Toad, that under coldest stone, Swelter'd body, that was divided in one of their affemblies, two fingers for her share. It is obfervable, that Shakspeare, on this great occafion which involves the fate of a king, multiplies all the circumftances of horror. The babe, whofe finger is ufed, must be strangled in its birth; the greafe muft not only be human, but must have dropped from a gibbet, the gibbet of a murderer; and even the fow, whofe blood is used, muft have offended nature by devouring her own farrow. These are touches of judgement and genius. "And now about the cauldron fing, Black fpirits and white, "Mingle, mingle, mingle, And in a former part: 66 -weird fifters, hand in hand,- "Thrice to thine, and thrice to mine, "And thrice again, to make up nine!" These two paffages I have brought together, becaufe they both feens fubject to the objection of too much levity for the folemnity of enchantment, and may both be fhown, by one quotation from Camden's account of Ireland to be founded upon a practice really obferved by the uncivilifed natives of that country: When any one gets a fall, Jays the informer f Camden, he starts up, and, turning three times to the right, digs a hole in the earth; for they imagine that there is a spirit in the ground, and if he falls fick in two or three days, they fend one of their women that is fkilled in that way to the place, where fhe fays, I call thee from the east, weft, north and fouth, from the groves, the woods, the rivers, and the fens, from the fairies, red, black, and white." There was likewife a book written before the time of Shakspeare, defcribing, amongst other properties, the colours of spirits. Many other circumstances might be particularifed, in which Shakspeare has shown his judgement and his knowledge. JOHNSON. 8 A cat, from time immemorial, has been the agent and favourite of witches. This fuperftitious fancy is pagan, and very ancient; and the original, perhaps, this: When Galinthia was changed into a cat by the Fates (Jays Antonius Liberalis, Metam. cap. 29.), by witches, (fays Paufanias in bis Baotics,) Hecate took pity of her, and made ber her priestess; in which office fhe continues to this day. Hecate berfelf too, when Typhon forced all the gods and goddeffes to bide themselves in animals, affumed the shape of a cat. So, Ovid: "Fele foror Phabi latuit." WARBURTON. 9 Mr. Theobald reads, twice and once, &c. and obferves that odd numbers are ufed in all enchantments and magical operations. The remark is juft fol. 955. "Har. Har." Was the ninal grie of witezes in the incantations on the titleHence pal comm 548 MACBETH. Swelter'd venom 4 fleeping got, Boil thou first i'the charmed pot! give the pici All. Double, double toil and trouble;$ In the cauldron boil and bake: Adder's juft, but the paffage was mifunderstood. The fecond Witch only repeats Even numbers, however, were always reckoned inaufpicious. So, in The Honeft Lawyer, by S. S. 1616: " Sure 'tis not a lucky time; the first crow I heard this morning, cried twice. This even, fir, is no good number.” Twice and once, however, might be a cant expreffion. So, in King Henry IV. P. II. Silence fays, I have been merry twice and once, ere now." STEEVENS. The urchin, or hedgehog, from its folitarinefs, the ugliness of its appearance, and from a popular opinion that it fucked or poifoned the udders of cows, was adopted into the demonologic fyftem, and its shape was fometimes fuppofed to be affumed by mischievous elves. Hence it was one of the plagues of Caliban in The Tempeft. T. WARTON. 2 This is fome imp, or familiar fpirit, concerning whose etymology and office, the reader may be wiser than the editor. Those who are acquainted with Dr. Farmer's pamphlet, will be unwilling to derive the name of Harper from Ovid's Harpalos, aber άw rapio. Harper, however, may be only a mifpelling, or misprint, for barpy. The word cries likewife teems to countenance this fuppofition. Crying is one of the technical terms appropriated to the noife made by birds of prey, efpecially when they are hungry. STEEVENS. 3 This familiar does not cry out that it is time for them to begin their enchantments; but cries, i. e. gives them the figual, upon which the third Witch communicates the notice to our fifters: Harper cries:-'Tis time, 'tis time. STEVENS. 4 This word feems to be employed by Shakspeare, to fignify that the animal was moistened with its own cold exfudations. STEEVENS. 5 As this was a very extraordinary incantation, they were to double their pains about it. I think, therefore, it should be pointed as I have pointed it: Double, double toil and trouble; otherwise the folemnity is abated by the immediate recurrence of the rhyme. STEVENS. Adder's fork, and blind-worm's fting, All. Double, double toil and trouble; 3. Witch. Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf; 2. Witche The blind-worm is the flow-worm. STEEVENS. 7 The gulf is the fwallow, the throat. STEEVENS. 8 Mr. M. Mafon observes that we should read ravin instead of ravin'd. Ravin'd is glutted with prey. Ravin is the ancient word for prey obtained by violence. STEEVENS. To ravin, according to Minfheu, is to devour, or eat greedily. See his DICT. 1617, in v. To devour. I believe, our author, with his usual licence, used ravin'd for ravenous, the paffive participle for the adjective. MALONE. Sliver is a common word in the North, where it means to cut a piece or a flice. STEEVENS. To split off at the joining of the slide 2 Thefe ingredients in all probability owed their introduction to the deteftation in which the Turks were held, on account of the boly wars. S folicitous indeed were our neighbours the French (from whom most of our prejudices as well as cuftoms are derived) to keep this idea awake, that even in their military sport of the quintain, their foldiers were accustomed to point their lances at the figure of a Saracen. STEEVENS. 3 Chaudron, i.e. entrails; a word formerly in common ufe in the books of cookery, in one of which, printed in 1597, I meet with a receipt to make a pudding of a calf's chauldron. See alfo Pegge's Forme of Cury, e roll of ancient English Cookery, &c. 8vo. 1780, p. 66. STEEVENS. 2. Witch. Cool it with a baboon's blood, Then the charm is firm and good. Enter HECATE, and the other three Witches.4 Hec. O, well done !5 I commend your pains; And now about the cauldron fing, [Mufick 2. Witch. 4 The infertion of thefe words (and the other three Witches) in the orfginal copy, must be owing to a mistake. There is no reafon to fuppofe that Shakspeare meant to introduce more than three witches upon the fcenc. RITSON. 5 Ben Jonson's Dame, in his Masque of Queens, 1609, addresses her affociates in the fame manner; "Well done, my bags.”` The attentive reader will obferve, that in this piece, old Ben has exerted his ftrongest efforts to rival the incantation of Shakspeare's Witches, and the final addrefs of Profpero to the aerial fpirits under his command. It may be remarked alfo, that Shakspeare's Hecate, after delivering a fpeech of five lines, interferes no further in the business of the fcene, but is loft in the crowd of fubordinate witches. Nothing, in short, is effected by her affiftance, but what might have been done without it. STEEVENS. 6 In a former note on this tragedy, I had obferved, that the original edition contains only the two first words of the fong before us; but have ince difcovered the entire ftanza in the Witch, a dramatic piece by Middleton, already quoted. The fong is there called-" a Charme-fong, about a veffel."-I may add, that this invocation, as it fift occurs in the Witch, is White fpirits, black fpirits, gray fpirits, red fpirits." - Afterwards, we find it in its prefent metrical shape. The colours of spirits The fong was in all probability a traditional one. Perhaps, 2. Witch. By the pricking of my thumbs,7 Something wicked this way comes: Open, locks, whoever knocks. Enter MACBETH, Macb. How now, you fecret, black, and midnight hags? What is't you do? All. A deed without a name. Mach. I conjure you, by that which you profess, (Howe'er you come to know it,) answer me: Though you untie the winds, and let them fight Against the churches; though the yefty waves Confound and fwallow navigation up; Though bladed corn be lodg'd,' and trees blown down ; Though palaces, and pyramids, do flope Their heads to their foundations; though the treasure Even till deftru&tion ficken, answer me To what I ask you. 1. Witch. 2. Witch. 3. Witch. 1. Witch. Say, if thou'dft rather hear it from our mouths, Or from our masters'? Mach. Call them, let me fee them. 1. Witch. Perhaps, indeed, this mufical fcrap (which does not well accord with the ferious bufinefs of the feene) was introduced by the players, without the fuggeftion of Shakspeare. STEEVENS. 7 It is a very ancient fuperftition, that all fudden pains of the body, and other fenfations which could not naturally be accounted for, were prefages of somewhat that was fhortly to happen. STEEVENS. 8 That is foaming or frothy waves. JOHNSON. 9 Corn, proftrated by the wind, in modern language, is faid to be lay'd ; but lodg'd had anciently, the fame meaning. RITSON. 2 Topple, is used for tumble. STEEVENS 3 This was fubftituted by Theobald for Natures germaine. JOHNSON. Germins are feeds which have begun to germinate or fprout. Germen, Lat. Germe, Fr. Germe is a word ufed by Brown in his Vulgar Errors: "Whether it be not made out of the germe or treadle of the egg," &c. STEEVENS, |