Upon the beached verge of the salt flood;
Who once a day with his embossed froth
The turbulent surge shall cover: thither come,
And let my grave-stone be your oracle.

Lips, let sour words go by and language end:
What is amiss, plague and infection mend!
Graves only be men's works, and death their
gain!

Sun, hide thy beams! Timon hath done his
reign.
[Retires to his cave.

First Sen. His discontents are unremovably

Coupled to nature.

Sec. Sen. Our hope in him is dead: let us return, And strain what other means is left unto us In our dear peril.

First Sen.

231

It requires swift foot. [Exeunt.

SCENE II

Before the walls of Athens.

Enter two Senators and a Messenger.

First Sen. Thou hast painfully discover'd: are his

files

As full as thy report?

Mess.

I have spoke the least:

Besides, his expedition promises

Present approach.

Sec. Sen. We stand much hazard, if they bring not

Timon.

Mess. I met a courier, one mine ancient friend;

Whom, though in general part we were opposed,

Yet our old love made a particular force,

And made us speak like friends: this man was riding

From Alcibiades to Timon's cave,

With letters of entreaty, which imported
His fellowship i' the cause against your city,
In part for his sake moved.

First Sen.

Here come our brothers.

Enter Senators from Timon.

10

Third Sen. No talk of Timon, nothing of him expect.

The enemies' drum is heard, and fearful scour

ing

Doth choke the air with dust: in, and prepare:
Ours is the fall, I fear, our foes the snare.

SCENE III

[Exeunt.

The woods. Timon's cave, and a rude tomb seen. Enter a Soldier, seeking Timon.

Sold. By all description this should be the place.

7. “whom,” instead of “who,” owing to confusion of constructions; Pope, "Who"; Hanmer, "And"; Singer, "When,” etc.—I. G. 8. "made a particular force"; Hanmer reads "had Staunton conj. "took

force with," etc.-I. G.

force";

truce"; Bailey conj. "had

"made"; this is perhaps an error due to the "made" in the next line. But it yields a fair sense: our old love formed a special ine fluence which neutralized our political antagonism.-C. H. H.

Who's here? speak, ho! No answer! What

is this?

Timon is dead, who hath outstretch'd his span:
Some beast read this; there does not live a man.
Dead, sure; and this his grave. What's on this
tomb

I cannot read; the character I 'll take with wax:
Our captain hath in every figure skill,
An aged interpreter, though young
Before proud Athens he's set down by this,
Whose fall the mark of his ambition is.

in days:

10

[Exit.

SCENE IV

Before the walls of Athens.

Trumpets sound. Enter Alcibiades with his powers.

Alcib. Sound to this coward and lascivious town

Our terrible approach. [A parley sounded.
Enter Senators upon the walls.

Till now you have gone on and fill'd the time
With all licentious measure, making your wills
The scope of justice; till now myself and such

3-4. These words are in all porbability the reflection of the soldier; this view is certainly more acceptable than to believe them to be a inscription placed by Timon somewhere near the tomb. Nor is it necessary, with Warburton, to change "read" into "rear'd." The soldier, seeing the tomb, infers that Timon is dead, but he cannot read the inscription; "some beast read this! there does not live a man able to do so" (v. Preface).—I. G.

7. “figure"; handwriting.-C. H. H.

As slept within the shadow of your power Have wander'd with. our traversed arms and breathed

Our sufferance vainly; now the time is flush, When crouching marrow in the bearer strong Cries of itself 'No more:' now breathless wrong Shall sit and pant in your great chairs of ease, 11 And pursy insolence shall break his wind With fear and horrid flight. First Sen.

Noble and young,

When thy first griefs were but a mere conceit,
Ere thou hadst power or we had cause of fear,
We sent to thee, to give thy rages balm,
To wipe out our ingratitude with loves
Above their quantity.

'Sec. Sen.

So did we woo

Transformed Timon to our city's love

By humble message and by promised means: 20
We were not all unkind, nor all deserve

The common stroke of war.

First Sen.

These walls of ours

Were not erected by their hands from whom
You have received your griefs: nor are they such
That these great towers, trophies and schools
should fall

For private faults in them.

Sec. Sen.

Nor are they living Who were the motives that you first went out; Shame, that they wanted cunning, in excess

18. "their"; refers to griefs.-H. N. H.

28. "Shame, that they wanted cunning, in excess"; Theobald's emendation ("extreme shame for their folly in banishing you

Hath broke their hearts.

March, noble lord,

Into our city with thy banners spread:

By decimation and a tithed death

If thy revenges hunger for that food

30

Which nature loathes-take thou the destined tenth,

And by the hazard of the spotted die

Let die the spotted.

First Sen.

All have not offended;
For those that were, it is not square to take,
On those that are, revenges: crimes, like lands,
Are not inherited. Then, dear countryman,
Bring in thy ranks, but leave without thy rage:
Spare thy Athenian cradle and those kin
Which, in the bluster of thy wrath, must fall
With those that have offended: like a shepherd
Approach the fold and cull the infected forth,
But kill not all together.

Sec. Sen.

What thou wilt,
Thou rather shalt enforce it with thy smile

Than hew to 't with thy sword.

First Sen.

40

Set but thy foot
Against our rampired gates, and they shall ope;
So thou wilt send thy gentle heart before,
To say thou 'lt enter friendly.

Sec. Sen.

Throw thy glove, Or any token of thine honor else,

That thou wilt use the wars as thy redress

50

hath broke their hearts"); F. 1 reads "(Shame that they wanted, cunning in excesse)”; Ff. 2, 3, 4, "Shame (that they wanted cunning in excesse)"; Johnson conj. “Shame that they wanted, coming in excess."-I. G.

"cunning" is used in its old sense of skill or wisdom.-H. N. H.