With those five talents :-that had, [to Flavius] give it these fellows To whom 'tis inftant due. Ne'er fpeak, or think, Being free itself, it thinks all others fo. ACT II. [Exeunt. SCENE I. The fame. A Room in Lucullus's House. Flaminius waiting. Enter a Servant to him. Serv. I have told my lord of you, he is coming down to you. Flam. I thank you, fir. Enter LUCULLUS. Serv. Here's my lord. Lucul. [Afide.] One of lord Timon's men? a gift, I warrant. Why, this hits right; I dreamt of a filver bafon and ewer* to-night. Flaminius, honeft Flaminius; you are very respectively welcome, fir 3.-Fill me fome wine.-[Exit Servant.] And how does that honourable, complete, free-hearted gentleman of Athens, thy very bountiful good lord and master ? Flam. His health is well, fir. 2 Free,] is liberal, not parfimonious. JOHNSON. 19 a filver bafon and ewer-] Thefe utenfils of filver being much in request in Shakspeare's time, he has, as ufual, not fcrupled to place them in the houfe of an Athenian nobleman. So again, in The Taming of the Shrew : my houfe within the city Is richly furnished with plate and gold; "Bafons and ewers to lave her dainty hands." See Vol. III. p. 292, n. 3. MALONE. 3 very respectively welcome, &c.] i. e. refpe&fully. So, in K. John: "Tis too refpective," &c. STEEVENS. See Vol. IV. p. 456, n. 8. MALONE. Lucul Lucal. I am right glad that his health is well, fir: And what haft thou there under thy cloak, pretty Flaminius ? Flam. 'Faith, nothing but an empty box, fir; which, in my lord's behalf, I come to entreat your honour to fupply; who, having great and inftant occafion to use fifty talents, hath fent to your lordship to furnish him; nothing doubting your prefent affiftance therein. Lucul. La, la, la, la,nothing doubting, fays he? alas, good lord! a noble gentleman 'tis, if he would not keep fo good a houfe. Many a time and often I have dined with him, and told him on't; and come again to fupper to him, of purpose to have him spend lefs: and yet he would embrace no counfel, take no warning by my coming. Every man has his fault, and honefty is his; I have told him on't, but I could never get him from it. Re-enter Servant, with wine. Serv. Please your lordship, here is the wine. Lucul. Flaminius, I have noted thee always wife. Here's to thee. Flam. Your lordship speaks your pleasure. Lucul. I have obferved thee always for a towardly prompt fpirit,-give thee thy due,-and one that knows what belongs to reafon; and canft use the time well, if the time ufe thee well: good parts in thee.-Get you gone, firrah. [To the Servant, who goes out.]-Draw nearer, honeft Flaminius. Thy lord's a bountiful gentleman: but thou art wife; and thou know'ft well enough, although thou comeft to me, that this is no time to lend money; efpecially upon bare friendship, without fecurity. Here's three folidares for thee; good boy, wink at me, and fay, thou faw'ft me not. Fare thee well. Flam. Is't poffible, the world fhould fo much differ; And we alive, that liv'd'? Fly, damned bafeness, To him that worships thee. [Throwing the money away. 4 three folidares-] I believe this coin is from the mint of the poet. STEEVENS. 5 And we alive, that liv'd?] i. e. And we who were alive then, alive now. As much as to fay, in fo fhort a time. WARBURTON. E 2 Lucul Lucul. Ha! Now I fee, thou art a fool, and fit for thy mafter. [Exit LUCULLUS. Flam. May thefe add to the number that may scald thee! Let molten coin be thy damnation", Thou disease of a friend, and not himself! Unto his honour, has my lord's meat in him: O, may diseases only work upon't! And, when he's fick to death, let not that part of nature? Which my lord paid for, be of any power To expel fickness, but prolong his hour '! [Exit. 6 Let molten coin be thy damnation,] Perhaps the poet alludes to the punishment inflicted on M. Aquilius by Mithridates. In the Shepherd's Calendar, however, Lazarus declares himfelf to have feen in hell" a great number of wide cauldrons and kettles, full of boyling lead and oyle, with other hot metals molten, in the which were plunged and dipped the covetous men and women, for to fullfill and replenish them of their infatiate covetife." Again, in an ancient bl. 1. ballad, entitled The dead Man's Song: "And ladles full of melted gold "Were poured down their throats." STEEVENS. This probably alludes to the ftory of Marcus Craffus and the Parthians, who are faid to have poured molten gold down his throat, as a reproach and punishment for his avarice. MASON. 7 It turns in less than two nights ?] Alluding to the turning or acefcence of milk. JOHNSON. 8 Unto bis bonour,] Thus the old copy. What Flaminius feems to mean is,-This flave (to the honour of his character) has, &c. The modern editors read, unto this bour, which may be right. STEEVENS. 9 of nature-] Flaminius confiders that nutriment which Lucullus had for a length of time received at Timon's table, as constituting a great part of his animal system. STEEVENS. Ibis bour!] i. e. the hour of fickness. His for its. STEEVENS. His in almost every scene of thefe plays is used for its, but here I I think "bis hour" relates to Lucullus, and means bis life, MALONE. SCENE The fame. A publick Place. Enter LUCIUS, with three Strangers. Luc. Who, the lord Timon? he is my very good friend, and an honourable gentleman. 1. Stran. We know him for no lefs, though we are but ftrangers to him. But I can tell you one thing, my lord, and which I hear from common rumours, now lord Timon's happy hours are done and past, and his estate fhrinks from him. Luc. Fye, no, do not believe it; he cannot want for money. 2. Stran. But believe you this, my lord, that, not long ago, one of his men was with the lord Lucullus, to borrow so many talents 3; nay, urged extremely for't, and thew'd what neceffity belong'd to't, and yet was deny'd. Luc. How? 2. Stran. I tell you, deny'd, my lord. Luc. What a ftrange cafe was that? now, before the gods, I am afham'd on't. Deny'd that honourable man? there was very little honour fhew'd in't. For my own part, I muft needs confefs, I have received fome small kindneffes from him, as money, plate, jewels, and fuch like trifles, nothing comparing to his; yet, had he mif 2 We know bim for no lefs, &c.] That is, we know him by report to be no less than you represent him, though we are strangers to his perfon. JOHNSON. ➡are done - i. e. confumed. See Vol. VI. p. 79, n. 8. MALONE. 3-to borrow fo many talents ;] Such is the reading of the old copy. The modern editors read arbitrarily, fifty talents. So many is not an uncommon colloquial expreffion for an indefinite number. The stranger might not know the exact fum. STEEVENS. So Queen Elizabeth to one of her parliaments: "And for me, it fhall be fufficient that a marble ftone declare that a queen having seigned fuch a time, [i. e. the time that the fhould have reigned, whatever time that might happen to be] lived and died a virgin." MALONE. E 3 took took him, and fent to me 4, I should ne'er have deny'd his occafion fo many talents". Enter SERVILIUS. Ser. See, by good hap, yonder's my lord; I have fweat to fee his honour.-My honour'd lord, [To LUCIUS. Luc. Servilius! you are kindly met, fir. Fare thee well:-Commend me to thy honourable-virtuous lord, my very exquifite friend. Ser. May it please your honour, my lord hath fent Luc. Ha! what has he fent? I am fo much endear'd to that lord; he's ever fending; How fhall I thank him, think'ft thou? And what has he fent now? Ser. He has only fent his prefent occafion now, my lord; requesting your lordship to fupply his inftant ufe with so many talents. -yet bad be miftook him, and fènt to me,] Lucius has juft de clared that he had had fewer prefents from Timon, than Lucullus had received, who therefore ought to have been the first to affift him. Yet, Lays he, had Timon miftook him, or overlooked that circumstance, and fent to me, I fhould not have denied, &c. STEEVENS. Had be mistook him means, had he by mistake thought him under lefs obligations than me, and fent to me accordingly. HEATH. I think with Mr. Steevens that bim relates to Timon, and that miftook bim is a reflective participle. MALONE. s-deny'd bis occafion to many talents.] i. e. a certain number of talents, fuch a number as he might happen to want. This paffage, as well as a former, (see n. 3,) fhews that the text below is not corrupt. MALONE. 6- with fo many talents.] Such again is the reading with which the old copy fupplies us. Probably the exact number of the talents wanted was not exprefsly fet down by Shakspeare. If this was the cafe, the player who reprefented the character fpoke of the firft number that was uppermoft in his mind; and the printer, who copied from the playhouse books, put down an indefinite for the definite sum, which remained unfpecified. The modern editors read again in this inftance, fifty talents. Perhaps the fervant brought a note with him which he tender'd to Lucullus. STEEVENS. There is, I am confident, no error. I have met with this kind of phrafeology in many books of Shakspeare's age. In Julius Cæfar we have the phrafe ufed here. Lucilius fays to his adverfary, "There is fo much that thou wilt kill me ftraight." MALONE. |