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"look into the seeds of time"
Metaphor
Act 1,
Scene 3
Lines 57-61

An explanation of the metaphor, “look into the seeds of time” in Act 1, Scene 3 of myShakespeare’s Macbeth.

Banquo

That he seems rapt withal. To me you speak not.
If you can look into the seeds of time,
And say which grain will grow and which will not,
Speak then to me, who neither beg nor fear
Your favors, nor your hate.

Foretelling the future of men is, in this metaphor, like looking at a group of seeds and predicting which will take hold and sprout, and which won’t.