That writes them all alike; and so of men. 2 Mur. I am one, my liege, Whom the vile blows and buffets of the world Have so incens'd, that I am reckless what I do to spite the world. 1 Mur. And I another, So weary with disasters, tugg'd with fortune, That I would set my life on any chance, To mend it, or be rid on't. Macb. Know Banquo was your enemy. 2 Mur. Both of you True, my lord. Mach. So is he mine; and in such bloody distance, That every minute of his being thrusts Against my near'st of life: and though I could I will advise you where to plant yourselves, Acquaint you with the perfect spy o' the time, The moment on't; for't must be done to-night, 2 Mur. [Exeunt Murderers. It is concluded: Banquo, thy soul's flight, SCENE II. The Same. Another Room. Enter Lady MACBETH and a Servant. Lady M. Is Banquo gone from court ? Serv. Ay, madam, but returns again to-night. [Eait. Lady M. Say to the king, I would attend his leisure Where our desire is got without content: "Tis safer to be that which we destroy, Than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy. Enter MACBETH. How now, my lord! why do you keep alone, Of sorriest fancies your companions making, Using those thoughts, which should indeed have died With them they think on? Things without all re medy, Should be without regard : what's done, is done. Mach. We have scotch'd the snakes, not kill'd it: Remains in danger of her former tooth. Ere we will eat our meal in fear, and sleep That shake us nightly. Better be with the dead, In restless ecstasy. Duncan is in his grave; Treason has done his worst: nor steel, nor poison, Gentle my lord, sleek o'er your rugged looks; Present him eminence, both with eye and tongue : Macb. O full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife. 8 We have SCOTCH'D the snake,] i. e. Wounded it. This word is best illus trated by a passage in "Coriolanus," Vol. vi. p. 235, "He scotched him and notched him like a carbonado." 9 Whom we to gain our PEACE have sent to peace,] The second folio poorly substitutes place for "peace" in the first instance, perhaps by a misprint. 1 The SHARD-borne beetle,] "Shard" is synonymous with scale; and the Hath rung night's yawning peal, there shall be done A deed of dreadful note. Lady M. What's to be done? Mach. Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck, Till thou applaud the deed. Come, seeling night', Scarf up the tender eye of pitiful day, And with thy bloody and invisible hand, Cancel, and tear to pieces, that great bond Which keeps me pale!-Light thickens; and the crow Good things of day begin to droop and drowse, [Exeunt. SCENE III. The Same. A Park, with a road leading to the Palace. Enter Three Murderers. 1 Mur. But who did bid thee join with us? 3 Mur. Macbeth. 2 Mur. He needs not our mistrust; since he delivers Our offices, and what we have to do, To the direction just. 1 Mur. Then stand with us. The west yet glimmers with some streaks of day: allusion, probably, is to the scaly wings of the beetle, which bear him through the air. Such is the construction of Steevens, who supports it by the following lines from Gower's Confessio Amantis :— 66 On the other hand, Tollet argues that "shard-borne " ought to be printed “ shard-born,” and that the epithet had reference to the dung or shard in which the beetle was born. Malone was as usual opposed to the construction of Steevens. Ben Jonson, in his "Sad Shepherd," speaks of "scaly beetles with their habergeons." 2 Come, SEELING night,] i. e. Blinding. Seeling" is a term in falconry. Now spurs the lated traveller apace, To gain the timely inn; and near approaches 3 Mur. Hark! I hear horses. Ban. [Within.] Give us a light there, ho! 2 Mur. Then, 'tis he: the rest That are within the note of expectation 1 Mur. His horses go about. 3 Mur. Almost a mile; but he does usually, So all men do, from hence to the palace gate Make it their walk. Ban. O, treachery! Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly! Thou may'st revenge.-O slave! [Dies. FLEANCE escapes. 3 Mur. Who did strike out the light? 1 Mur. Was't not the way? 3 Mur. There's but one down: the son is fled. 2 Mur. We have lost best half of our affair. 1 Mur. Well, let's away, and say how much is done. [Exeunt. 3 Enter Banquo and Fleance, with a torch.] Here again Fleance carries the torch to light his father; and in the old stage-direction nothing is said about a servant, who would obviously be in the way, when his master was to be murdered. The servant is a merely modern interpolation. |