That you can let this go? Are you so gospell'd,' 1 Mur. We are men, my liege. That writes them all alike: and so of men. And not in the worst rank of manhood, say it; 2 Mur. I am one, my liege, Whom the vile blows and buffets of the world 2 Are you so gospell'd,] Are you of that degree of precise virtue? Gospeller was a name of contempt given by the Papists to the Lollards, the puritans of early times, and the precursors of protestantism. JOHNSON. 9 Shoughs,] Shoughs are probably what we now call shocks, demi-wolves, lycisco; dogs bred between wolves and dogs. 4 the valued file-] In this speech the word file occurs twice. The valued file is the file or list where the value and peculiar qualities of every thing is set down, in contradistinction to what he immediately mentions, the bill that writes them all alike. File, in the second instance, is used in the same sense as in this, and with a reference to it: Now if you belong to any class that deserves a place in the valued file of man, and are not of the lowest rank, the common herd of mankind, that are not worth distinguishing from each other. Have so incens'd, that I am reckless what I do, to spite the world. And I another, 1 Mur. 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. Both of you Know, Banquo was your enemy. 2 Mur. True, my lord. Macb. So is he mine: and in such bloody dis tance, That every minute of his being thrusts Against my near'st of life: And though I could Masking the business from the common eye, 2 Mur. We shall, my lord, Though our lives Perform what you command us. 1 Mur. Macb. Your spirits shine through you. Within this hour, at most, I will advise you where to plant yourselves. 5 in such bloody distance,] By bloody distance is here meant, such a distance as mortal enemies would stand at from each other, when their quarrel must be determined by the sword. This sense seems evident from the continuation of the metaphor, where every minute of his being is represented as thrusting at the nearest part where life resides. 6 For certain friends-] For, in the present instance, signifies because of. 7 Acquaint you with the perfect spy o'the time, The moment on't;] i. e. in ancient language, " acquaint And something from the palace; always thought, We are resolv'd, my lord. Macb. I'll call upon you straight; abide within. It is concluded:-Banquo, thy soul's flight, If it find heaven, must find it out to-night. SCENE II. [Exeunt. Enter Lady MACBETH and a Servant. Lady M. Is Banquo gone from court? Serv. Ay, madam, but returns again to-night. 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. yourselves" with the exact time most favourable to your purposes; for such a moment must be spied out by you, be selected by your own attention and scrupulous observation.-You is ungrammatically employed, instead of yourselves. 8 always thought, That I require a clearness:] i. e. you must manage matters so, that throughout the whole transaction I may stand clear of suspicion. Enter МАСВЕТН. How now, my lord? why do you keep alone, Macb. We have scotch'd' the snake, not kill'd it; The frame of things disjoint, both the worlds suffer, In restless ecstacy.2 Duncan is in his grave; Treason has done his worst: nor steel, nor poison, Lady M. Come on; Gentle my lord, sleek o'er your rugged looks; Present him eminence,' both with eye and tongue: Must lave our honours in these flattering streams; And make our faces vizards to our hearts, Disguising what they are. 9 1 -sorriest fancies-] i. e. worthless, ignoble, vile. 2 In restless ecstacy.] Ecstacy, for madness, or agony. Lady M. You must leave this. Macb. O, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife! Thou know'st, that Banquo, and his Fleance, lives. Lady M. But in them nature's copy's not eterne.* Macb. There's comfort yet; they are assailable; Then be thou jocund: Ere the bat hath flown His cloister'd flight; ere, to black Hecate's sum mons, The shard-borne beetle," with his drowsy hums, What's to be done? Macb. Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck, Till thou applaud the deed. Come, seeling night," And, with thy bloody and invisible hand, crow Makes wing to the rooky wood: Good things of day begin to droop and drowse; nature's copy's not eterne.] The copy, the lease, by which they hold their lives from nature, has its time of termination limited. JOHNSON. › The shard-borne beetle,] The shard-borne beetle is the beetle borne along the air by its shards or scaly wings. 6-Come, seeling night,] Seeling, i. e. blinding. It is a term in falconry. |