Mark the words of
these men, upon receiving the announcement of Rosse:
"_Banquo_. What! can the devil speak truth?
_Macbeth_. The thane of Cawdor lives: why do you dress me
In borrowed robes?"
Mark how that reception is in either case precisely the reverse of
that given to the prophecy itself. Here _Banquo_ starts. But what is
here done for Banquo, by the coincidence of the prophecy with the
truth, has been already done for Macbeth, by the coincidence of his
thought with the prophecy. Accordingly, Macbeth is calm enough to
play the hypocrite, when he must otherwise have experienced surprise
far greater than that of Banquo, because he is much more nearly
concerned in the source of it. So far indeed from being overcome with
astonishment, Macbeth still continues to dwell upon the prophecy, by
which his peace of mind is afterwards constantly disturbed,
"Do you not hope your children shall be kings,
When those that gave the thane of Cawdor to me
Promised no less to them?"
Banquo's reply to this question has been one of the chief sources of
the interpretation, the error of which we are now endeavouring to
expose. He says,
"That, trusted home,
Might yet enkindle you unto the crown,
Besides the thane of Cawdor. But, 'tis strange;
And often times, to win us to our harm,
The instruments of darkness tell us truths,
Win us with honest trifles, to betray us
In deepest consequence.
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