The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated) (946 page)

First Witch

Hail!

Hail!

Second Witch

Hail!

Hail!

Third Witch

Hail!

Hail!

First Witch

Lesser than Macbeth, and greater.

You will be less than Macbeth, but greater.

Second Witch

Not so happy, yet much happier.

You will not be so happy, but much happier than Macbeth.

Third Witch

Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none:

So all hail, Macbeth and Banquo!

Your sons will be kings, although you will not.

All hail, Macbeth and Banquo!

First Witch

Banquo and Macbeth, all hail!

Banquo and Macbeth, all hail!

MACBETH

Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more:

By Sinel's death I know I am thane of Glamis;

But how of Cawdor? the thane of Cawdor lives,

A prosperous gentleman; and to be king

Stands not within the prospect of belief,

No more than to be Cawdor. Say from whence

You owe this strange intelligence? or why

Upon this blasted heath you stop our way

With such prophetic greeting? Speak, I charge you.

Wait, you have not told the whole story—say more.

I know that by inheritance I am the Thane of Glamis.

But how could I be Thane of Cawdor? The Thane

of Cawdor lives. And for me to be a wealthy gentleman,

and a king, as well—that makes no more sense than

my becoming the Thane of Cawdor. Tell me how

you know these things? And why have you stopped us

in this field with such a prophetic greeting?

I demand you say more!

Witches vanish

BANQUO

The earth hath bubbles, as the water has,

And these are of them. Whither are they vanish'd?

The earth has bubbles, just like water does.

These spirits were like those bubbles. Where did they go?

MACBETH

Into the air; and what seem'd corporal melted

As breath into the wind. Would they had stay'd!

They vanished into the air, and what seemed solid

Faded into nothing. I wish they had stayed!

BANQUO

Were such things here as we do speak about?

Or have we eaten on the insane root

That takes the reason prisoner?

Did we really see them? Or have we been

drugged, and are hallucinating?

MACBETH

Your children shall be kings.

Your children will be kings.

BANQUO

You shall be king.

You will be king.

MACBETH

And thane of Cawdor too: went it not so?

And Thane of Cawdor, too. Didn’t they say that?

BANQUO

To the selfsame tune and words. Who's here?

That’s what I heard. Who’s here?

Enter ROSS and ANGUS

ROSS

The king hath happily received, Macbeth,

The news of thy success; and when he reads

Thy personal venture in the rebels' fight,

His wonders and his praises do contend

Which should be thine or his: silenced with that,

In viewing o'er the rest o' the selfsame day,

He finds thee in the stout Norweyan ranks,

Nothing afeard of what thyself didst make,

Strange images of death. As thick as hail

Came post with post; and every one did bear

Thy praises in his kingdom's great defence,

And pour'd them down before him.

The king was happy to hear of your success,

Macbeth, and when he heard of your feats

in the fight, he was so amazed and full of praise

that he wondered what should be yours and what

should be his. The tale rendered him speechless,

and then he heard about the rest of the day—how

you found yourself fighting the strong Norwegian

soldiers with no fear of death although images of it

were all around you. Like a noisy hail storm,

the messengers arrived one after another

singing your praises to the king.

ANGUS

We are sent

To give thee from our royal master thanks;

Only to herald thee into his sight,

Not pay thee.

We have been sent to give you the king’s thanks

We are not to pay you, but must bring you to him.

ROSS

And, for an earnest of a greater honour,

He bade me, from him, call thee thane of Cawdor:

In which addition, hail, most worthy thane!

For it is thine.

And for a hint at the great honor you will receive,

he told me, from him, to call you Thane of Cawdor:

and also to hail you, worthy thane!

The title is yours.

BANQUO

What, can the devil speak true?

What? Does the devil speak the truth?

MACBETH

The thane of Cawdor lives: why do you dress me

In borrow'd robes?

The Thane of Cawdor lives—why do you give me

the title that is his?

ANGUS

Who was the thane lives yet;

But under heavy judgment bears that life

Which he deserves to lose. Whether he was combined

With those of Norway, or did line the rebel

With hidden help and vantage, or that with both

He labour'd in his country's wreck, I know not;

But treasons capital, confess'd and proved,

Have overthrown him.

He was the thane and is still alive,

but he has been judged not worthy to live.

Whether he joined with those of Norway,

or provided the rebels with secret help and advantage,

or did both, it doesn’t matter. He played a part

in his country’s destruction. His treason

has been confessed and proved

and it has overthrown him.

MACBETH

[Aside] Glamis, and thane of Cawdor!

The greatest is behind.

[Aside] First Glamis, and now the Thane of Cawdor!

The most unlikely has passed.

To ROSS and ANGUS

Thanks for your pains.

Thank you for your trouble.

To BANQUO

Do you not hope your children shall be kings,

When those that gave the thane of Cawdor to me

Promised no less to them?

Do you not now have hope that your children

will be kings, when those that gave the title of

Thane of Cawdor promised no less to them?

BANQUO

That trusted home

Might yet enkindle you unto the crown,

Besides the thane of Cawdor. But 'tis strange:

And oftentimes, to win us to our harm,

The instruments of darkness tell us truths,

Win us with honest trifles, to betray's

In deepest consequence.

Cousins, a word, I pray you.

That prophecy, if trusted, might

inspire passion in you to become king

as well as the Thane of Cawdor. But, it’s strange:

often, in order to win our trust so they can harm us,

the instruments of darkness will tell us a little

of the truth, only to betray us and cause

deep consequence.

Cousins, may I speak with you?

MACBETH

[Aside] Two truths are told,

As happy prologues to the swelling act

Of the imperial theme.--I thank you, gentlemen.

[Aside] Two truths have been told, and

are happy indications that I may become king.

Thank you, gentlemen.

Aside

This supernatural soliciting

Cannot be ill, cannot be good: if ill,

Why hath it given me earnest of success,

Commencing in a truth? I am thane of Cawdor:

If good, why do I yield to that suggestion

Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair

And make my seated heart knock at my ribs,

Against the use of nature? Present fears

Are less than horrible imaginings:

My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical,

Shakes so my single state of man that function

Is smother'd in surmise, and nothing is

But what is not.

This supernatural news can’t be bad,

and it can’t be good. If bad, then why

has it given me the promise of success

beginning in the truth? I am Thane of Cawdor.

If good, why do I yield to a suggestion

whose horrid image unfixes my hair

and causes my heart to pound harder in my chest

than what is natural? My present fears

are less that horrible imaginings:

My thought, whose murder is still just a fantasy,

Shakes me so that functioning as a man

is smothered in things that are supposed.

Nothing is, only what is not.

BANQUO

Look, how our partner's rapt.

Look at how our friend is distracted.

MACBETH

[Aside] If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me,

Without my stir.

[Aside] If chance is to have me be king, then chance will crown me

without my doing a thing.

BANQUO

New honors come upon him,

Like our strange garments, cleave not to their mould

But with the aid of use.

New honors have come upon him, like new clothes

that only fit after they have been worn awhile.

MACBETH

[Aside] Come what come may,

Time and the hour runs through the roughest day.

[Aside] What ever will happen will happen,

time keeps on even through the roughest day.

BANQUO

Worthy Macbeth, we stay upon your leisure.

Good Macbeth, we wait for you.

MACBETH

Give me your favour: my dull brain was wrought

With things forgotten. Kind gentlemen, your pains

Are register'd where every day I turn

The leaf to read them. Let us toward the king.

Think upon what hath chanced, and, at more time,

The interim having weigh'd it, let us speak

Our free hearts each to other.

Please beg my pardon; I was deep in thought

with things forgotten. Kind gentlemen, the trouble

you took today is recorded in my mind, and when

I think back to this day, I will remember this. Let us

go see the king. Keep in mind what has happened,

and when time has passed and we have considered it,

let us speak what is in our hearts to one another.