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[To Poet] You are an alchemist, make gold of that:

Out, rascal dogs!

[Beats them out, and then retires into his cave.

Enter Flavius and two Senators.

Flav. It is in vain that you would speak with Timon;

For he is set so only to himself

That nothing but himself which looks like man
Is friendly with him.

First. Sen.

Bring us to his cave:
It is our part and promise to the Athenians
To speak with Timon.

Sec. Sen.

At all times alike

Men are not still the same: 'twas time and griefs
That framed him thus: time, with his fairer

hand,

Offering the fortunes of his former days,

130

The former man may make him. Bring us to him,

And chance it as it may.

Flav.

Here is his cave.

Peace and content be here! Lord Timon!

Timon!

Look out, and speak to friends: the Athenians
By two of their most reverend senate greet thee:
Speak to them, noble Timon.

Timon comes from his cave.

Malone, "You have done work"; Steevens conj. "You've work’d.”— I. G.

Tim. Thou sun, that comfort'st, burn! Speak, and be hang'd:

For each true word, a blister! and each false
Be as a cauterizing to the root o' the tongue,
Consuming it with speaking!

First Sen.

Worthy Timon,Tim. Of none but such as you, and you of Timon. First Sen. The senators of Athens greet thee,

Timon.

143

Tim. I thank them, and would send them back the

plague,

Could I but catch it for them.

First Sen.

O, forget

What we are sorry for ourselves in thee.

The senators with one consent of love

Entreat thee back to Athens; who have thought
On special dignities, which vacant lie

For thy best use and wearing.

Sec. Sen.

They confess 150 Toward thee forgetfulness too general, gross: Which now the public body, which doth seldom

Play the recanter, feeling in itself

A lack of Timon's aid, hath sense withal
Of it own fail, restraining aid to Timon;

140. "as a cauterizing"; Rowe's emendation; F. 1, "as a Cantherizing"; Ff. 2, 3, 4, "as a Catherizing"; Pope, "cauterizing"; Capell, "cancerizing."-I. G.

151. "general, gross": Pope's emendation of Ff., “generall grosse”; S. Walker conj., adopted by Dyce, “general-gross.”—I. G. 152. There is a good deal of grammatical confusion in this sentence, that might be remedied by changing which to and.-H. N. H. 155. "sense fail"; the Athenians have a sense of the danger of their own fall [fail] by the arms of Alcibiades, by their withholding aid that should have been given to Timon.-H. N. H.

And send forth us, to make their sorrowed ren-
der,

Together with a recompense more fruitful
Than their offense can weigh down by the dram;
Aye, even such heaps and sums of love and
wealth,

As shall to thee blot out what wrongs were

theirs,
And write in thee the figures of their love,
Ever to read them thine.

Tim.

You witch me in it,

Surprise me to the very brink of tears:

160

Lend me a fool's heart, and a woman's eyes, And I'll beweep these comforts, worthy senators.

First Sen. Therefore, so please thee to return with

us,

And of our Athens, thine and ours, to take
The captainship, thou shalt be met with thanks,
Allow'd with absolute power, and thy good

name

171

Live with authority: so soon we shall drive back
Of Alcibiades the approaches wild;
Who, like a boar too savage, doth root up
His country's peace.

Sec. Sen.

And shakes his threatening sword

Against the walls of Athens.

First Sen.

Therefore, Timon,

Tim. Well, sir, I will; therefore, I will, sir; thus:

If Alcibiades kill my countrymen,

Let Alcibiades know this of Timon,

That Timon cares not. But if he sack fair

Athens,

And take our goodly aged men by the beards,
Giving our holy virgins to the stain

180

Of contumelious, beastly, mad-brain'd war; Then let him know, and tell him Timon speaks it,

In pity of our aged and our youth,

I cannot choose but tell him, that I care not, 180
And let him take 't at worst; for their knives
care not,

While you have throats to answer: for myself,
There's not a whittle in the unruly camp,

But I do prize it at my love before

The reverend'st throat in Athens. So I leave
you

To the protection of the prosperous gods, 190
As thieves to keepers.

Flav.
Stay not; all's in vain.
Tim. Why, I was writing of my epitaph;
It will be seen to-morrow: my long sickness
Of health and living now begins to mend,
And nothing brings me all things. Go, live
still;

Be Alcibiades your plague, you his,

And last so long enough!

First Sen.

We speak in vain.

Tim. But yet I love my country, and am not

One that rejoices in the common wreck,

As common bruit doth put it.

First Sen.

That's well spoke.

Tim. Commend me to my loving countrymen,—

First Sen. These words become your lips as they pass thorough them.

202

Sec. Sen. And enter in our ears like great trium

phers

In their applauding gates.

Tim.

Commend me to them;
And tell them that, to ease them of their griefs,
Their fears of hostile strokes, their aches, losses,
Their pangs of love, with other incident throes
That nature's fragile vessel doth sustain
In life's uncertain voyage, I will some kindness
do them:

I'll teach them to prevent wild Alcibiades'

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wrath. First Sen. I like this well; he will return again. Tim. I have a tree, which grows here in my close, That mine own use invites me to cut down, And shortly must I fell it: tell my friends, Tell Athens, in the sequence of degree From high to low throughout, that whoso please To stop affliction, let him take his haste, Come hither ere my tree hath felt the ax, And hang himself: I pray you, do my greeting. Flav. Trouble him no further; thus you still shall find him.

Tim. Come not to me again: but say to Athens, Timon hath made his everlasting mansion

220

217. "haste"; Pope, "taste"; Warburton conj. MS., "tatch"; Collier MS., "halter."-I. G.

219. This was suggested by a passage in Plutarch's Life of Antony, where it is said Timon addressed the people of Athens in similar terms from the public tribune in the market place. See the Introduction.-H. N. H.

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