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MACBETH
85Then live, Macduff. What need I fear of thee?
But yet I’ll make assurance double sure,
And take a bond of fate. Thou shalt not live,
That I may tell pale-hearted fear it lies,
And sleep in spite of thunder.
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MACBETH Then I don’t need to kill Macduff. I have no reason to
fear him. But even so, I’ll make doubly sure. I’ll
guarantee my own fate by having you killed, Macduff. That way I can
conquer my own fear and sleep easy at night.
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Thunder. THIRD APPARITION : a child
crowned, with a tree in his hand
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Thunder. The THIRD APPARITION appears,
in the form of a child with a crown on his head and a tree in his
hand.
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90What is this
That rises like the issue of a king,
And wears upon his baby-brow the round
And top of sovereignty?
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What is this spirit that looks like the son of a king and wears a
crown on his young head?
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ALL Listen
but speak not to ’t.
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ALL Listen but don’t speak to it.
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THIRD APPARITION Be lion-mettled, proud, and take no care
95Who chafes, who frets, or where conspirers are.
Macbeth shall never vanquished be until
Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill
Shall come against him.
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THIRD APPARITION Be brave like the lion and proud. Don’t even worry about
who hates you, who resents you, and who conspires against you.
Macbeth will never be defeated until Birnam Wood marches to fight
you at Dunsinane Hill.
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Descends
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The THIRD APPARITION
descends.
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MACBETH That
will never be.
Who can impress the forest, bid the tree
100Unfix his earthbound root? Sweet bodements! Good!
Rebellious dead, rise never till the wood
Of Birnam rise, and our high-placed Macbeth
Shall live the lease of nature, pay his breath
To time and mortal custom. Yet my heart
105Throbs to know one thing. Tell me, if your art
Can tell so much: shall Banquo’s issue ever
Reign in this kingdom?
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MACBETH That will never happen. Who can command the forest and make the
trees pull their roots out of the earth? These were sweet omens!
Good! My murders will never come back to threaten me until the
forest of Birnam gets up and moves, and I will be king for my entire
natural life. But my heart is still throbbing to know one thing.
Tell me, if your dark powers can see this far: will
Banquo’s sons ever reign in this kingdom?
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