgar, it is equally certain, that fuch notions were in his time received, and that therefore they were not imported from the Saracens in a later age, the wars with the Saracens however gave occafion to their propagation, not only as bigotry naturally difcovers prodigies, but as the scene of action was removed to a great distance. The Reformation did not immediately arrive at its meridian, and though day was gradually increasing upon us, the goblins of witchcraft ftill continued to hover in the twilight. In the time of queen Elizabeth was the remarkable trial of the witches of Warbois, whofe convidion is ftill commemorated in au annual fermon at Huntingdon. But in the reign of king James, in which this tragedy was written, many circumstances concurred to propagate and confirm this opinion. The king, who was much celebrated for his knowledge, had, before his arrival in England, not only examined in person a woman accused of witchcraft, but had given a very formal account of the pra&ices and illufions of evil fpirits, the compacts of witches, the ceremonies used by them, the manner of dete&ing them, and the justice of punishing them, in his dialogues of Dæmonologie, written in the Scottish dialect, and published at Edinburgh. This book was, foon after his fucceffion, reprinted ät London, and as the ready way to gain king James's favour was to flatter his fpeculations, the fyftem of Demonologie was immediately adopted by all who defired either to gain preferment or not to lose it. Thus the do&rine of witchcraft was very powerfully inculcated; and as the greatest part of mankind have no other reafon for their opinions than that they are in fashion, it cannot be doubted but this pertuasion made a rapid progress, since vanity and crédulity co-operated in its favour. The infection foon reached the parliament, who, in the first year of king James, made a law, by which it was enacted, chap. xii. That "if any person shall use any invocation or conjuration of any evil or wicked spirit; 2. or fhall confult, covenant with, entertain, employ, feed or reward any evil or curfed spirit to or for any intent or purpose ; 3. or take up any dead man, woman, or child, out of the grave, or the fkin, bone, or any part of the dead perfon, to be employed or úfed in any manner of witchcraft, forcery, charm, or enchantment; 4. or shall ufe, practise, or exercise any fort of witchcraft, forcery, charm, or enchantment; 5. whereby any person shall be destroyed, killed, wafted, confumed, pined, or lamed in any part of the body; 6. That every fuch perfon being convicted fhall fuffer death." This law was repealed in our own time. Thus, in the time of Shakspeare, was the doctrine of witchcraft at once eftablifhed by law and by the fashion, and it became not only unpolite, but criminal, to doubt it; and as prodigies are always feen in proportion as they are expected, witches were every day difcovered, and multiplied so fast in some places, that bishop Hall mentions a village in Lancashire, where their number was greater than that of the houses. The jefuits and fectaries took advantage of this univerfal error, and endeavoured to promote the intereft of their parties by pretended cures of perfons afflicted by evil spirits; but they were detected and expofed by the clergy of the established church. Upon this general infatuation Shakspeare might be easily allowed to found a play, especially since he has followed with great exact. nefs fuch hiftories as were then thought true; nor can it be doubted that the scenes of enchantment, however they may now be ridiculed, were both by himself and his audience thought awful and affeding. JOHNSON. In the con-luding paragraph of Dr. Johnson's admirable introduction to this play, he seems apprehenfive that the fame of Shakfpeare's magic may be endangered by modern ridicule. I shall not hefitate, however, to predict its fecurity, till our national tafte is wholly corrupted, and we no longer deferve the first of all dramatic enjoyments; for fuch, in my opinion at least, is the tragedy of Macbeth. STEEVENS. Malcolm II. king of Scotland, had two daughters. The eldest was married to Crynin, the father of Duncan, Thane of the Ifles, and western parts of Scotland; and on the death of Malcolm, without male iffue, Duncan fucceeded to the throne. Malcolm's fecond daughter was married to Sinel, Thane of Glamis, the father of Macbeth. Duncan, who married the daughter of Siward, Earl of Northumberland, was murdered by his coufin german, Macbeth, in the caftle of Inverness, according to Buchanan, in the year 1040; according to He&or Boethius, in 1045. Boethius, whofe history of Scotland was first printed in seventeen books, at Paris, in 1526, thus defcribes the event which forms the basis of the tragedy before us: "Makbeth, be persuasion of his wyfe, gaderit his friendis to ane counfall at Invernes, quhare kyng Duncane happennit to be for ye tyme. And because he fand fufficient opportunitie, be fupport of Banquho and otheris his friendis, he flew kyng Duncane, the vii zeir of his regne." After the murder of Duncan, Macbeth “come with ane gret power to Scone, and tuk the crowne." Chroniclis of Scotland, tranflated by John Bellenden, folio, 1541. Macbeth was + In Nashe's Lenten Stuff, 1599, it is faid, that no less than fix hundred witches were executed at one time: "it is.evident by the confeffion of the fix hundred Scotch witches executed in Scotland at Bartholomew tide was twelve month, that in Yarmouth road they were all together in a plump on Christmas eve was two years, when the great flood was; and there ftirred up fuch tornadoes and furicanoes of tempefts, as will be ipoken of there whilft any winds or ftorms and tempefts chafe and puff in the lower region." REED. |