This conjecture is fupported by the paffage in the letter to his lady, in which he fays, They referr'd me to the coming on of time with Hail King that shall be. Became him like the leaving it. He died, As the word ow'd affords here no fenfe but fuch as is forced and unnatural, it cannot be doubted that it was originally written, The dearest thing be own'd; a reading which needs neither defence nor explication. The conftruction of the mind is, I believe, a phrase peculiar to Shakespeare; it implies the frame or difpofition of the mind, by which it is determined to good or ill ΝΟΤΕ NOTE XI. Macbeth. THE fervice, and the loyalty I owe, In doing it, pays itself. Your highness' part Is to receive our duties, and our duties Are to your throne and state, children and servants, Which do but what they should, in doing every thing Safe tow'rds your love and honour. Of the last line of this fpeech, which is certainly, as it is now read, unintelligible, an emendation has been attempted, which Mr. Warburton and Mr. Theobald have admitted as the true reading. Our duties Are to your throne and ftate, children and fervants, Which do but what they should, in doing every thing Fiefs to your love and honour. My esteem of these critics, inclines me to believe, that they cannot be much pleafed with the expreffions Fiefs to love, or Fiefs to honour; and that they have. propofed this alteration rather because no other occurred to them, than because they approved it. I fhall therefore propofe a bolder change, perhaps with no better fuccefs, but fua cuique placent. I read thus, Our duties Are to your throne and state, children and servants, Which do but what they fhould, in doing nothing We do but perform our duty when we contract all our views to your fervice, when we act with no other principle than regard to your love and honour. It is probable that this paffage was firft corrupted by writing fafe for farve, and the lines then flood thus, - Doing nothing Safe tow'rd your love and honour. Which the next tranfcriber obferving to be wrong, and yet not being able to discover the real fault, altered to the prefent reading. THOU’DST have, great Glamis, That which cries, "thus thou must do if thou have it, "And that," &c. As the object of Macbeth's defire is here introduced speaking of itself, it is necessary to read, --Thou'dft have, great Glamis, That which cries, "thus thou must do if thou have me. VOL. III. H NOTE HIE thee hither, That I may pour my spirits in thine ear, To have thee crown'd withal. For feem the fenfe evidently directs us to read feek, The crown to which fate deftines thee, and which preternatural agents endeavour to bestow upon thee. The golden round is the diadem. NOTE XIV. Lady Macbeth.- COME all you fpirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unfex me here, Th' effect and it. Mortal thoughts. This expreffion fignifies not the thoughts of mortals, but, murtherous, deadly, or defirullive defigns. So in act 5th. Hold faft the mortal fword. And And in another place, With twenty mortal murthers. Nor keep pace between Th' effect and it. The intent of Lady Macbeth, evidently is to wifh that no womanish tenderness, or confcientious remorfe may hinder her purpose from proceeding to effect, but neither this nor indeed any other fenfe is expreffed by the prefent reading, and therefore it cannot be doubted that Shakespeare wrote differently, perhaps thus: That no compunctious vifitings of nature To keep pace between may fignify to pass between, to intervene. Pace is on many occafions a favourite of Shakespeare. This phrafe is indeed not ufual in this fense, but was it not its novelty that gave occafion to the prefent corruption? King. THIS caftle hath a pleafant feat; the air Nimbly and fweetly recommends ittelf Unto our gentle fenfes. Banquo. This gueft of fummer, The temple-haunting Martlet, does approve, |