"Nowadays we tend to think of conscience as a psychic internalization of socially-sanctioned moral imperatives, but in Shakespeare’s day conscience was routinely viewed as an instrument of providence." William M. Hamlin discusses conscience in Shakespeare (Macbeth meets the three witches; scene from Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’. Wood engraving, 19th century. Wellcome Trust. CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.)
Nadejda Apkhazava