Sit, worthy friends: my lord is often thus,
And hath been from his youth: pray you, keep seat;
The fit is momentary; upon a thought
He will again be well: if much you note him,
You shall offend him and extend his passion:
Feed, and regard him not.
– William Shakespeare
Macbeth, Act 3, Scene 4. Lady Macbeth tries to restore calm and order to Macbeth’s kingship and post-coronation feast, after he hallucinates about a ghost which nobody else can see. She attempts to reassure their guests by telling them to take their seats and ignore her husband’s outburst. She wants to conceal the reality, that Macbeth became king by murdering Duncan and then killed Banquo and his “fit” is a manifestation of his guilty conscience.