Page:Macbeth (1918) Yale.djvu/106

94 images of death. The meaning is that Macbeth was not at all afraid of those whom he himself straightway converted into corpses.

as thick as tale. This may mean either 'as fast as I can now tell you' or 'as fast as they could be counted.' With either interpretation the expression seems so awkward that many editors feel justified in changing 'tale' to 'hail.'

Present fears. 'Terrors that are present to the eye.' An enemy, for example, who confronts you in battle, is less disturbing than the dread of imagined horrors.

Time and the hour. 'Time and opportunity,' 'opportune time.' There is always opportunity, even in the day that seems hopeless.

proportion. The thought seems to be that, if Macbeth's services had been less great, Duncan might have overpaid him with thanks and benefits, and there would then have been a credit balance on Duncan's side of the account.

Prince of Cumberland. This title, in Scotland, corresponded to that of Prince of Wales in modern England. Malcolm is designated as heir-apparent to the throne. Cumberland is now the northwesternmost county in England, but in the eleventh century it was disputed territory. In the tenth century it had been for a time a recognized part of the Kingdom of Scotland.

milk of human kindness. Some critics see a difficulty in this phrase, inasmuch as they do not find Macbeth overfull of kindness. They accordingly interpret the last two words as if they were written 'humankind-ness,' and explain the whole expression as meaning 'the inherited weakness of human nature.' To the present editor this seems uncalled for.

The sense is: Thou wishest to have, great Glamis, the crown, which cries 'thou must do murder' if thou art to have it; and murder is what