All 3 Uses of
avarice
in
Macbeth
- I grant him bloody,
Luxurious, avaricious, false, deceitful,
Sudden, malicious, smacking of every sin
That has a name.p. 143.5avaricious = having or showing excessive desire for wealtheditor's notes: This could be paraphrased as: "I admit he is violent, lustful, greedy, dishonest, treacherous, impulsive, and spiteful, embodying every kind of sin that exists."
Luxurious is used in an archaic sense that means "excessively lustful."
- With this there grows,
In my most ill-composed affection, such
A stanchless avarice, that, were I king,
I should cut off the nobles for their lands,
Desire his jewels, and this other's house.
And my more-having would be as a sauce
To make me hunger more.p. 145.2 *avarice = greededitor's notes: Malcolm is pretending to be of bad character to test Macduff's character. These lines could be paraphrased as: "Along with this, in my most badly put-together desires, there grows such an unquenchable greed that, if I were king, I’d take land from the nobles, crave one person’s jewels, and another’s house. And the more I got, the more it would fuel my hunger for more."
- This avarice
Sticks deeper, grows with more pernicious root
Than summer-seeming lust,p. 145.4avarice = greededitor's notes: This could be paraphrased as: "This greed sinks in deeper and takes root more harmfully than lust, which only appears in the heat of summer."
Definition:
excessive desire for wealth
Like "greed", but implies greed specifically for money. The early Christian Church counted avarice as one of the "seven deadly sins."