SON: And must they all be hanged that swear and lie?
LADY MACDUFF: Every one.
SON: Who must hang them?
LADY MACDUFF: Why, the honest men.
SON: Then the liars and swearers are fools, for there are liars and swearers enow to beat the honest men, and hang up them.
– William Shakespeare
Macbeth, Act 4, Scene 2. Lady Macduff and her son discuss the subject of Macduff’s loyalty and how he is seen as a traitor because he fled to England to save Scotland from Macbeth. Macduff’s young boy, wise beyond his years, observes that the world is so full of traitors and dishonest men, there are enough of them to overpower and hang the honest men. There are echoes of “Fair is foul, and foul is fair” in what the boy says – that everything is not what it seems. This conversation is foreshadowing of the battle between Macduff and Macbeth – the good and honest man vs the liar and evil tyrant.
