3 Serv. Yet do our nearts wear Timon's | All feasts, societies, and throngs of men! livery, That see I by our faces; we are fellows still, Serving alike in sorrow: Leak'd is our bark; And we, poor mates, stand on the dying deck, Hearing the surges threat: we must all part Into this sea of air. Flav. Good fellows all, The latest of my wealth I'll share amongst you. Wherever we shall meet, for Timon's sake, Let's yet be fellows; let's shake our heads, and say, As 'twere a knell unto our master's fortunes, We have seen better days. Let each take some; [Giving them money; Nay, put out all your hands. Not one word more: Thus part we rich in sorrow, parting poor, [Exeunt SERVANTS. O, the fierce wretchedness that glory brings us! [empt, Who would not wish to be from wealth exSince riches point to misery and contempt? Who'd be so mock'd with glory? or to live But in a dream of friendship? [pounds, To have his pomp, and all what state comBut only painted, like his varnish'd friends? Poor honest lord, brought low by his own heart; Undone by goodness! Strange, unusual blood,† When man's worst sin is, he does too much good! Who then dares to be half so kind again? men. My dearest lord,-bless'd, to be most accurs'd, He's flung in rage from this ungrateful seat SCENE III.-The Woods. Enter TIMON. [Exit. His semblable, yea, himself, Timon disdains! Destruction fang* mankind'-Earth, yield me [Digging. Who seeks for better of thee, sauce his palate With thy most operant poison! What is here. Gold? yellow, glittering, precious gold? No gods, [vens'. roots! I am no idle votarist. Roots, you clear hea. Thus much of this, will make black white; foul, fair; Wrong, right; base, noble; old, young; coward, valiant. Ha, you gods! why this? What this, you Make the hoar leprosy ador'd; place thieves, To the April day again.§ Come, damned earth, Thou common whore of mankind, that put'st odds to thee, That art thyself a man? Tim. O blessed breeding sun, draw from the For thy part, I do wish thou wert a dog, Tim. I am misanthropos, and hate mankind. earth Rotten humidity; below thy sister's orb The greater scorns the lesser: Not nature, [fortune, Raise me this beggar, and denude that lord; The senator shall bear contempt hereditary, The beggar native honour. It is the pasture lards the brother's sides, In purity of manhood stand upright, That I might love thee something. Alcib. I know thee well; But in thy fortunes am unlearn'd and strange. Tim. I know thee too; and more, than that I know thee, I not desire to know. Follow thy drum; With man's blood paint the ground, gules gules: Religious canons, civil laws are cruel; Then what should war be? This fell whore of thine Hath in her more destruction than thy sword, For all her cherubin look. ! For thou'rt a man! Alcib. I have heard in some sort of thy miseries. Tim. Thou saw'st them, when I had prosperity. Alcib. I see them now; then was a blessed time. Tim. As thine is now, held with a brace of harlots. Timan. Is this the Athenian minion, whom the world Voic'd so regardfully? Tim. Art thou Timandra? Tim. Be a whore still! they love thee not, that use thee; [lust. Give them diseases, leaving with thee their Make use of thy salt hours: season the slaves For tubs, and baths; bring down rose-cheeked To the tub-fast, and the diet.* [youth Timan. Hang thee, monster! Alcib. Pardon him, sweet Timandra; for his wits Are drown'd and lost in his calamities.- How cursed Athens, mindless of thy worth, Alcib. I am thy friend, and pity thee, dear Timon. Tim. How dost thou pity him, whom thou dost trouble? I had rather be alone. Alcib. Why, fare thee well: Here's some gold for thee. Tim. Keep't, I cannot eat it. That through the window-bars bore at men' Are not within the leaf of pity writ, [eyes, Set them down horrible traitors: Spare not the babe, [mercy; Whose dimpled smiles from fools exhaust their Think it a bastard,* whom the oracle Hath doubtfully propounc'd thy throat shall cut, [objects;+ And mince it sans remorse: Swear against Put armour on thine ears, and on thine eyes; Whose proof, nor yells of mothers, maids, nor babes, Nor sight of priests in holy vestments bleeding, Shall pierce a jot. There's gold to pay thy soldiers; Make large confusion: and, thy fury spent, Tim. Dost thou, or dost thou not, heaven's curse upon thee! Phr. & Timan. Give us some gold, good Timon: Hast thou more? Tim. Enough to make a whore forswear her trade, [sluts, And to make whores, a bawd. Hold up, you Your aprons mountant: You are not oathable,Although, I know, you'll swear, terribly swear, Into strong shudders, and to heavenly agues, The immortal gods that hear you,-spare your oaths, I'll trust to your conditions: Be whores still; And he whose pious breath seeks to convert you, Be strong in whore, allure him, burn him up; Let your close fire predominate his smoke, And be no turncoats: Yet may your pains, six months, [roofs Be quite contrary: And thatch your poor thin With burdens of the dead;-some that were hang'd, No matter: wear them, betray with them: whore still; Paint till a horse may mire upon your face: A pox of wrinkles! Phr. & Timan. Well, more gold;-What then? Believ't, that we'll do any thing for gold. Tim. Consumptions sow [shins, In hollow bones of man; strike their sharp And mar men's spurring. Crack the lawyer' voice, Alcib. When I have laid proud Athens on a That he may never more false title plead, heap, Tim. Warr'st thou 'gainst Athens? Alcib. Ay, Timon, and have cause. Nor sound his quillets|| shrilly: hoar the flamen Tim. The gods confound them all i'thy con- Down with it flat; take the bridge quite away quest; and Thee after, when thou hast conquer'd' Alcib. Why me, Timon? Tim. That, By killing villains, thou wast born to conquer My country. [on; Put up thy gold; Go on,-here's gold,-go Be as a planetary plague, when Jove Will o'er some high-vic'd city hang his poison In the sick air: Let not thy sword skip one; Pity not honour'd age for his white beard, He's a usurer: Strike me the counterfeit It is her habit only that is honest, [matron; Herself's a bawd: Let not the virgin's cheek Make soft thy trenchant sword; for those milk-paps, Aliuding to the cure of the lues venerea then in practice. + Cutting. Of him, that his particular to foresee, pate ruffians bald; And let the unscarr'd braggarts of the war Do you damn others, and let this damn you, Phr. & Timan. More counsel with more money, bounteous Timon. Tim. More whore, more mischief first; I have given you earnest. * An allusion to the tale of Oedipus. + Without pity. I. e. Against objects of charity and compassion. Vocations || Subtilties. Entomb Alcib. Strike up the drum towards Athens. Farewell, Timon; If I thrive well, I'll visit thee again. Tim. If I hope well, I'll never see thee more. Tim. Yes, thou spok'st well of me. Tim. Men daily find it such. Get thee away, [Drum beats. Exeunt ALCIBIADES, PHRYNIA, and TIMANDRA. Tim. That nature, being sick of man's unkindness, Should yet be hungry!-Common mother, thou, [Digging. Whose womb unmeasureable, and infinite breast,* Teems, and feeds all; whose self-same mettle, Whereof thy proud child, arrogant man, is puff'd, Engenders the black toad, and adder blue, The gilded newt, and eyeless venom'd worm,t With all the abhorred births below crisp‡ hea[shine; ven Whereon Hyperion's quickening fire doth Teem with new monsters, whom thy upward Enter APEMANTUS. More man? Plague! plague! Apem. I was directed hither: Men report, Thou dost affect my manners, and dost use them. Tim. 'Tis then, because thou dost not keep a dog [thee! Whom I would imitate: Consumption catch Apem. This is in thee a nature but affected; A poor unmanly melancholy, sprung [place? From change of fortune. Why this spade? this This slave-like habit? and these looks of care? Thy flatterers yet wear silk, drink wine, lie soft, Hug their diseas'd perfumes, and have forgot And let his very breath, whom thou'lt observe, strain, Tim. Were I like thee, I'd throw away my self. Apem. Thou hast cast away thyself, being like thyself; A madman so long, now a fool: What, think'st That the bleak air, thy boisterous chamberlain, Will put thy shirt on warm? Will these moss'd trees, That have outliv'd the eagle, page thy heels, And skip when thou point'st out? Will the cold brook, Candied with ice, caudle thy morning taste, Tim. A fool of thee: Depart. Apem. I love thee better now than e'er I did. Tim. I hate thee worse. Apem. Why? Tim. Thou flatter'st misery. Apem. I flatter not; but say, thou art a cai tiff. Tim. Why dost thou seek me out? Tim. Always a villain's office, or a fool's. Tim. What! a knave too? Apem. If thou didst put this sour cold habit on To castigate thy pride, 'twere well: but thou Dost it enforcedly; thou'dst courtier be again Wert thou not beggar. Willing misery Outlives incertain pomp, is crown'd before:* The one is filling still, never complete; [less, The other, at high wish: Best state, contentHath a distracted and most wretched being, Worse than the worst, content. Thou should'st desire to die, being miserable. Tim. Not by his breath,t that is more mise rable. Thou art a slave, whom Fortune's tender arm The sweet degrees that this brief world affords In general riot; meited down thy youth of men At duty, more than I could frame employment; They never flatter'd thee: What hast thou I. e. Arrives sooner at the completion cf its wishes + By his voice, sentence. From infancy. The cold admonitions of cautious prudence. Poor rogue hereditary. Herce! be gone!- No prodigal. Tim. I, that I am one now; Were all the wealth I have, shut up in thee, I'd give thee leave to hang it. Get thee gone.That the whole life of Athens were in this! Thus would I eat it. [Eating a root. Apem. Here; I will mend thy feast. [Offering him something. Tim. First mend my company, take away thyself. Apem. So I shall mend mine own, by the lack of thine. Tim. 'Tis not well mended so, it is but botch'd; If not, I would it were. Apem. What would'st thou have to Athens? Tim. Thee thither in a whirlwind. If thou wilt, Tell them there I have gold; look, so I have. For here it sleeps, and does no hired harm. Apem. Where my stomach finds meat; or, rather, where I eat it. Tim. 'Would poison were obedient, and knew my mind! Apem. Where would'st thou send it? Apem. The middle of humanity thou never knewest, but the extremity of both ends: When thou wast in thy gilt, and thy perfume, they mocked thee for too much curiosity; in thy rags thou knowest none, but art despised for the contrary. There's a medlar for thee, eat it. Tim. On what I hate, I feed not. Apem. Dost hate a medlar? Tim. Ay, though it look like thee. Apem. An thou had'st hated medlers sooner, thou should'st have loved thyself better now. What man didst thou ever know unthrift, that was beloved after his means? Tim. Who, without those means thou talkest of, didst thou ever know beloved? Apem. Myself. Tim. I understand thee; thou hadst some means to keep a dog. Apem. What things in the world canst thou nearest compare to thy flatterers? Tim. Women nearest; but men, men are the things themselves. What would'st thou do with the world, Apemantus, if it lay in thy power? Apem. Give it the beasts, to be rid of the men. Tim. Would'st thou have thyself fall in the confusion of men, and remain a beast with the beasts? Apem. Ay, Timon. Tim. A beastly ambition, which the gods grant thee to attain to! If thou wert the lion, the fox would beguile thee: if thou wert the lamb, the fox would eat thee: if thou wert the fox, the lion would suspect thee, when, peradventure, thou wert accused by the ass: if thou wert the ass, thy dulness would torment thee: and still thou livedst but as a breakfast to the wolf: if thou wert the wolf, thy greediness For too much finical delicacy. would afflict thee, and oft thou shouldst hazard thy life for thy dinner: wert thou the unicorn, pride and wrath would confound thee, and make thine own self the conquest of thy fury: wert thou a bear thou would'st be killed by the horse; wert thou a horse, thou would'st be seized by the leopard; wert thou a leopard, thou wert german to the lion, and the spots of thy kindred were jurors on thy life: all thy safety were remotion; and thy defence, ab. sence. What beast could'st thou be, that were not subject to a beast? and what a beast art thou already, that seest not thy loss in transformation? Apem. If thou could'st please me with speaking to me, thou might'st have hit upon it here: The commonwealth of Athens is become a forest of beasts. Tim. How has the ass broke the wall, that thou art out of the city? Apem. Yonder comes a poet, and a painter: The plague of company light upon thee! Į will fear to catch it, and give way: When I know not what else to do, I'll see thee again. Tim. When there is nothing living but thee, thou shalt be welcome. I had rather be a beggar's dog, than Apemantus. Apem. Thou art the capt of all the fools alive. Tim. 'Would thou wert clean enough to spit Apem. Toad! Tim. Rogue, rogue, rogue! [APEMANTUS retreats backward, as going. I am sick of this false world; and will love nought But even the mere necessities upon it. [Looking on the gold. "Twixt natural son and sire! thou bright defiler Of Hymen's purest bed! thou valiant Mars! Thou ever young, fresh, lov'd, and delicate wooer, Apem. 'Would 'twere sc, Thou wilt be throng'd to shortly. All that you meet are thieves: To Athens, go, But not till I am dead!-I'll say, thou hast gold: Break open shops; nothing can you steal, But thieves do lose it: Steal not less, for this I give you; and gold confound you howsoever! Amen. [TIMON retires to his Cave. 3 Thief. He has almost charmed me from my profession, by persuading me to it. Tim. Throng'd to? Apem. Ay. Tim. Thy back, I pr'ythee. Apem. Live, and love thy misery! Tim. Long live so, and so die!-I am quit.[Exit APEMANTUS. More things like men ?-Eat, Timon, and abhor them. 1 Thief. Tis in the malice of mankind, that he thus advises us; not to have us thrive in our mystery. 2 Thief. I'll believe him as an enemy, and give over my trade. 1 Thief. Let us first see peace in Athens: There is no time so miserable, but a man may [Exeunt THIEVES. be true. Enter FLAVIUS. Flav. O you gods! Is yon despis'd and ruinous man my lord? Full of decay and failing? O monument And wonder of good deeds evilly bestow'd! What an alteration of honour has Desperate want made! 1 Thief. We cannot live on grass, on berries, I As beasts, and birds, and fishes. [water, Tim. Nor on the beasts themselves, the birds, and fishes; [con, You must eat men. Yet thanks I must you That you are thieves profess'd; that you work not In holier shapes: for there is boundless theft In limited professions. Rascal thieves, Here's gold: Go, suck the subtle blood of the grape, Till the high fever seeth your blood to froth, Do villany, do, since you profess to do't, The sun's a thief, and with his great attraction Robs the vast sea: the moon's an arrant thief, And her pale fire she snatches from the sun: The sea's a thief, whose liquid surge resolves The moon into salt tears: the earth's a thief, That feeds and breeds by a composturet stolen From general excrement; each thing's a thief; The laws, your curb and whip, in their rough [away; Have uncheck'd theft. Love not yourselves: Rob one another. There's more gold: Cut power Who can bring noblest minds to basest ends! What viler thing upon the earth, than friends, How rarelyt does it meet with this time's guise, When man was wish'd to love his enemies: Grant, I may ever love, and rather woo [do! Those that would mischief me, than those that He has caught me in his eye: I will present My honest grief unto him; and, as my lord, Still serve him with my life. My dearest master! TIMON comes forward from his Care. Tim. Away! what art thou? men; Then, if thou grant'st thou'rt man, I have forgot thee. Flav. An honest poor servant of yours. know thee not: I ne'er had honest man About me, I; all that I kept were knaves, To serve in meat to villains. Ne'er did poor steward wear a truer grief Because thou art a woman, and disclaim'st Flav. I beg of you to know me, good my lord, [lasts, To accept my grief, and whilst this poor wealth To entertain me as your steward still. Tim. Had I a steward so true, so just, and [now So comfortable? It almost turns My dangerous nature wild. Let me behold Thy face.-Surely, this man was born of wo man. Forgive my general and exceptless rashness, |