the falling-from of his friends, drove him
into this melancholy.

Sec. Ban. It is noised he hath a mass of
treasure.

Third Ban. Let us make the assay upon him:

if he care not for 't, he will supply us easily;
if he covetously reserve it, how shall's get
it?

Sec. Ban. True, for he bears it not about him; 420 'tis hid.

First Ban. Is not this he?

Banditti. Where?

Sec. Ban. 'Tis his description.
Third Ban. He; I know him.
Banditti. Save thee, Timon.
Tim. Now, thieves?

Banditti. Soldiers, not thieves.

Tim. Both too; and women's sons.

Banditti. We are not thieves, but men that

much do want.

430

Tim. Your greatest want is, you want much of

meat.

Why should you want? Behold, the earth

hath roots;

Within this mile break forth a hundred springs;
The oaks bear mast, the briars scarlet hips;

The bounteous housewife, nature, on each bush 431. "meat"; Theobald, "meet" (i. e. "what you ought to be"); Hanmer, "men"; Steevens conj. "me," etc.-I. G.

432-436. "Behold, the earth hath roots," etc.; cp. Hall's Satires, III, 1 (pub. 1598):

"Time was that, whiles the autumn full did last,

Our hungry sires gap'd for the falling mast,” etc.—I. G.

Lays her full mess before you. Want! why

want?

First Ban. We cannot live on grass, on berries, water,

As beasts and birds and fishes.

Tim. Nor on the beasts themselves, the birds and fishes;

You must eat men. Yet thanks I must you con
That you are thieves profess'd, that you work

not

441

In holier shapes: for there is boundless theft
In limited professions. Rascal thieves,
Here's gold. Go, suck the subtle blood o' the
grape,

Till the high fever seethe your blood to froth,
And so 'scape hanging: trust not the physician;
His antidotes are poison, and he slays

Moe than you rob: take wealth and lives to-
gether;

Do villainy, do, since you protest to do 't,
Like workmen. I'll example you with thiev-

ery:

450

The sun's a thief, and with his great attraction
Robs the vast sea: the moon 's an arrant thief,

434. "mast"; a term for the edible fruit of forest trees, usually applied to the beech-nut.-C. H. H.

436. "mess"; portion of food.-C. H. H.

440. "thanks I must you con"; I must be thankful to you for it.— C. H. H.

449. "villainy"; Rowe's correction of Ff. 1, 2, "villaine."-I. G.

452. "moon"; Theobald, "mounds"; Capell, "earth"; Tollet conj. "main."-I. G.

The moon is called the moist star in Hamlet, and the Poet in the last scene of The Tempest has shown that he was acquainted with her influence on the tides. The watery beams of the moon are

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 composture stol'n
From general excrement: each thing's a thief:
The laws, your curb and whip, in their rough
power

Have uncheck'd theft. Love not yourselves;
away,

Rob one another. There's more gold. Cut

throats:
All that you meet are thieves: to Athens go,
Break open shops; nothing can you steal,
But thieves do lose it: steal not less for this

460

I give you; and gold confound you howsoe❜er!

Amen.

Third Ban. Has almost charmed me from my profession by persuading me to it.

First Ban. "Tis in the malice of mankind that
he thus advises us; not to have us thrive in
our mystery.

Sec. Ban. I'll believe him as an enemy, and
give over my trade.
First Ban. Let us first see peace in Athens:
there is no time so miserable but a man may
be true.

470

[Exeunt Banditti.

Enter Flavius.

Flav. O you gods!

spoken of in Romeo and Juliet. The sea is therefore said to resolve her into salt tears, in allusion to the flow of the tides, and perhaps of her influence upon the weather, which she is said to govern.— H. N. H.

Is yon despised and ruinous man my lord?
Full of decay and failing? O monument
And wonder of good deeds evilly bestow'd!
What an alteration of honor
Has desperate want made!

479

What viler thing upon the earth than friends
Who can bring noblest minds to basest ends!
How rarely 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
Those that would mischief me than those that
do!

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!

Tim. Away! what art thou?

Flav.

Have you forgot me, sir?

Tim. Why dost ask that? I have forgot all men; Then, if thou grant'st thou 'rt a man, I have forgot thee.

Flav. An honest poor servant of yours.

Tim. Then I know thee not:

I never had honest man about me, I; all

491

I kept were knaves, to serve in meat to villains.

Flav. The gods are witness,

Ne'er did poor steward wear a truer grief

For his undone lord than mine eyes for you.

483. "wish'd"; that is, desired. "Friends" and "enemies" here mean those who profess friendship and profess enmity. The proverb "Defend me from my friends, and from my enemics I will defend myself," is a sufficient comment on this passage.-H. N. H.

Tim. What, dost thou weep? come nearer; then I

love thee,

Because thou art a woman, and disclaim'st 500
Flinty mankind, whose eyes do never give
But thorough lust and laughter. Pity's sleep-
ing:

Strange times, that weep with laughing, not
with weeping!

Flav. I beg of you to know me, good my lord,
To accept my grief, and whilst this poor wealth

lasts

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 mild.
Let me behold thy face. Surely this man 510
Was born of woman.

Forgive my general and exceptless rashness,
You perpetual-sober gods! I do proclaim
One honest man-mistake me not-but one;
No more, I pray, and he's a steward.

How fain would I have hated all mankind!
And thou redeem'st thyself: but all, save thee,
I fell with curses.

509. "dangerous nature mild"; Thirlby conj.; Ff., "wild"; Becket conj. “nature dangerous-wild”; Jackson conj. “delorous nature wild.” -I. G.

The old copy reads, “It almost turns my dangerous nature wild.” The emendation is Warburton's. Timon's dangerous nature is his savage wildness, a species of frenzy induced by the baseness and ingratitude of the world. It would be idle to talk of turning a "dangerous nature wild"; the kindness and fidelity of Timon's steward was more likely to soften and compose him; and he does indeed show himself more mild and gentle to Flavius in consequence, being moved by the tears of his affectionate servant.-H. N. H.