The Want that makes him leave. Who dares, who dares,
In purity of manhood stand upright,

And fay, this man's a flatterer? if one be,
So are they all, for every greeze of fortune
Is fmooth'd by that below. The learned pate
Ducks to the golden fool. All is oblique;
There's nothing level in our curfed natures,
But direct villany. Then be abhorr'd,
All feafts, focieties, and throngs of men!
His Semblable, yea, himself, Timon difdains.
Deftruction fang mankind!-Earth, yield me roots!

[Digging the earth. Who feeks for better of thee, fawce his palate

With thy moft operant poison!

What's here? Gold? yellow, glittering precious gold? No, Gods, I am no idle votarist.

Roots, you clear heav'ns!

Thus much

Of this will make black, white; fair, foul; wrong, right;

The want that makes him lean. And upon this reading, of no authority, raised another equally

uncertain.

Alterations are never to be made without neceffity. Let us fee what fenfe the genuine reading will afford. Poverty, fays the Poet, bears contempt hereditary, and wealth native honour. To illuftrate this pofition, having already mentioned the cafe of a poor and rich brother, he remarks, that this preference is given to wealth by thofe whom It leaft becomes; it is the Paftour that greafes or flatters the rich brother, and will greafe him on till want makes him leave. The Poet then goes on to afk, Who dares to Jay, this man, this Paftour, is a flatterer; the crime is univerfal; through all the world

the learned pare, with allufion to the Paftour, ducks to the golden fool. If it be objected, as it may justly be, that the mention of Paftour is unfuitable, we must remember the mention of grace and cherubims in this play, and many fuch anachronisms in many other.

I would therefore read thus: It is the Paftour lards the bro ther's fides,

'Tis want that makes him leave. The obfcurity is ftill great. Perhaps a line is loft. I have at least given the original reading. 9 for every greeze of fortune] Greeze, for step or deРОРЕ.

gree.

-no idle votarift.] No infincere or inconftant fupplicant. Gold will not ferve me instead of

roots.

Bafe

Bafe, noble; old, young; coward, valiant.

You Gods! why this? What? This you Gods! Why,

this

Will lug your priefts and fervants from your fides,
Pluck ftout mens' pillows from below their heads.
This yellow flave

Will knit and break religions; blefs th' accurs'd;
Make the hoar leprofy ador'd; place thieves,
And give them title, knee, and approbation,
With fenators on the bench; this is it,

4 That makes the wappen'd widow wed again;
She whom the fpittle-houfe, and ulcerous fores
Would caft the gorge at, this embalms and spices
To th' April day again. Come, damned earth,
Thou common whore of mankind, that putt'ft odds
Among the rout of nations, I will make thee
"Do thy right nature.-[March a far off.] Ha, a drum?
7 Thou'rt quick,

But yet I'll bury thee. Thou'lt go, ftrong thief,

2

- why, this Will lug your priefts and fer

vants from your fides :] A. riftophanes in his Plutus, A&t 5. Scene 2. makes the priest of Jupiser defert his fervice to live with WARBURTON.

Plutus.

3 Pluck out mens' pillows from below their heads.] i.e. men who have frength yet remain ing to fruggle with their diftemper. This alludes to an old cuftom of drawing away the pillow 'from under the heads of men in their la agonies, to make their departure the cafier. But the Oxford Editor, fuppofing fout to fignify healthy, alters it to fick; and this he calls emending. WARBURTON. + That makes the wappen'd widow wed again;] Waped or appen'd fignifies both forrowful

When gouty keepers of thee cannot stand.
-Nay, ftay thou out for earnest. [Keeping fome gold.

SCENE IV.

Enter Alcibiades with drum and fife in warlike manner, and Phrynia and Timandra.

Alc. What art thou there? fpeak.

Tim. A beaft as thou art. Cankers gnaw thy heart, For fhewing me again the eyes of man.

Alc. What is thy name? Is man fo hateful to thee, That art thyfelf a man?

Tim. I am Mifanthropos, and hate mankind.
For thy part, I do wish thou wert a dog,
That I might love thee fomething.

Alc. 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 defire to know. Follow thy drum,

With man's blood paint the ground. Gules! gules!
Religious Canons, civil Laws are cruel;

Then what fhould war be? this fell whore of thine
Hath in her more deftruction than thy fword,
For all her cherubin look.

Phry. Thy lips rot off.

Tim. * I will not kifs thee, then the rot returns To thine own lips again.

Alc. How came the noble Timon to this change? Tim. As the moon does, by wanting light to give; But then renew I could not, like the moon, There were no funs to borrow of.

Alc. Noble Timon, what friendship may I do thee? Tim. None, but to maintain my opinion.

Alc. What is it, Timen?

Tim. Promife me friendship, but perform none. If

• I will not kifs thee,] This alludes to an opinion in former times, generally prevalent, that the venereal infection tranfmitted

to another, left the infecter free. I will not, fays Timon, take the rot from thy lips by kiffing thee.

thou

*thou wilt not promife, the Gods plague thee, for thou art a man; if thou doft perform, confound thee, for thou art a man.

Alc. I've heard in fome fort of thy miferies. Tim. Thou faw'ft them when I had profperity. Alc. I fee them now; then was a bleffed time. Tim. As thine is now, held with a brace of harlots. Timan. Is this the Athenian minion, whom the world Voic'd fo regardfully?

Tim. Art thou Timandra?

Timan. Yes.

Tim. Be a whore ftill. They love thee not that use thee, Give them difeafes, leaving with thee their luft; Make use of thy falt hours, feafon the flaves

For tubs and baths, bring down the rofe-cheek'd youth 9 To th' Tub faft, and the diet.

Timan.

luding to the Lues Venerea, and its effects. At that time the cure of it was performed either by Guaiacum, or Mercurial Unctions: and in both cafes the patient was kept up very warm and clofe: that in the firft application the fweat might be promoted; and left, in the other, he fhould take cold, which was fatal. The regimen for the courfe of Guaiacum (ays Dr. Friend in his Hift. of Phyfick, Vol. 2. p. 380.) was at first firangely circumftantial; and fo rigorous, that the patient was put into a dungeon in order to make him fweat; and in that manner, as Fallopius expreffes it, the bones and the very man himself was macerated. Wifeman fays,in England they used a Tubfor this purpose, as abroad, a cave, or oven, or dungeon. And as for the Unction, it was fometime's continued for thirty-feven days; (as he obferves, p. 375.) and

during

Timan. Hang thee, monster!

Alc. Pardon him, fweet Timandra, for his wits Are drown'd and loft in his calamities.

-I have but little gold of late, brave Timon,
The want whereof doth daily make revolt
In my penurious band. I heard and griev'd,
How curfed Athens, mindlefs of thy worth,
Forgetting thy great deeds, when neighbour states,
But for thy fword and fortune, trod upon them-

Tim. I pry'thee, beat thy drum, and get thee gone.
Alc. I am thy friend, and pity thee, dear Timon.
Tim. How dost thou pity him, whom thou doft
trouble?

I'd rather be alone.

Alc. Why, fare thee well,

Here's gold for thee.

Tim. Keep it, I cannot eat it.

Alc. When I have laid proud Athens on a heap--
Tim. Warr'ft thou 'gainst Athens?

Alc. Ay, Timon, and have cause.

Tim. The Gods confound them all then in thy
Conqueft,

And after, thee, when thou haft conquered!

Alc. Why me, Timon?

Tim. That by killing of villains thou wast born to conquer my country.

Put up thy gold. Go on-Here's gold-Go on;
Be as a planetary plague, when Jove

Will o'er fome high-vic'd city hang his poison
In the fick air. Let not thy fword skip one,
Pity not honour'd age for his white beard,

He is an ufurer. Strike me the counterfeit matron,

during this time there was neceffarily an extraordinary abftinence required. Hence the term of the Tub faft. WARBURTON. Be as a planetary plague, achin Jove

Will o'er fome high-vic'd city hang his poifon In the fick air :-] This is wonderfully fublime and picturefque. WARBURTON.

It