rest of your foes, O Gods, the fenators of Athens, togė. ther with the common lag of people, what is amiss in them, you Gods, make fuitable for deftruction. For thefe my friends—as they are to me nothing, fo in nothing bless them, and to nothing are they welcome. Uncover-Dogs, and lap.

[The difbes uncovered are full of warm water. Some Speak. What does his Lordship mean? Some other. I know not.

Tim. May you a better feast never behold, You knot of mouth friends. Smoke, and lukewarm

water

Is your perfection. This is Timon's laft.

Who ftuck and fpangled you with flatteries,
Wafhes it off, and fprinkles in your faces

[Throwing water in their faces. Your reeking villany. Live loath'd, and long, Moft fmiling, fmooth, detefted Parafites,

Courteous Destroyers, affable Wolves, meek Bears, You Fools of fortune, Trencher-friends,

Time-flies, Cap and knee Slaves, Vapors, and 7 Minute-jacks; Of man and beaft the * infinite malady Cruft you quite o'er!-What, doft Thou go? Soft, take thy phyfick firft-Thou too-and ThouStay, I will lend thee money, borrow none. What! all in motion? henceforth be no feast, Whereat a villain's not a welcome guest. Burn Houfe, fink Athens, henceforth hated be Of Timon, man, and all humanity!

4 Is your perfection.-] Perfellion, for exact or perfect likenefs. WARBURTON. Your perfin, is the higheft of your excellence. 5-and pangled YOU WITH flatteries,] We fhould certainly read,

and pangled WITH YOUR flatteries. WARB. The prefent reading is right.

[Exit.

6 Time-flies.] Flies of a feafon. 7-minute-jacks ;] Hanmer thinks it means Jack a lantern, which fhines and disappears in an inflant. What it was I know not; but it was fomething of quick motion, mentioned in Richard III.

-the infinite malady] Every kind of difeafe incident to man and beaft.

Re

Re-enter the Senators.

I Sen. How now, my Lords?

2 Sen. Know you the quality of Lord Timon's fury! 3 Sen. Pifh! did you fee my cap?

4 Sen. I've loft my gown.

1 Sen. He's but a mad Lord, and nought but humour sways him. He gave me a jewel the other day, and now he has beat it out of my cap. Did you fee my jewel?

2 Sen. Did you fee my cap

3

Sen. Here 'tis.

4 Sen. Here lies my gown. 1 Sen. Let's make no ftay.

2 Sen. Lord Timon's mad.

3

Sen. I feel't upon my bones.

4 Sen. One day he gives us diamonds, next day

ftones.

[Exeunt.

'ACT IV.

SCENE I.

Without the Walls of Athens.

Enter TIMO N.

ET me look back upon thee, O thou Wall,

L'

That girdleft in those wolves! dive in the earth, And fence not Athens! Matrons, turn incontinent; Obedience fail in children; flaves and fools Pluck the grave wrinkled Senate from the bench, And minifter in their fteads; to general filth

Convert o'th' inftant, green Virginity!

A 4.] The incidents of are taken from the Timon of Lualmost all the following fcenes cian.

Q3

WARBURTON.

Do't

Do't in your parents' eyes. Bankrupts, hold faft;
Rather than render back, out with your knives,
And cut your trufters' throats. Bound fervants, fteal;
Large handed robbers your grave mafters are,
And pill by law. Maid, to thy master's bed;
Thy mistress is i'th' brothel. Son of fixteen,
Pluck the lin'd crutch from thy old limping fire,
With it beat out his brains. Fear and Piety,
Religion to the Gods, peace, juftice, truth,
Domeftick awe, night reft, and neighbourhood,
Inftruction, manners, myfteries and trades,
Degrees, obfervances, customs and laws,
Decline to your confounding contraries!
And yet confufion live!-Plagues, incident to men,
Your potent and infectious fevers heap

On Athens, ripe for ftroke! Thou cold Sciatica,
Cripple our fenators, that their limbs may halt
As lamely as their manners. Luft and Liberty
Creep in the minds and marrows of our youth,
That 'gainst the stream of virtue they may strive,
And drown themselves in riot! Itches, Blains,
Sow all the Athenian bofoms, and their Crop
Be general Leprofy. Breath infect breath,
That their fociety, as their friendship, may
Be meerly poifon. Nothing I'll bear from thee,
But nakednefs, thou deteftable town!

Take thou that too, with multiplying banns.
Timon will to the Woods, where he hall find
Th' unkindeft beaft much kinder than mankind.
The Gods confound (hear me, ye good Gods all)
Th' Athenians both within and out that wall;
And grant, as Timon grows, his hate may grow,
To the whole Race of Mankind, high and low! [Exit.

9th brothel.] So Hanmer. The 1 copies read, o'th brothel.

-yet confufion-] Hanmer reads, let confufion; but the meaning may be, though by fuch

confufion all things feem to haften to diffolution, yet let not diffolution come, but the miferies of confu fion continue.

SCENE

1 Serv.

Changes to TIMON's House.

Enter Flavius, with two or three fervants.

HEAR

you, good master steward. Where's our master?

Are we undone, caft off, nothing remaining?

Flav. Alack, my fellows, what fhould I fay to you? Let me be recorded by the righteous Gods,

I am as poor as you.

1 Serv. Such a House broke!

So noble a master fall'n! all gone! and not
One friend to take his fortune by the arm,
And go along with him?

2 Serv. As we do turn our backs

From our companion, thrown into his grave,
So his familiars from his buried fortunes
Slink all away; leave their falfe vows with him,
Like empty purses pick'd: and his poor felf,
A dedicated beggar to the air,

With his disease of all fhun'd poverty,

Walks, like Contempt, alone.-More of our fellows.

Enter other fervants.

Flav. All broken implements of a ruin'd houfe! 3 Serv. Yet do our hearts wear Timon's livery, That fee I by our faces; we are fellows still,

Serving alike in forrow.
And we poor mates, ftand
Hearing the furges threat;
Into the fea of air.

• Enter Flavius,] Nothing contributes more to the exaltation of Timon's character than the zeal and fidelity of his fervants. Nothing but real virtue can be honoured by domesticks; no

Leak'd is our bark,
on the dying deck,
we must all part

Q4

thing but impartial kindness can gain affection from dependants.

2 from his buried fortunes] The old copies have to inftead of from. The correction is Hanmer's.

Flav.

Flav. Good fellows all,

The latest of my wealth I'll fhare amongst you.
Where-ever we shall meet, for Timon's fake,
Let's yet be fellows; let's fhake our heads, and fay,
As 'twere a knell unto our mafter's fortunes,

We have feen better days. Let each take some;

[Giving them money. -Nay put out all your hands-not one word more. Thus part we rich in forrow, parting poor.

[They embrace, and part several ways.
Oh, the fierce wretchednefs that glory brings us!
Who would not wish to be from wealth exempt
Since riches point to mifery and contempt?
Who'd be fo mock'd with glory, as to live
But in a dream of friendship,'

To have his Pomp, and all what State compounds,
But only painted, like his varnish'd friends?
Poor honeft Lord! brought low by his own heart,
Undone by goodness; 3 ftrange unusual blood,
When man's worft fin is, he does too much good.
Who then dares to be half fo kind again?

For bounty, that makes Gods, does still mar men.
My deareft Lord, bleft to be most accurs'd,
Rich only to be wretched; thy great fortunes
Are made thy chief afflictions. Alas, kind Lord!
He's flung in rage from this ungrateful Seat

Of monstrous friends;

Nor has he with him to fupply his life,
Or that which can command it.

I'll follow and enquire him out;

I'll ever ferve his mind with my best will;

Whilft I have gold, I'll be his Steward ftill. [Exit.

3 frange unufual blood,] introduction. I know not what Of this paffage, I fuppofe, every to propose. Perhaps, reader would wish for a correction; but the word, harfh as it is, ftands fortified by the rhyme, to which, perhaps, it owes its

may,

ter,

-frange unufual mood, by fome, be thought bet and by others worse.

SCENE