Mal. My liege,

They are not yet come back. But I have fpoke
With one that faw him die: who did report,
That very frankly he confefs'd his treafons;
Implor'd your highnefs'pardon; and fet forth
A deep repentance: nothing in his life
Became him, like the leaving it; he dy'd
As one that had been 7 ftudied in his death,
To throw away the dearest thing he ow'd,
As 'twere a careless trifle.

King. There's no art,

To find the mind's conftruction in the face;
He was a gentleman on whom I built
An abfolute truft.-O worthieft coufin!

Enter Macbeth, Banquo, Roffe, and Angus.

The fin of my ingratitude even now
Was heavy on me: Thou art fo far before,
That fwifteft wing of recompence is flow

To overtake thee. 'Would thou hadft lefs deferv'd;
That the proportion both of thanks and payment

• With one that faw him die:]

The behaviour of the thane of Cawdor correfponds in almoft every circumstance with that of the unfortunate earl of Effex, as related by Stowe, p. 793. His afking the queen's forgiveness, his confeffion, repentance, and concern about behaving with propriety on the fcaffold, are minutely defcribed by that hiftorian. Such an allufion could not fail of having the defired effect on an audience, many of whom were eye witneffes to the severity of that justice which deprived the age of one of its greatest ornaments, and Southampton, Shakespeare's patron, of his dearest friend. STEEVENS.

7

ftudied in bis death,]

Inftructed in the art of dying. It was ufual to fay ftudied, for learned in fcience. JOHNSON.

To find the mind's conftruction in the face:] The conftruction of the mind is, I believe, a phrafe peculiar to Shakespeare; it implies the frame or difpofition of the mind, by which it is determined to good or ill. JOHNSON.

Might have been mine! only I have left to say,
More is thy due than more than all can pay.
Macb. The fervice and the loyalty I owe,
In doing it, pays
itfelf. Your highness' part
Is to receive our duties: and our duties

Are to your throne and ftate, children, and fervants; 9 Which do but what they fhould, by doing every

thing
your

Safe toward

love and honour.

• Which do but what they should, by doing every thing

Safe toward your love and honour.]

King.

Of the last line of this fpeech, which is certainly, as it is now read, unintelligible, an emendation has been attempted, which Dr. Warburton and Mr. Theobald once admitted as the true reading:

our duties

Are to your throne and ftate, children and fervants,
Which do but what they should, in doing every thing,

Fiefs to your love and honour.

My efteem for thefe critics inclines me to believe that they cannot be much pleafed with thefe expreffions fiefs to love, or fiefs to bonour, and that they have propofed this alteration rather becaufe no other occured to them, than because they approved of it. I fhall therefore propofe a bolder change, perhaps with no better fuccefs, but fua cuique placent. I read thus:

our duties

Are to your throne and flate, children and fervants,
Which do but what they should, in doing nothing,

Save toward your love and honour.

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 first corrupted by writing fafe for fave, and the lines then ftood thus:

doing nothing

Safe toward your love and honour.

which the next tranfcriber obferving to be wrong, and yet not being able to difcover the real fault, altered to the prefent reading.

Dr. Warburton has fince changed fiefs to fief'd, and Hanmer has altered fafe to hap'd. I am afraid none of us have hit the right word. JOHNSON.

Mr. Upton gives the word fafe as an inftance of an adjective ufed adverbially; and fays that it means here, with fafety, fecurity, and furetifhip. Dr. Kenrick propofes to read: H h 4

Safe

King. Welcome hither :

I have begun to plant thee, and will labour
To make thee full of growing.-Noble Banquo,
That haft no less deserv'd, nor must be known
No lefs to have done fo, let me enfold thee,
And hold thee to my heart.

grow,

Ban, There if I
The harveft is your own.

King. My plenteous joys,

Wanton in fulness, seek to hide themselves
In drops of forrow.-Sons, kinfmen, thanes,
And you whofe places are the nearest, know,
We will establish our estate upon

Our eldeft, Malcolm; whom we name hereafter,
The prince of Cumberland: which honour must
Not, unaccompanied, inveft him only,

But figns of noblenefs, like ftars, shall shine
On all defervers. From hence to Inverness'.
',
And bind us further to you.

Macb. The reft is labour, which is not us'd for you:

I'll be myself the harbinger, and make joyful

Safe to ward your love and honour.

To ward is to defend. So, in Titus Andronicus; it was a hand that warded him From thousand dangers."

Again, more appofitely in Love's Labour's Loft ;

1 66

pendants."

for the best ward of mine honour, is rewarding my de

Again, in K. Richard III. a&t V:

"Then, if you fight against God's enemies,

"God will, in juftice, ward you as his foldiers." Dr. Kenrick would certainly be right, if inftead of love and honour, the words had been crown and honour, but there is fomewhat of obfcurity in the idea of defending a prince's love in fafety. STEEVENS.

to Inverness,]

Dr. Johnson obferves, in his Journey to the Western Isles of Scotland, that the walls of the caftle of Macbeth at Inverness are yet standing. STEEVENS,

The

The hearing of my wife with your approach;
So, humbly take my leave.

King. My worthy Cawdor!

Macb. The prince of Cumberland'!-That is a step,
On which I muft fall down, or elfe o'er-leap, [Afide,
For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires !
Let not light fee my black and deep defires :
The eye wink at the hand! yet let that be,
Which the eye fears, when it is done, to fee. [Exit,
King. True, worthy Banquo; he is full fo valiant;
And in his commendations I am fed ;

It is a banquet to me. Let us after him,
Whose care is gone before to bid us welcome:
It is a peerless kinfman,

SCENE

[Flourish. Exeunt,

Enter Macbeth's wife alone, with a letter,

Lady.

-They met me in the day of fuccefs; and Į

2 The prince of Cumberland!]

So, Holinfhed, Hift. of Scotland, p. 171: "Duncan having two fonnes, &c. he made the elder of them, called Malcolme, prince of Cumberland, as it were thereby to appoint him fucceffor in his kingdome immediatlie after his decease, Mackbeth forely troubled herewith, for that he faw by this means his hope fore hindered, (where, by the old laws of the realme the ordinance was, that if he that should fucceed were not of able age to take the charge upon himself, he that was next of bloud unto him should be admitted) he began to take counsel how he might ufurpe the kingdome by force, having a juft quarrel fo to doe, (as he tooke the matter) for that Duncane did what in him lay to defraud him of all manner of title and claime, which he might, in time to come, pretend unto the crowne,

The crown of Scotland was originally not hereditary. When a fucceffor was declared in the life-time of a king, (as was often the cafe) the title of Prince of Cumberland waas immediately beftowed on him as the mark of his defignation. Cumberland was at that time held by Scotland of the crown of England, as a fief. STEEVENS.

have

3

have learned by the perfecteft report, they have more in them than mortal knowledge. When I burnt in defire to queftion them further, they made themfelves-air, inta which they vanish'd. Whiles I flood rapt in the wonder of it, came miffives from the king, who all-bail'd me, Thane of Cawdor; by which title, before, thefe weird fifters faluted me, and referr'd me to the coming on of time, with, Hail, king that halt be! This have I thought good to deliver thee, my deareft partner of greatness; that thou might not lofe the dues of rejoicing, by being ignorant of what greatness is promis'd thee. Lay it to thy heart, and farewel.

Glamis thou art, and Cawdor; and fhalt be

What thou art promis'd:-Yet do I fear thy nature;
It is too full o'the milk of human kindness,

To catch the nearest way: Thou would't be great;
Art not without ambition; but without
The illness fhould attend it.

highly,

What thou would't

That would'st thou holily; would'ft not play falfe, And yet would'ft wrongly win: thou'd'ft have, great Glamis,

That which cries, Thus thou must do, if thou have it; And that which rather thou doft fear to do,

3

by the perfecteft report, By the best intelligence. Dr. Warburton would read, perfected, and explains report by prediction. Little regard can be paid to an emendation that inftead of clearing the fenfe, makes it more difficult. JOHNSON.

4

thou'd'ft 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 fpeaking of

itfelf, it is neceffary to read,

thoudt have, great Glamis,

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

5 And that which rather, &c.]

Perhaps the poet wrote:

JOHNSON,

And that's what rather, &c. STELVENS.

Than