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Country near Birnam Wood. | |
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Enter, with drum and colours, MALCOLM, Old SIWARD and his Son, MACDUFF, MENTEITH, CAITHNESS, ANGUS, LENNOX, ROSS, and Soldiers marching. | |
| Mal. Cousins, I hope the days are near at hand | |
| That chambers will be safe. | |
| Men. We doubt it nothing. | 5 |
| Siw. What wood is this before us? | |
| Men. The wood of Birnam. | |
| Mal. Let every soldier hew him down a bough | |
| And bear ’t before him: thereby shall we shadow | |
| The numbers of our host, and make discovery | 10 |
| Err in report of us. | |
| Sold. It shall be done. | |
| Siw. We learn no other but the confident tyrant | |
| Keeps still in Dunsinane, and will endure | |
| Our setting down before ’t. | 15 |
| Mal. ’Tis his main hope; | |
| For where there is advantage to be given, | |
| Both more and less have given him the revolt, | |
| And none serve with him but constrained things | |
| Whose hearts are absent too. | 20 |
| Macd. Let our just censures | |
| Attend the true event, and put we on | |
| Industrious soldiership. | |
| Siw. The time approaches | |
| That will with due decision make us know | 25 |
| What we shall say we have and what we owe. | |
| Thoughts speculative their unsure hopes relate, | |
| But certain issue strokes must arbitrate, | |
| Towards which advance the war. [Exeunt, marching. | |
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