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Thine own life's means! Then 'tis most like The sovereignty will fall upon Macbeth,

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Macd. He is already nam'd, and gone to Scone To be invested.

Ross.

Where is Duncan's body?

Macd. Carried to Colmekill,

The sacred storehouse of his predecessors

And guardian of their bones.

Ross.

Will you to Scone?

Macd. No, cousin, I'll to Fife. Ross.

Well, I will thither.

Macd. Well, may you see things well done there: adieu!

Lest our old robes sit easier than our new!

Ross. Farewell, father.

Old Man. God's benison go with you; and with those

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SCENE I.- Forres. A Room in the Palace.
Enter BANQUO.

Ban. Thou hast it now: king, Cawdor, Glamis, all,

As the weird women promis'd; and, I fear,
Thou play'dst most foully for 't; yet it was said
It should not stand in thy posterity,

But that myself should be the root and father
Of many kings. If there come truth from them,
As upon thee, Macbeth, their speeches shine,
Why, by the verities on thee made good,
May they not be my oracles as well,

And set me up in hope? But, hush! no more.

Sennet sounded. Enter MACBETH, as king; Lady MACBETH, as queen; LENNOX, ROSS, Lords,

Ladies, and Attendants.

Macb. Here's our chief guest.

Lady M.

If he had been forgotten 11

It had been as a gap in our great feast,
And all-thing unbecoming.

Mach. To-night we hold a solemn supper, sir,

And I'll request your presence.
Ban.

Let your highness

Command upon me; to the which my duties Are with a most indissoluble tie

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[ACT III

Craving us jointly. Hie you to horse; adien, Till you return at night. Goes Fleance with you! Ban. Ay, my good lord: our time does call upon's.

Mach. I wish your horses swift and sure of
foot;

And so I do commend you to their backs,
Farewell.
Exit BANQUO

Let every man be master of his time
Till seven at night, to make society
The sweeter welcome; we will keep ourself
Till supper-time alone; while then, God be
with you!

Exeunt all but MACBETH and an Attendant. Sirrah, a word with you. Attend those men Our pleasure?

Atten. They are, my lord, without the palace gate.

Macb. Bring them before us.

Exit Attendan To be thus is nothing, But to be safely thus. Our fears in Banquo Stick deep, and in his royalty of nature Reigns that which would be fear'd: 'tis much he

dares,
And, to that dauntless temper of his mind,
He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valour
To act in safety. There is none but he
Whose being I do fear; and under him
My genius is rebuk'd, as it is said
Mark Antony's was by Cæsar. He chid the sisters
When first they put the name of king upon me.
And bade them speak to him; then, prophet-like
They hail'd him father to a line of kings.
Upon my head they plac'd a fruitless crown,
And put a barren sceptre in my gripe,
Thence to be wrench'd with an unlineal hand.
No son of mine succeeding. If 't be so,
For Banquo's issue have I fil'd my mind;

For them the gracious Duncan have I murder'd;
Put rancours in the vessel of my peace
Only for them; and mine eternal jewel
Given to the common enemy of man,
To make them kings, the seed of Banquo kings!
Rather than so, come fate into the list,
And champion me to the utterance! Who's

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And something from the palace; always thought
That I require a clearness: and with him,
To leave no rubs nor botches in the work,
Fleance his son, that keeps him company,
Whose absence is no less material to me
Than is his father's, must embrace the fate
Of that dark hour. Resolve yourselves apart;
I'll come to you anon.

Second Mur.

We are resolv'd, my lord. Mach. I'll call upon you straight: abide

Exeunt Murderers.

within. It is concluded: Banquo, thy soul's flight, 140 If it find heaven, must find it out to-night.

remedy

Should be without regard: what's done is done. Mach. We have scotch'd the snake, not kill'd it:

She'll close and be herself, whilst our poor malice

Remains in danger of her former tooth.

But let the frame of things disjoint, both the

worlds suffer,

Ere we will eat our meal in fear, and sleep In the affliction of these terrible dreams

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That shake us nightly. Better be with the dead,
Whom we, to gain our peace, have sent to peace,
Than on the torture of the mind to lie
In restless ecstacy. Duncan is in his grave;
After life's fitful fever he sleeps well;
Treason has done his worst: nor steel, nor

poison,

Malice domestic, foreign levy, nothing Can touch him further!

Lady M.

Come on;

Gentle my lord, sleek o'er your rugged looks; Be bright and jovial among your guests to-night. Macb. So shall I, love; and so, I pray, be you. Let your remembrance apply to Banquo; Present him eminence, both with eye and tongue: Unsafe the while, that we

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Must lave our honours in these flattering streams, And make our faces vizards to our hearts, Disguising what they are.

Lady M.

You must leave this.

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done

A deed of dreadful note.
Lady M.
What's to be done?
Macb. Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest
chuck,

Exit. Till thou applaud the deed. Come, seeling night,

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[ACT III.

And play the humble host.
Our hostess keeps her state, but in best time
We will require her welcome.

Lady M. Pronounce it for me, sir, to all our
friends;

For my heart speaks they are welcome.

Enter First Murderer, to the door.

Macb. See, they encounter thee with their hearts' thanks.

Both sides are even: here I'll sit i' the midst : 20 Be large in mirth; anon we'll drink a measure The table round. Approaching the door. There 's blood upon thy face.

Mur. 'Tis Banquo's then. Mach. 'Tis better thee without than he within, Is he dispatch'd?

Mur. My lord, his throat is cut; that I did for him.

Mach. Thou art the best o' the cut-throats;
yet he 's good

That did the like for Fleance: if thou didst it,
Thou art the nonpareil.
Mur.

Fleance is 'scap'd.

Most royal sir,

Mach. Then comes my fit again: I had else been perfect;

Whole as the marble, founded as the rock,
As broad and general as the casing air:
But now I am cabin'd, cribb'd, confin'd, bound in
To saucy doubts and fears. But Banquo 's safe!
Mur. Ay, my good lord; safe in a ditch he
bides,

With twenty trenched gashes on his head;
The least a death to nature.

Macb.

Thanks for that.

There the grown serpent lies: the worm that's

fled

Hath nature that in time will venom breed,

No teeth for the present.

morrow

We'll hear ourselves again. Lady M.

Get thee gone; to

Exit Murderer.

My royal lord,

You do not give the cheer: the feast is sold That is not often vouch'd, while 'tis a-making, 'Tis given with welcome: to feed were best at

home;

From thence, the sauce to meat is ceremony;
Meeting were bare without it.
Macb.
Sweet remembrancer!

Now good digestion wait on appetite,
And health on both!

Len.

May 't please your highness sil.

The Ghost of BANQUO enters, and sits in
MACBETH'S place.

Macb. Here had we now our country's honour
roof'd,

Were the grac'd person of our Banquo present:
Who may I rather challenge for unkindness
Than pity for mischance!
Ross.

His absence, sir,

Lays blame upon his promise. Please't your

highness

To grace us with your royal company.

Mach. The table's full.
Len.

Mach. Where?

Here is a place reserv'd, sir.

Len. Here, my good lord. What is't that moves your highness?

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Lady M.

O proper stuff!

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This is the very painting of your fear;
This is the air-drawn dagger which, you said,
Led you to Duncan. O! these flaws and starts,
Impostors to true fear, would well become

A woman's story at a winter's fire,

Authoriz'd by her grandam. Shame itself!

Why do you make such faces? When all's done
You look but on a stool.

Mach. Prithee, see there! behold! look! lo!
how say you?

Why, what care I? If thou canst nod, speak too.
If charnel-houses and our graves must send 71
Those that we bury back, our monuments

Shall be the maws of kites.

Lady M.

Ghost vanishes.

What! quite unmann'd in folly?
Fie, for shame!
Macb. Blood hath been shed ere now, i' the
olden time,

Mach. If I stand here, I saw him.
Lady M.

Ere human statute purg'd the gentle weal;
Ay, and since too, murders have been perform'd
Too terrible for the ear the time has been,
That, when the brains were out, the man would die,
And there an end; but now they rise again, 80
With twenty mortal murders on their crowns,
And push us from our stools: this is more strange
Than such a murder is.

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to all;

Then, I'll sit down. Give me some wine; fill full:
I drink to the general joy o' the whole table,
And to our dear friend Banquo, whom we miss;
Would he were here! to all, and him, we thirst,
And all to all.
Lord.

Our duties, and the pledge. 92
Re-enter Ghost.

Macb. Avaunt! and quit my sight! Let the
earth hide thee!

Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold;
Thou hast no speculation in those eyes

Which thou dost glare with.

Lady M.

Think of this, good peers,

But as a thing of custom: 'tis no other;

Only it spoils the pleasure of the time.

Mach. What man dare, I dare :
Approach thou like the rugged Russian bear, 100
The arm'd rhinoceros, or the Hyrcan tiger;
Take any shape but that, and my firm nerves

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Even to the disposition that I owe,
When now I think you can behold such sights,
And keep the natural ruby of your cheeks,
When mine is blanch'd with fear.

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131

At our great bidding ?
Lady M.
Did you send to him, sir?
Mach. I hear it by the way; but I will send.
There's not a one of them but in his house
I keep a servant fee'd. I will to-morrow,
And betimes I will, to the weird sisters:
More shall they speak; for now I am bent to
know,

By the worst means, the worst. For mine own
good

All causes shall give way: I am in blood
Stepp'd in so far, that, should I wade no more,
Returning were as tedious as go o'er.
Strange things I have in head that will to hand,
Which must be acted ere they may be scann'd.
Lady M. You lack the season of all natures,
sleep.

141

Macb. Come, we'll to sleep. My strange and
self-abuse

Is the initiate fear that wants hard use :
We are yet but young in deed.

SCENE V.-A Heath.

Exeunt.

Thunder. Enter the three Witches, meeting
HECATE.

First Witch. Why, how now, Hecate! you
look angerly.

Hec. Have I not reason, beldams as you are,

Saucy and overbold? How did you dare
To trade and traffic with Macbeth
In riddles and affairs of death;
And I, the mistress of your charms,
The close contriver of all harms,
Was never call'd to bear my part,
Or show the glory of our art?
And, which is worse, all you have done
Hath been but for a wayward son,
Spiteful and wrathful; who, as others do,
Loves for his own ends, not for you.
But make amends now: get you gone,
And at the pit of Acheron

Meet me i' the morning: thither he
Will come to know his destiny:
Your vessels and your spells provide,
Your charms and every thing beside.
I am for the air; this night I'll spend
Unto a dismal and a fatal end:
Great business must be wrought ere noon:
Upon the corner of the moon

There hangs a vaporous drop profound;
I'll catch it ere it come to ground:
And that distill'd by magic sleights
Shall raise such artificial sprites
As by the strength of their illusion
Shall draw him on to his confusion:

He shall spurn fate, scorn death, and bear
His hopes 'bove wisdom, grace, and fear;
And you all know security

Is mortals' chiefest enemy.

Macduff lives in disgrace. Sir, can you tell Where he bestows himself?

Lord.

The son of Duncan, From whom this tyrant holds the due of birth, Lives in the English court, and is receiv'd Of the most pious Edward with such grace That the malevolence of fortune nothing 10 Takes from his high respect. Thither Macduff Is gone to pray the holy king, upon his aid To wake Northumberland and war-like Siward; That, by the help of these, with him above To ratify the work, we may again Give to our tables meat, sleep to our nights, Free from our feasts and banquets bloody knives, Do faithful homage and receive free honours; All which we pine for now. And this report Hath so exasperate the king that he

20 Prepares for some attempt of war.

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Music and a song within:‘Come away, come
away,' etc.

Hark! I am call'd; my little spirit, see,
Sits in a foggy cloud, and stays for me.

Exit.

First Witch. Come, let's make haste; she'll soon be back again. Exeunt.

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What 'twere to kill a father; so should Fleance. But, peace! for from broad words, and 'cause he His presence at the tyrant's feast, I hear

fail'd

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Len.

Sent he to Macdufi! Lord. He did: and with an absolute 'Sir, not I,' The cloudy messenger turns me his back, And hums, as who should say, 'You'll rue the

time

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SCENE L-A Cavern. In the middle, a boiling Cauldron.

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First Witch. Thrice the brinded cat hath mew'd.

Second Witch. Thrice and once the hedge-pig whin'd.

Third Witch. Harpier cries: 'Tis time, 'tis

time.

First Witch. Round about the cauldron go;

In the poison'd entrails throw.
Toad, that under cold stone
Swelter'd venom sleeping got,
Days and nights has thirty one
Boil thou first i' the charmed pot.

All. Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.
Second Witch. Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the cauldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Lizard's leg, and howlet's wing,
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.

Fire burn and cauldron bubble.
All. Double, double toil and trouble;

Witches' mummy, maw and gulf
Third Witch. Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf,
Of the ravin'd salt-sea shark,
Root of hemlock digg'd i' the dark,
Liver of blaspheming Jew,

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