So they redoubled ftrokes upon the foe: I cannot tell- But I am faint, my gafhes cry for help.- King. So well thy words become thee, as thy wounds: They mack of honour both. Go, get him furgeons, Enter Roffe and Angus. But who comes here? Mal. The worthy Thane of Refe. Len. What hafte looks through his eyes? So fhould he look, that feems to speak things frange, King. Whence cam'ft thou, worthy Thane? Where the Norweyan banners flout the sky, Norway, himself with numbers terrible, (4) The Thane of Cawdor, 'gan a dismal conflict; Point against point rebellious, arm 'gainft arm, charg'd; why? because they redoubled ftrokes on the foe with twice the fury, and impetuofity, as before. (4) Norway himself, with numbers terrible, Afifted by that, &c.] Norway hitafelf affifted, &. is a reading we owe to the editors, not to the poet. That energy and contraft of expreffion are loft, which my pointing refiores. The fenfe is, Norway, who was in himself terrible by his own numbers, when affifted by Cardor, became yet more terrible. (5) 'Till that Bellona's bridegroom, lapt in proof, Confronted bm with self-comparisons, Point against poist, rebellious arm 'gainst arm, Curbing his lavish fpirit.] Here again we are to quarrel with the tranfpofition of an innocent comma; which however becomes dangerous to fenfe, when in the hands either of a careless or ignorant editor. Let us fee who is it that brings this rebellious arm? Why, it is Bellona's bridegroom: and who is he, but Macbeth. We can never believe, our author meant any thing like this. My regulation of the pointing reftores the true meaning; that the loyal Mactab confronted the disloyal Cawdor, arm to aim. Curbing Curbing his lavish fpirit. To conclude, King. Great happiness! Roffe. Now Sweno, Norway's King, craves compofition: Nor would we deign him burial of his men, "Till he difburfed, at Saint Colmes-kill-ifle Ten thousand dollars, to our gen'ral use. King. No more that Thane of Cawdor fhall deceive Our bofom int'reft. Go, pronounce his death ; And with his former title greet Macbeth. Roffe. I'll fee it done. King. What he hath loft, noble Macbeth hath won. [Exeunt. SCENE changes to the Heath. 1 Witch 3 Thunder. W Enter the three Witches. Here haft thou been, fister ? Witch. Sifter, where thou? 1 Witch. A failor's wife had chefnuts in her lap, And mouncht, and mouncht, and mouncht. Give me, quoth I. Aroint thee, witch!-the rump-fed ronyon cries. 2 Witch. I'll give thee a wind. 1 Witch. Thou art kind. 3 Witch. And I another. 1 Witch. I myself have all the other, I will drain him dry as hay; N He He shall live a man forbid; (6) z Witch. Shew me, fhew me. 1 Witch. Here I have a pilot's thumb, Wrackt as homeward he did come. 3 Witch. A drum, a drum! Macbeth doth come! [Drum within, All. The Weird fifters, hand in hand, (7) Pofters (6) He fhall live a man forbid :] i. e. as under a curse, an Interdition. So, afterwards, in this play; By his own interdiction ftands accurs'd. So, among the Romans, an outlaw's fentence was aquæ & ignis inter dictio. i. e. He was forbid the use of water and fire: which imply'd the neceffity of banishment. (7) The weyward fifters, hand in hand,] The Witches are here fpeaking of themselves; and it is worth an enquiry why they should ftile themselves the weyward, or wayward fifters. This word in its general acceptation fignifies, perverfe, froward, moody, obftinate, untra&able, &c. and is every where fo ufed by our Shakespeare. To content ourfelves with two or three inftances; Fy, fy, how wayward is this foolish love, Two Gent, of Verona. This wimpled, whining, purblind, wayward boy. And, which is worfe. All you have done Love's Labour loft. Macbeth. It is improbable, the Witches would adopt this epithet to themselves, in any of these fenfes; and therefore we are to look a little farther for the poet's word and meaning. When I had the first fufpicion of our author being corrupt in this place, it brought to my mind the following paffage in CHAUCER's Troilus and Creffeide. lib. iii. v. 618. But O fortune, executrice of wierdes. Which word the gloffaries expound to us hy fates or deftinies, I was foon confirm'd in my fufpicion, upon happening to dip into Heylin's Cofmography, where he makes a fhort recital of the ftory of Macbeth and Banquo. Thefe two (fays be,) travelling together thro' a foreft, were met by three Fairies, Witches, Wierds, the Scots call them, &c. I prefently recollected, that this ftory must be recorded at more length by Holing/head; with whom I thought it was very probable that Pofters of the fea and land, Thrice to thine, and thrice to mine, Thus do go about, about, And thrice again to make up nine. Enter Macbeth and Banquo, with Soldiers ana other Macb. So foul and fair a day I have not feen. That look not like th' inhabitants o' th' earth, Macb. Speak, if you can; what are you? 1 Witch. All-hail, Mabeth! hail to thee, Thane of Glamis! 2Witch. All-hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor! 3 Witch. All-hail, Macbeth! that shalt be King hereafter. Ban. Good Sir, why do you start, and seem to fear Things that do found fo fair? I' th' name of truth, Are ye fantastical, or that indeed [To the Witches. that our author had traded for the materials of his tragedy: and therefore confirmation was to be fetch'd from this fountain. Accordingly, looking into his history of Scotland, I found the writer very prolix and exprefs, from Hector Boethius, in this remarkable ftory; and in p. 170. fpeaking of these Witches, he uses this expreffion. But afterwards the common opinion was, that thefe women were either the weird fifters, that is, as ye would fay, the goddeffes of deftiny, &c. Again, a little lower; The words of the three weird fifters alfo, (of whom before ye have heard) greatly encouraged him thereunto. And, in feveral other paragraphs there, this word is repeated. I believe, by this time, it is plain beyond a doubt, that the word wayward has obtain'd in Macbeth, where the Witches are spoken of, from the ignorance of the copyifts, who were not acquainted with the Scotch term and that in every paffage, where there is any relation to these Witches or Wizards, my emendation must be embraced, and we must read weird. Which outwardly ye fhew? my noble partner That he feems rapt withal; to me you speak not. And fay, which grain will grow and which will not; 1 Witch. Hail! 2 Witch. Hail! 3 Witch. Hail! Witch. Leffer than Macbeth, and greater. 2 Witch. Not fo happy, yet much happier. 3 Witch. Thou shalt get Kings, though thou be none; So, all hail, Macbeth and Banquo! 1 Witch. Banquo and Macbeth, all-hail! Mach. Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more; By Sinel's death, I know, I'm Thane of Glamis; But how, of Cawdor? the Thane of Cawdor lives, A profp'rous gentleman; and, to be King, Stands not within the prospect of belief, No more than to be Cawdor. Say, from whence You owe this ftrange intelligence? or why Upon this blafted heath you stop our way, With fuch prophetick greeting?-fpeak, 1 charge you. [Witches vanish. Ban. The earth hath bubbles, as the water has; And these are of them: whither are they vanish'd ? Macb. Into the air: and what seem'd corporal Melted, as breath, into the wind, Would they had staid ! Ban. Were fuch things here, as we do speak about? (8) (8) Were fuch things here, as we do speak about? Or have we eaten of the infane root, Or That takes the reafon prifoner ?] The infane root, viz. the root which makes infane; as in HORACE Pallida Mors; nempè, quæ facit pallidos.---This fentence, I conceive, is not fo well understood, as I wou'd have every part of Shakespeare be, by his audience and readers. So foon as the Witches vanish from the fight of Macbeth and Banque, and leave them in doubt whether they had really feen fuch Appariti |