Both Uses of
profess
in
Macbeth
- I conjure you, by that which you profess,
p. 123.3 *profess = claim to believeeditor's notes: This could be paraphrased as: "I call you to action, by the power of what you claim to believe."
- The noble thanes do bravely in the war,
The day almost itself professes yours,
And little is to do.p. 185.1professes = declares (it is)editor's notes: This could be paraphrased as: "The noble thanes are fighting courageously in the war, the day is nearly declaring itself as yours, and there’s little left to be done."
When someone says "the day is yours," it’s a poetic way of saying that victory is yours.
Definitions:
-
(1)
(profess) to claim or declare -- often insincerely
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Much more rarely, profess can mean:- to teach or be knowledgeable of -- as in "profess chemistry"
- practice as a profession -- as in "profess medicine"
- proclaim belief in or allegiance to -- as in "profess Catholicism"