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of your danger; which would detain you so long that you could not avoid it." The meaning, however, may be, To do worse to you, not to disclose to you the perilous situation you are in, from à foolish apprehension of alarming yon, would be fell cruelty. Or the messenger may only mean, to do more than alarm you by this disagreeable intelligence, -to do you any actual and bodily harm, were fell cruelty. MALONE.

P. 65, 1.

9.- Thou shag-ear'd villain.] Perhaps we should read shag-hair'd, for it is an abusive epithet very often used in our ancient plays, &c. STEEVENS.

This emendation appears to me extremely probable. In King John, Act V. we find "unhear'd sauciness for unhair'd sauciness:" and we have had in this play hair instead of air. These two words, and the word ear, were all, I believe, in the time of our author, pronounced alike.

Hair was formerly written beare. Hence perhaps the mistake. However, as flap-ear'd is used as an epithet of contempt in The Taming of the Shrew, the old copy may be right. MALONE.

Mr. Steeven's emendation will be further confirmed by a reference to one of our Law Reporters. In 23 Car. I. Ch. Justice Rolle said it had been determined that these words, "Where is that long-lock'd, shag-hair'd, murdering rogue," were actionable. Aleyn's Reports, p. 61.

P. 65, 1. 17. Enter MALCOLM &c.] The part of Holinshed's Chronicle which relates to this play, is no more than an abridgement of John Bellenden's translation of The Noble Clerk, Rector Boece} imprinted at Edinburgh, 1541. STEEVENS. P. 65, 1. 22. 23. like good men,

Bestride our down-fall'n birthdom:] He

who

who can discover what is meant by him that

earnest

ly exhorts him to bestride his downfall birthdom, is at liberty to adhere to the present text; but it is probable that Shakspeare wrote:

like good men,

Bestride our down- fall'n birthdom

a

The allusion is to man from whom something valuable is about to be taken by violence, and who, that he may defend it without incumbrance, lays it on the ground, and stands over it with his weapon in his hand. Our birthdom, or

birthright, says he, lies on the ground; let us, like men who are to fight for what is dearest to them, not abandon it, but stand over it and defend it. This is a strong picture of obstinate resolution. So Falstaff says to Hal: "If thou see me down in the battle, and bestride me, so."

Birthdom for birthright is formed by the same analogy with masterdom in this play, signifying the privileges or rights of a master.

Perhaps it might be birth-dame for mother; let us stand over our mother that lies bleeding on the ground. JOHNSON.

There is no need of change. In the second part of K. Henry IV. Morton says:

he doth bestride a bleeding land."

STEEVENS. P. 65, last 1. As if it felt with Scotland, and yell'd out

Like syllable of dolour.] This presents a ridiculous image. But what is insinuated under it is noble; that the portents and prodigies in the skies, of which mention is made before, showed that heaven sympathised with Scotland.

VOL. VII.

WARBURTON.

19

The ridicule, I believe is only visible to the commentator. STEEVENS.

P. 66, 1. 3. As I shall find the time to friend,] i. c. to befriend. STEEVENS.

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P. 66, 1. 10. and wisdom] That is, and 'tis wisdom. HEATH.

The seuse of this passage is obvious, but the construction difficult, as there is no verb to which wisdom can refer. Something is omitted either through the negligence of the printer, or probably the inadvertence of the author.

read

66-- and think it wisdom"

If we

the sense will be supplied; but that would destroy the metre; and so indeed would the insertion of any word whatever. M. MASON.

I suspect this line to have suffered by interpolation as well as omission, and that it originally ran thus:

but something

You may deserve through me; and wisdom is it

To offer &c.

Had the passage been first printed thus, would any reader have supposed the words "of him," were wanting to the sense? In this play I have already noted several instances of manifest interpolation and omission. STEEVENS.

P. 66, 1. 15. 16. A good and virtuous nature may recoil,

In an imperial charge.] A good mind may recede from goodness in the execution of a royal commission. JOHNSON.

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P. 66, 1. 18-22. That which you are, my thoughts cannot transpose: &c.] This is not very clear. The meaning perhaps is

o semiqueNOTES TO MACBETH.

291

atthis My suspicious cannot injure you, if you bes virtuous, by supposing that a traitor may put on your virtuous appearance. I do not say that your virtuous appearance proves you a traitor; for virtue must wear its proper form, though that form be counterfeited by villainy. JOHNSON.

P. 66, 1. 26. in that rawness] Without previous provision, without due preparation, without maturity of counsel. JOHNSON.

P. 66, last 1.
That is, Poor country,

wear thou thy wrongs.] y, wear thou thy wrongs.

JOHNSON.

P. 67, first 1. Thy title is affeer'd!] Affeer'd, a law term for confirm'd. POPE.

What Mr. Pope says of the law term is undoubtedly true; but is there absolute reason why we should have recourse to it for the explanation of this passage? Macduff first apostrophises his country, and afterwards pointing to Malcolm, may say, that his title was afear'd, i. e. frighted from exerting itself. Throughout the ancient editions of Shakspeare, the word afraid is frequently written as it was formerly pronounced, afear'd. The old copyreads, The title, &c. i. e. the regal

title is afraid to assert itself.

I have, however, adopted Mr. Malone's emendation, as it varies, but in a single letter, from the reading of the old copy. See his subsequent note. STEEVENS. 50

If we read, The title is

may be:

Pw, the meaning Poor country, wear thou thy wrongs, the title to them is legally lly settled by these who had the final judication of it.

Affcerers had the Power of confirming or mo derating fines and amercements.

TOLLET.

To affeer (for so it should be written) is to

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assess, or reduce to certainty. All amerciaments, that is, judgements of any court of justice, upon a presentarent or other proceeding, that a party shall be amerced, or in mercy, are by Magna Charta to be affeered by lawful men, sworn to be impartial. This is the ordinary practice of a Court Leet, with which Shakspeare seems to have been intimately acquainted, and where he might have occasionally acted as an affeerer.

RITSON.

For the emendation now made I am answerable. The was, I conceive, the transcriber's mistake, from the similar sounds of the and thy, which are frequently pronounced alike.

Perhaps the meaning is, Poor country, wear thou thy wrongs! Thy title to them is now fully established by law. Of perhaps The addresses Malcolm. Continue to endure tamely the wrongs you suffer: thy just title to the throne is cow'd, has not spirit to establish itself. MALONE.

P. 67, I. 30. Sudden, for capricións. 95.

WARBURTON. Rather, violent, passionate, hasty. JOHNSON.. P. 68, 1. 3. Perhaps the epithet boundless, which overloads the metre was a playhouse interpolation. STEEVENS.

P. 68, 1. 26. summer-seeding lust:] The old copy has summer-seeming STEEVENS. Summer-seeming has no manner of sense: cor

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Than summer-teeming lust

i. e. the passion that lasts no longer than the heat of life, and which goes off in the winter of age. asinge to & WARBURTON. When I was younger and holder, I corrected it

thus,

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