Which do but what they should, in doing nothing
Save tow'rds your love and bonour.

We do but perform our duty when we contract all our views to your fervice, when we act with no other principle than regard to your love and honour.

It is probable that this paffage was firft corrupted by writing fafe for fave, and the lines then stood thus,

-Doing nothing

Safe tow'rd your love and honour.

Which the next transcriber observing to be wrong, and yet not being able to discover the real fault, altered to the prefent reading.

-T

HOU'DST have, great Glamis,

That which cries, "thus thou must do if thou have it,

"And that, &c.

As the object of Macbeth's defire is here introduced speaking of itself it is neceffary to read,

---Thou'dft have, great Glamis,

That which cries, "thus thou must do if thou have me."

NOTE

-H

That I may pour my fpirits in thine ear,

And chastise with the valour of my tongue

All that impedes thee from the golden round,
That fate and metaphysical aid do feem

To have thee crown'd withal.

pre

For feem the fenfe evidently directs us to read feek. The crown to which fate destines thee, and which ternatural agents endeavour to bestow upon thee. The golden round is the diadem.

Lady Macbeth.

NOTE XIV.

COME all you fpirits

unfex me here,

That tend on mortal thoughts,

And fill me from the crown to th' toe, top-full
Of direst cruelty; make thick my blood,
Stop up th' accefs and paffage to remorse,
That no compunctious vifitings of nature
Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between

Th' effect and it.

Mortal thoughts.

This expreffion fignifies not the thoughts of mortals, but murtherous, deadly, or destructive defigns. So in act 5th.

Hold faft the mortal fword.

And

And in another place,

With twenty mortal murthers.

-Nor keep pace between

Th' effect and it.

The intent of Lady Macbeth, evidently is to wish that no womanish tenderness, or confcientious remorse may hinder her purpose from proceeding to effect, but neither this nor indeed any other fenfe is expreffed by the prefent reading, and therefore it cannot be doubted that Shakspeare wrote differently, perhaps thus.

That no compunctious vifitings of nature
Shake my fell purpose, nor keep pace between
Th' effect and it.

To keep pace between may fignify to pass between, to intervene. Pace is on many occafions a favourite of Shakspeare. This phrase is indeed not usual in this sense, but was it not its novelty that gave occafion to the present corruption?

King.THIS caftle hath a pleasant seat; the air

Nimbly and fweetly recommends itself

Unto our gentle senses.,

Banquo. This guest of fummer,

The temple-haunting Martlet, does approve,

By

By his lov'd manfionary, that heaven's breath
Smells wooingly here. No jutting frieze,
Buttrice, nor coigne of vantage, but this bird
Hath made his pendent bed, and procreant cradle :
Where they most breed and haunt, I have obferv'd
The air is delicate.

In this short scene, I propose a flight alteration to be made, by fubftituting fite for feat, as the antient word for fituation; and fenfe for fenfes as more agreeable to the measure; for which reafon likewife I have endeavoured to adjust this passage,

-Heaven's breath ·

Smells wooingly here. No jutting frieze,

By changing the punctuation and adding a fyllable thus,

-Heaven's breath

Smells wooingly. Here is no jutting frieze.

Those who have perufed books printed at the time of the first editions of Shakspeare know, that greater alterations than these are neceffary almost in every page, even where it is not to be doubted that the copy was correct.

NOTE XVI.

SCENE X.

THE arguments by which Lady Macbeth perfuades her husband to commit the murder, afford a proof of Shakspeare's knowledge of human nature. She urges

the

the excellence and dignity of courage, a glittering idea which has dazzled mankind from age to age, and animated fometimes the houfebreaker, and fometimes the conqueror; but this fophifm Macbeth has for ever destroyed by distinguishing true from false fortitude, in a line and a half; of which it may almost be said, that they ought to bestow immortality on the author, though all his other productions had been lost.

I dare do all that may become a man,
Who dares do more is none.

This topic, which has been always employed with too much fuccefs, is used in this fcene with peculiar propriety, to a foldier by a woman. Courage is the dif tinguishing virtue of a foldier, and the reproach of cowardice cannot be borne by any man from a woman, without great impatience.

She then urges the oaths by which he had bound himself to murder Duncan, another art of fophiftry by which men have sometimes deluded their confciences, and perfuaded themselves that what would be criminal in others is virtuous in them; this argument Shakspeare, whose plan obliged him to make Macbeth yield, has not confuted, though he might easily have shown that a former obligation could not be vacated by a latter.

LETTING I dare not, wait upon I would,

Like the poor cat i'th' adage.

The