He shall spurn fate, scorn death, and bear
He hopes ‘bove wisdom, grace and fear:
And you all know, security
Is mortals’ chiefest enemy.
– William Shakespeare
Macbeth, Act 3, Scene 5. Goddess Hecate prophesies that Macbeth will be fooled by her magic into thinking he is immune to fate, he will mock death, and think he is beyond wisdom and fear. Overconfidence is man’s greatest enemy, she says. This is foreshadowing the apparitions that appear to Macbeth in Act 4, lulling him into a false sense of security, leading to his death.