His uncle Siward, and the good Macduff.
Revenges burn in them; for their dear causes
Would, to the bleeding and the grim alarm,
Excite the mortified man.

Ang. Near Birnam wood Shall we well meet them: that way are they coming. Cath. Who knows, if Donalbain be with his brother? Len. For certain, sir, he is not. I have a file

Of all the gentry: there is Siward's son,

And many unrough youths, that even now
Protest their first of manhood.

Ment.

What does the tyrant?

Cath. Great Dunsinane he strongly fortifies.
Some say, he's mad: others, that lesser hate him,
Do call it valiant fury; but, for certain,
He cannot buckle his distemper'd cause
Within the belt of rule.

Now does he feel

Ang.
His secret murders sticking on his hands;
Now minutely revolts upbraid his faith-breach:
Those he commands move only in command,
Nothing in love: now does he feel his title
Hang loose about him, like a giant's robe
Upon a dwarfish thief.

Ment.

Who, then, shall blame

His pester'd senses to recoil and start,

When all that is within him does condemn

Itself, for being there?

Cath.

Well; march we on,

To give obedience where 'tis truly ow'd:

Meet we the medicine of the sickly weal;
And with him pour we, in our country's purge,
Each drop of us.

Len.

Or so much as it needs

To dew the sovereign flower, and drown the weeds.
Make we our march towards Birnam.

[Exeunt, marching.

SCENE III.

Dunsinane. A Room in the Castle.

Enter MACBETH, Doctor, and Attendants.

Mach. Bring me no more reports; let them fly all: Till Birnam wood remove to Dunsinane,

I cannot taint with fear. What's the boy Malcolm? Was he not born of woman? The spirits that know All mortal consequences have pronounc'd me thus:"Fear not, Macbeth; no man that's born of woman Shall e'er have power upon thee."-Then fly, false thanes,

And mingle with the English epicures:

The mind I sway by, and the heart I bear,

Shall never sag with doubt, nor shake with fear.

Enter a Servant.

The devil damn thee black, thou cream-fac'd loon!
Where got'st thou that goose look?

Serv. There is ten thousand

Macb.

Serv.

Geese, villain?

Soldiers, sir.

Mach. Go, prick thy face, and over-red thy fear, Thou lily-liver'd boy. What soldiers, patch1? Death of thy soul! those linen cheeks of thine Are counsellors to fear. What soldiers, whey-face? Serv. The English force, so please you.

Mach. Take thy face hence.-Seyton !-I am sick at heart,

When I behold-Seyton, I say!-This push

Shall never SAG with doubt,] "Sag" is an old form of sirag.

4

-patch!] An appellation of contempt, in frequent use, alluding to the patched or particoloured dress of fools. See Vol. ii. p. 136. 426 ; Vol. vi. p. 54.

Will cheer me ever, or disseat me now".
I have liv'd long enough: my way of life"
Is fall'n into the sear, the yellow leaf;
And that which should accompany old age,
As honour, love, obedience, troops of friends,
I must not look to have; but, in their stead,
Curses, not loud, but deep, mouth-honour, breath,
Which the poor heart would fain deny, and dare not.
Seyton!-

Enter SEYTON.

Sey. What is your gracious pleasure?
Macb.

What news more?

Sey. All is confirm'd, my lord, which was reported. Macb. I'll fight, till from my bones my flesh be

hack'd.

Give me my armour.

Sey.

Mach. I'll put it on.

"Tis not needed yet.

Send out more horses, skirr the country round';

Hang those that talk of fear. Give me mine armour.— How does your patient, doctor?

Doct.

Not so sick, my lord,

As she is troubled with thick-coming fancies,

That keep her from her rest.

Macb.

Cure her of that:

5 Will cheer me ever, or DISSEAT me now.] "Disseat" is, no doubt, the true reading, though some editors would, with the second folio, substitute disease. It is evident that the printer of the folio of 1623 did not understand the line, for he has composed the word "dis-eate."

6 my WAY of life] Johnson suggested that we ought to read May for "way," the M having been inverted; but in that case," way" would probably have been printed in the folio with a capital W, which is not the fact. "Way of life" is very intelligible.

7 -SKIRR the country round;] i. e. Scour the country round: "skirr" was sometimes spelt scur.

8 That keep HER from her rest.] Malone says that "her" is omitted in the folio of 1623, and inserted in that of 1632. It is to be found in all copies of the folio of 1623 which I have had an opportunity of consulting; and, possibly, he meant to refer to the next speech," Cure her of that," where "her" is left out in the folio, 1623, and supplied in that of 1632.

Canst thou not minister to a mind diseas'd,
Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow,
Raze out the written troubles of the brain,
And with some sweet oblivious antidote
Cleanse the stuff'd bosom of that perilous stuff",
Which weighs upon the heart?

Doct.

Must minister to himself.

Therein the patient

Mach. Throw physic to the dogs; I'll none of it.---
Come, put mine armour on; give me my staff.-
Seyton, send out.-Doctor, the thanes fly from me.-
Come, sir, despatch.-If thou could'st, doctor, cast
The water of my land, find her disease,
And purge it to a sound and pristine health,
I would applaud thee to the very echo,

That should applaud again.-Pull't off, I say.—
What rhubarb, senna', or what purgative drug,

Would scour these English hence?-Hear'st thou of them?

Doct. Ay, my good lord: your royal preparation Makes us hear something.

Mach.

I will not be afraid of death and bane,

Bring it after me.-

[Exit.

[Exit.

Doct. Were I from Dunsinane away and clear,

Till Birnam forest come to Dunsinane.

Profit again should hardly draw me here.

9 Cleanse the STUFF'D bosom of that perilous STUFF,] We have, of course, no warrant for altering the text of this line as it stands in the old copies, though the repetition of "stuff'd" and "stuff" is certainly disagreeable to the ear. Steevens would change "stuff'd" to foul; but it does not seem to have struck the commentators that the error, if any, rather lies in the last word of the line, which, perhaps, the printer mistook, having composed "stuff'd" just before. It is vain to speculate what word to substitute, but from its position it need not necessarily be of one syllable only.

1- senna,] The old copies read, cyme. No such drug appears to be known, and Rowe corrected it to "senna."

VOL. VII.

N

SCENE IV.

Country near Dunsinane: a Wood in view.

Enter, with Drum and Colours, MALCOLM, old SIWARD, and his Son, MACDUFF, MENTETH, CATHNESS, ANGUS, LENOX, ROSSE, and Soldiers marching.

Mal. Cousins, I hope, the days are near at hand, That chambers will be safe.

Ment.

We doubt it nothing.

Siw. What wood is this before us?
Ment.

The wood of Birnam.

Mal. Let every soldier hew him down a bough,
And bear't before him: thereby shall we shadow
The numbers of our host, and make discovery
Err in report of us.

Siw. We learn no other but the confident tyrant Keeps still in Dunsinane, and will endure

Our setting down before't.

Mal.

'Tis his main hope;

For where there is advantage to be given,

Both more and less have given him the revolt,
And none serve with him but constrained things,
Whose hearts are absent too.

Macd.

Attend the true event, and put we on

Industrious soldiership.

Siw.

Let our just censures

The time approaches,

That will with due decision make us know

What we shall say we have, and what we owe.
Thoughts speculative their unsure hopes relate,
But certain issue strokes must arbitrate;

Towards which, advance the war. [Exeunt, marching.