Safe toward your love and honour.

from William Shakespeare – Macbeth Act 1 Scene 4 3 on Rap Genius

Of the last line of this speech which is certainly as it is now read, unintelligible, an emendation has been attempted which Mr. Warburton, and Mr. Theobald have admitted as the true reading.

—-Our duties
Are to your throne and state, children and servants,
Which do but what they should, in doing every thing
Fiefs to your love and honour.

My esteem of these critics, inclines me to believe that they cannot be much pleased with the expressions “fiefs to love,” or “fiefs to honour”; and that they have proposed this alteration rather because no other occurred to them, than because they approved it. I shall therefore propose a bolder change, perhaps with no better success, but sua cuique placent. I read thus,

—-Our duties
Are to your throne and state, children and servants,
Which do but what they should, in doing nothing
Save tow'rds your love and honour.

We do but perform our duty when we contract all our views to your service, when we act with “no other” principle than regard to “your love and honour.”

It is probable that this passage was first corrupted by writing “safe” for “save,” and the lines then stood thus,

—-Doing nothing
Safe tow'rd your love and honour.

Which the next transcriber observing to be wrong, and yet not being able to discover the real fault, altered to the present reading.

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