MACB. Your children fhall be kings. BAN. You fhall be king. MACB. And thane of Cawdor too; went it not fo? BAN. To the felf-fame tune, and words. Who's here? Enter Rosse and ANGUS. ROSSE. The king hath happily receiv'd, Macbeth, The news of thy fuccefs: and when he reads Thy personal venture in the rebels' fight, His wonders and his praises do contend, Which should be thine, or his: Silenc'd with that, Parthian war, are faid to have fuffered great diftrefs for want of provifions. "In the ende (fays Plutarch) they were compelled to live of herbs and rootes, but they found few of them that men do commonly eate of, and were enforced to tafte of them that were never eaten before; among the which there was one that killed them, and made them out of their wits; for he that had once eaten of it, his memorye was gone from him, and he knew no manner of thing, but only bufied himself in digging and hurling of ftones from one place to another, as though it had been a matter of great waight, and to be done with all poffiple speede." MALONE. His wonders and his praifes do contend, Which should be thine, or his: &c.] i. e. private admiration of your deeds, and a defire to do them public justice by commendation, contend in his mind for pre-eminence.-Or,There is conteft in his mind whether he fhould indulge his defire of publishing to the world the commendations due to your heroifm, or whether he fhould remain in filent admiration of what no words could celebrate in proportion to its defert. Mr. M. Mason would read wonder, not wonders; for, says he, "I believe the word wonder, in the fenfe of admiration, has no plural." In modern language it certainly has none; yet I cannot help thinking that, in the prefent inftance, plural was opposed to plural by Shakspeare. STEEVENS. Silenc'd with that,] i. e. wrapp'd in filent wonder at the deeds performed by Macbeth, &c. MALONE. 444444 In viewing o'er the rest o' the self-same day, 3 As thick as tale,] Meaning, that the news came as thick as a tale can travel with the post. Or we may read, perhaps, yet better: As thick as tale, Came poft with post;· That is, pofts arrived as fast as they could be counted. So, in King Henry VI. P. III. A& II. fc. i: Tidings, as fwiftly as the poft could run, "Were brought," &c. Mr. Rowe reads-as thick as hail. STEEVENS. JOHNSON. The old copy reads-Can poft. The emendation is Mr. Rowe's. Dr. Johnson's explanation would be less exceptionable, if the old copy had-As quick as tale. Thick applies but ill to tale, and seems rather to favour Mr. Rowe's emendation. "As thick as hail," as an anonymous correfpondent obferves to me, is an expreffion in the old play of King John, 1591: breathe out damned orifons, "As thick as hail-ftones 'fore the fpring's approach." The emendation of the word can is fupported by a paffage in King Henry IV. P. II: "And there are twenty weak and wearied posts Dr. Johnson's explanation is perfectly juftifiable. As thick, in ancient language, fignified as faft. To speak thick, in our author, does not therefore mean, to have a cloudy indiftinct utterance, but to deliver words with rapidity. So, in Cymbeline, A&t III. fc. ii: 66 -fay, and speak thick, (Love's counsellor should fill the bores of hearing "To the smothering of the fenfe) how far it is "To this fame bleffed Milford." Again, in King Henry IV. P. II. A& II. fc. iii: "And Speaking thick, which nature made his blemish, "Became the accents of the valiant; "For those that could fpeak low and tardily, "Would turn &c.-To feem like him." Thick therefore is not lefs applicable to tale, the old reading, than to hail, the alteration of Mr. Rowe. STEEVENS. Came poft with poft; and every one did bear ANG. We are fent, To give thee, from our royal master, thanks; pay thee. ROSSE. And, for an earnest of a greater honour, He bade me, from him, call thee thane of Cawdor: In which addition, hail, most worthy thane! For it is thine. BAN. What, can the devil speak true? MACB. The thane of Cawdor lives; Why do drefs me In borrow'd robes? ANG. you Who was the thane, lives yet; But under heavy judgment bears that life Which he deferves to lofe. Whether he was Combin'd with Norway; 5 or did line the rebel With hidden help and vantage; or that with both To herald thee &c.] The old copy redundantly readsOnly to herald thee &c. STEEVENS. with Norway ;] The old copy reads: with those of Norway. The players not understanding that by "Norway" our author meant the King of Norway, as in Hamlet "Whereon old Norway, overcome with joy," &c. foisted in the words at prefent omitted. STEEVENS. There is, I think, no need of change. The word combin'd belongs to the preceding line: "Which he deferves to lofe. Whe'r he was combin'd "With those of Norway, or did line the rebel," &c. Whether was in our author's time fometimes pronounced and written as one fyllable,—whe'r. So, in King John: "Now fhame upon you, whe'r the does or no." MALONE. He labour'd in his country's wreck, I know not; But treasons capital, confefs'd, and prov'd, Have overthrown him. MACB. Glamis, and thane of Cawdor: The greatest is behind.-Thanks for your pains.Do you not hope your children fhall be kings, When those that gave the thane of Cawdor to me, Promis'd no less to them? BAN. That, trufted home, 6 trusted home,] i. e. entirely, thoroughly relied on. So, in All's well that ends well : I will pay thy graces "Home, both in word and deed." STEEVÉNS.. The added word home fhows clearly, in my apprehenfion, that our author wrote-That, thrusted home. So, in a fubfequent scene: "That every minute of his being thrufts Against my nearest of life.” Thrusted is the regular participle from the verb to thrust, and though now not often used, was, I believe, common in the time of Shakspeare. So, in King Henry V: "With cafted flough and fresh legerity." Home means to the uttermoft. So, in The Winter's Tale : -all my forrows "You have paid home.” It may be observed, that "thrufted home" is an expreffion ufed at this day; but "trufted home," I believe, was never used at any period whatsoever. I have had frequent occafion to remark that many of the errors in the old copies of our author's plays arofe from the transcriber's ear having deceived him. In Ireland, where much of the pronunciation of the age of Queen Elizabeth is yet retained, the vulgar conftantly pronounce the word thrust as if it were written trust; and hence, probably, the error in the text. The change is so very flight, and I am fo thoroughly perfuaded that the reading propofed is the true one, that had it been fuggefted by any former editor, I fhould, without hesitation, have given it a place in the text, MALONE. Might yet enkindle you unto the crown, Coufins, a word, I pray you. MACB. Two truths are told, Might yet enkindle you―] Enkindle, for to ftimulate you to feek. WARBURTON. A fimilar expreffion occurs in As you like it, A& I. fc. i: -nothing remains but that I kindle the boy thither." STEEVENS. Might fire you with the hope of obtaining the crown. HENLEY. Two truths are told, &c.] How the former of these truths has been fulfilled, we are yet to learn. Macbeth could not become Thane of Glamis, till after his father's decease, of which there is no mention throughout the play. If the Hag only announced what Macbeth already understood to have happened, her words could scarcely claim rank as a prediction. STEEVENS. From the Scottish translation of Boethius it fhould seem that Sinel, the father of Macbeth, died after Macbeth's having been met by the weird fifters. "Makbeth (fays the hiftorian) revolvyng all thingis, as they wer faid to be the weird fifteris, began. to covat ye croun. And zit he concludit to abide, quhil he faw ye tyme ganand thereto; fermelie belevyng yt ye third weird fuld cum as the first two did afore.” This, indeed, is inconfiftent with our author's words, "By Sinel's death, I know, I am thane of Glamis ;"-but Holinfhed, who was his guide, in his abridgment of the Hiftory of Boethius, has particularly mentioned that Sinel died before Macbeth met the weird fifters: we may, therefore, be fure that Shakspeare meant it to be understood that Macbeth had already acceded to his paternal title. Bellenden only fays, "The firft of them faid to Macbeth, Hale thane of Glammis. The fecound faid," &c. But in Holinfhed the relation runs thus, conformably to the Latin original : "The firft of them fpake and faid, All haile Mackbeth, thane of Glammis (for he had latelie entered into that dignitie and office |