FIRST MURDERER You made it known to us.
MACBETH I did so, and went further, which is now
Our point of second meeting. Do you find
Your patience so predominant in your nature
That you can let this go? Are you so gospelled
To pray for this good man and for his issue,
Whose heavy hand hath bowed you to the grave,
And beggared yours for ever?
FIRST MURDERER We are men, my liege. (3.1.85-92)
The First Murderer is cautious, perhaps, laconic, certainly; he’s waiting to see which way this is going to go before he gives too much away. They’ve turned up, haven’t they? But they’re not necessarily fully committed yet. You made it known to us, yes, that apparently Banquo has been the cause of all our misfortunes; it’s not quite the same as an unequivocal we know, we agree thought, not yet. So Macbeth tries another angle: I did so, he says, perhaps with a touch of frustration, and I went further, too, and that’s why we’ve met again, why you’re here, our point of second meeting, for me to set out the rest of the case. Now he’s going to bully them, needling away, in terms familiar from his interactions with his wife: Macbeth is punching down, expertly, ruthlessly. Do you find your patience so predominant in your nature that you can let this go?Are you going to let him get away with it, not say or do anything? Are you just going to turn the other cheek, and take it? Are you so gospelled, such good Christians, good little boys (but with the implication, probably, of being cowed by the teaching of the Church, weak, pious, passive, pathetic) that you will, rather than seeking what’s yours by right, rather than seeking vengeance, you will pray for this good man and for his issue—spat out, heavy with irony (except it’s not: Banquo isa good man)—this good man, whose heavy hand hath bowed you to the grave, and beggared yours for ever? Poverty, destitution, suffering, resentment: Banquo’s totally shafted you, and your families, held you back, held you down. Are you simply going to lie down and take it?
