Apem. He laft ask'd the question. Poor rogues, and ufurers men! bawds between gold and want!

All. What are we, Apemantus?

Atem. Affes.

All. Why?

-Apem. That you ask me what you are, and do not know your felves. Speak to 'em, fool.

Fool. How do you, gentlemen?

All. Gramercies, good fool: how does your mistress? Fool. She's e'en fetting on water to fcald fuch chickens as you are. 'Would, we could fee you at Corinth. Apem. Good! gramercy!

Enter Page.

Fool. Look you, here comes my mistress's page. Page. Why how now, captain? what do you in this wife company? how doft thou, Apemantus?

Apem. Would, I had a rod in my mouth, that I might anfwer thee profitably.

Page. Pr'ythee, Apemantus, read me the fuperfcription of these letters; I know not which is which.

Apem. Canft not read?

Page. No.

Apem. There will little learning die then, that day thou art hang'd, This is to lord Timon, this to Alcibiades. Go, thou waft born a baftard, and thou'lt die a bawd.

Page. Thou waft whelpt a dog, and thou shalt famish,

a dog's death. Answer not, I am gone,
Apem. Ev'n fo thou out-run'ft grace.
Fool, I will go with you to lord Timon's.
Fool. Will you leave me there?
Apem. If Timon ftay at home
You three ferve three ufurers?
All. I would, they ferv'd us.
Apem. So would I

man ferv'd thief.

[Exit.

-as good a trick as ever hang

Fool. Are you three ufurers men?

All, Ay, fool.

Fool. I think, no ufurer but has a fool to his fervant. My mistress is one, and I am her fools when men come

to

to borrow of your masters, they approach fadly, and go away merrily; but they enter my miftrefs's houfe merrily, and go away fadly. The reafon of this?

Var. I could render one.

Apem. Do it then, that we may account thee a whoremaster, and a knave; which notwithstanding, thou shalt be no less esteem'd.

Var. What is a whore-mafter, fool?

Fool. A fool in good clothes, and fomething like thee. 'Tis a Spirit; fometimes it appears like a lord, fometimes like a lawyer, fometimes like a philofopher, with two ftones more than's artificial one. He is very often like a knight; and generally, in all fhapes that man goes up and down in, from fourfcore to thirteen, this Spirit walks in.

Var. Thou art not altogether a fool.

Fool. Nor thou altogether a wife man; as much foolery as I have, fo much wit thou lack'ft.

Apem. That answer might have become Apemantus.
All. Afide, afide, here comes lord Timon.

Enter Timon and Flavius.

Apem. Come with me, fool, come.

Fool. I do not always follow lover, elder brother, and woman; fometime, the philofopher.

Fla. Pray you walk near, I'll fpeak with you anon. [Exeunt Creditors, Apemantus, and Fool. Tim. You make me marvel; wherefore, ere this time Had you not fully laid my state before me?

That I might fo have rated my expence,

As I had leave of means.

Fla. You would not hear me:

At many leisures I propos'd.

Tim. Go to:

Perchance, fome fingle vantages you took,
When my indifpofition put you back:

And that unaptness made

Thus to excuse your self.

Fla. O my good lord,

you minister

At many times I brought in my accounts,

Q4

Laid

Laid them before you; you would throw them off,
And fay, you found them in mine honesty. :
When, for fome trifling Prefent, you have bid me
Return fo much, I've fhook my head, and wept ;
Yea, 'gainst th' authority of manners, pray'd you
To hold your hand more clofe. I did endure
Not feldom, nor no flight, checks; when I have
Prompted you in the ebb of your eftate, i
And your great flow of debts. My dear-lov'd lord,
Though you hear now too late, yet now's a time;
The greatest of your Having lacks a half.
To pay your prefent debts.

Tim. Let all my land be fold.

Fla.. 'Tis all engag'd, Some forfeited and gone
And what remains will hardly ftop the mouth
Of prefent dues; the future comes apace:
What fhall defend the interim, and at length
How goes our reck'ning? · (14)

Tim. To Lacedæmon did my land extend.
Fla. O my good lord, the world is but a world;
Were it all yours, to give it in a breath,

How quickly were it gone!

Tim. You tell me true.

Fla. If you fufpect my husbandry or falfhood;

Call me before th' exacteft Auditors,

And fet me on the proof... So the Gods blefs me,
When all our Offices have been oppreft

With riotous feeders; when our vaults have wept

(14) How goes our Reckoning?] Mr. Warburton gave me fo ingenious a Conjecture on this Paffage, that tho' I have not ventur'd, against the Authority of all the Books, to infert it in the Text, I cannot but give it a place here. "This Steward, (fays he) methinks, talks very wildly. His Mafter, indeed, might well have ask'd, How goes our Reckoning? "But the Steward was too well fatisfied in this Question: I would read, "therefore,

"Hold good our Reckoning?"

If the Text, however, fhould be without Fault, in this manner it must be expounded. Sir, we have not enough left hardly to fatisfy prefent Demands; and others are drawing on apace: how fhall we guard against intervening Dangers, and what a deplorable Reckoning will Things come to at laft?

With drunken fpilth of wine; when every room
Hath blaz'd with lights, and bray'd with minftrelfie;
I have retir'd me to a wasteful cock,

And fet mine eyes at flow.

Tim. Pr'ythee, no more.

Fla. Heav'ns! have I faid, the bounty of this lord! How many prodigal bits have flaves and peasants This night englutted! who now is not Timon's? What heart, head, fword, force, means, but is lord Timon's? • Great Timon, noble, worthy, royal Timon's? Ah! when the means are gone, that buy this praise, The breath is gone whereof this praise is made: Feaft-won, faft-loft: one cloud of winter fhowres, These flies are coucht.

Tim. Come, fermon me po further. No villainous bounty yet hath past my Unwifely, not ignobly, have I given.

heart;

Why dost thou weep? canft thou the confcience lack,
To think I fhall lack friends? fecure thy heart;
If I would broach the veffels of my love,

And try the arguments of hearts by borrowing,
Men and men's fortunes could I frankly use,
As I can bid thee speak.

Fla. Affurance blefs your thoughts!

Tim. And in fome fort these wants of mine are crown'd, That I account them bleffings; for by these

Shall I try friends. You fhall perceive how you

Mistake my fortunes: in my friends I'm wealthy.
Within there, Ho! Flaminius, Servilius!

Enter Flaminius, Servilius, and other fervants.
Serv. My lord, my lord.

Tim. I will difpatch you fev'rally.

You to lord Luciusto lord Lucullus you, I hunted with his Honour to day-you to Sempronius-commend me to their loves; and I am proud, fay, that my occafions have found time to ufe 'em toward a fupply of mony; let the request be fifty talents.

Flam. As you have faid, my lord.

Fla. Lord Lucius and Lucullus? hum

Tim. Go, you, Sir, to the Senators;

[To Flavius.

Of whom, even to the State's best health, I have
Deferv'd this hearing; bid 'em fend o'th' instant
A thousand talents to me.

Fla. I've been bold,

(For that I knew it the most gen'ral way)
To them to use your fignet and your name;
But they do fhake their heads, and I am here
No richer in Return.

Tim. Is't true? can't be?

Fla. They answer in a joint and corporate voice,
That now they are at Fall, want Treafure, cannot
Do what they would; are forry-You are honourable-
But yet they could have wifht- -they know not-
Something hath been amissa noble nature

May catch a wrench-would all were well-'tis pity-
And fo intending other ferious matters,

After diftafteful looks, and these hard fractions,
With certain half-caps, and cold-moving nods, (15)
They froze me into filence.

Tim. You Gods reward them!
I pr'ythee, man, look cheerly. Thefe old fellows
Have their Ingratitude in them hereditary :
Their blood is cak'd, 'tis cold, it seldom flows,
'Tis lack of kindly warmth, they are not kind;
And nature, as it grows again tow'rd earth,
Is fashion'd for the journey, dull and heavy.
Go to Ventidiuspr'ythee, be not fad,
Thou'rt true, and juft; ingenuoufly I speak,
No Blame belongs to thee: Ventidius lately
Bury'd his father, by whofe death he's stepp'd
Into a great eftate; when he was poor,

(15) Cold moving Nods,] All the Editions exhibit these as two diftinct Adjectives, to the Prejudice of the Author's Meaning: but they must be join'd by an Hyphen, and make a Compound Adjective out of a Subftantive and a Participle, and then we have the true Senfe of the Place; cold-moving, cold-provoking, Nods fo difcouraging that they chill'd the very Ardour of our petition, and froze us into filence. We meet with a Compound, exactly form'd like this, in K. John, Act. 2. where Lady Conftance says; His Grandam's Wrong, and not his Mother's Shames, Draws those heav'n-moving Pearls from his poor Eyes.