Read Titus Andronicus & Timon of Athens Online
Authors: William Shakespeare
Exit
running scene 13
Enter Timon in the woods
With a spade
TIMON
O blessèd
breeding
sun,
draw from the earth
1
Rotten humidity: below thy
sister’s orb
2
Infect the air. Twinned brothers of one womb,
Whose procreation,
residence
4
, and birth,
Scarce is
dividant
,
touch
them with
several
5
fortunes,
The greater scorns the lesser.
Not nature,
6
To whom all sores lay siege, can bear great fortune
But by contempt of nature.
Raise me
9
this beggar, and deny’t that lord,
The senators shall
bear contempt hereditary,
10
The beggar
native honour.
11
It is the
pasture
lards
12
the beggar’s sides,
The
want
13
that makes him lean. Who dares, who dares
In
purity of manhood
14
stand upright
And say ‘This man’s a flatterer’? If one be,
So are they all, for every
grece
16
of fortune
Is
smoothed
by that below. The learnèd
pate
17
Ducks
to the
golden
fool. All’s
oblique:
18
There’s nothing
level
19
in our cursèd natures
But
direct
20
villainy. Therefore be abhorred
All feasts, societies, and throngs of men!
His
semblable
22
, yea, himself, Timon disdains.
Digs
Destruction
fang
23
mankind. Earth, yield me roots.
Who seeks for better
of
thee,
sauce
24
his palate
With thy most
operant
25
poison! What is here?
Discovers gold
Gold? Yellow, glittering, precious gold?
No, gods, I am no idle
votarist:
27
Roots, you
clear
heavens. Thus much of
this
28
will make
Black white, foul fair, wrong right,
Base noble, old young, coward valiant.
Ha, you gods! Why this? What this, you gods? Why, this
Will
lug
32
your priests and servants from your sides,
Pluck stout men’s pillows from below their heads:
This yellow slave
Will
knit
35
and break religions, bless th’accursed,
Make the
hoar
leprosy adored,
place
36
thieves
And give them title,
knee
37
and approbation
With senators on the bench. This is it
That makes the
wappened
39
widow wed again;
She whom the
spittle house
40
and ulcerous sores
Would
cast the gorge at
,
this
embalms and spices
41
To
th’April day
42
again. Come, damnèd earth,
Thou
common whore
of mankind, that puts
odds
43
Among the
rout
44
of nations, I will make thee
March afar off
Ha? A drum? Thou’rt
quick,
45
Buries the gold
Keeps some of the gold
Nay, stay thou out
for earnest.
48
Enter Alcibiades with
Drum and Fife
in warlike manner, and Phrynia and Timandra
ALCIBIADES
What art thou there? Speak.
TIMON
A beast, as thou art. The
canker
50
gnaw thy heart
For showing me again the eyes of man!
ALCIBIADES
What is thy name? Is man so hateful to thee
That art thyself a man?
TIMON
I am
Misanthropos
54
, and hate mankind.
For thy part, I do wish thou wert a dog,
That I might love thee
something.
56
ALCIBIADES
I know thee well,
But in thy fortunes am unlearned and
strange.
58
TIMON
I know thee too, and more than that I know thee
I not desire to know. Follow thy drum,
With man’s blood paint the ground
gules
61
, gules.
Religious
canons
62
, civil laws are cruel:
Then what should war be? This
fell
63
whore of thine
Hath in her more destruction than thy sword,
For all her
cherubin look.
65
PHRYNIA
Thy
lips rot off!
66
TIMON
I will not kiss thee, then the rot returns
To thine own lips again.
ALCIBIADES
How came the noble Timon to this change?
TIMON
As the moon does, by
wanting
70
light to give.
But then
renew
71
I could not like the moon:
There were no suns to borrow of.
ALCIBIADES
Noble Timon, what friendship may I do thee?
TIMON
None, but to maintain my opinion.
ALCIBIADES
What is it, Timon?
TIMON
Promise me friendship, but perform none: if thou
wilt not promise, the gods plague thee, for thou art a man. If
thou dost perform, confound thee, for thou art a man.
ALCIBIADES
I have heard
in some sort
79
of thy miseries.
TIMON
Thou saw’st them when I had prosperity.
ALCIBIADES
I see them now: then was a blessèd time.
TIMON
As thine is now, held with a
brace
82
of harlots.
TIMANDRA
Is this th’Athenian
minion
83
whom the world
TIMON
Art thou Timandra?
TIMANDRA
Yes.
TIMON
Be a whore still. They love thee not that
use
87
thee:
Give them diseases, leaving with thee their lust.
Make use of thy
salt
hours:
season
89
the slaves
For
tubs and baths
90
, bring down rose-cheeked youth
To the
tub-fast
91
and the diet.
TIMANDRA
Hang thee, monster!
ALCIBIADES
Pardon him, sweet Timandra, for his wits
Are drowned and lost in his calamities.
I have but little gold
of late
95
, brave Timon,
The want
whereof
96
doth daily make revolt
In my
penurious
band
97
. I have heard and grieved
How cursèd Athens,
mindless
98
of thy worth,
Forgetting thy great deeds, when neighbour states,
But
for thy sword and fortune
trod
100
upon them—
TIMON
I prithee beat thy drum and get thee gone.
ALCIBIADES
I am thy friend, and pity thee, dear Timon.
TIMON
How dost thou pity him whom thou dost trouble?
I had rather be alone.
ALCIBIADES
Why, fare thee well:
Here is some gold for thee.
TIMON
Keep it, I cannot eat it.
ALCIBIADES
When I have laid proud Athens
on a heap
108
—
TIMON
Warr’st thou gainst Athens?
ALCIBIADES
Ay, Timon, and have cause.
TIMON
The gods confound them all in thy conquest,
And thee after, when thou hast conquerèd!
ALCIBIADES
Why me, Timon?
TIMON
That by killing of villains
Thou wast born to conquer my country.
Put
up
116
thy gold. Go on, here’s gold, go on.
Be as a
planetary plague
when
Jove
117
Will
o’er some
high-viced
118
city hang his poison
In the
sick
air. Let not thy sword
skip
119
one.
Pity not honoured age for his white beard:
He is an usurer.
Strike me
the
counterfeit matron:
121
It is her
habit
122
only that is honest,
Herself’s a bawd. Let not the virgin’s cheek
Make soft thy
trenchant
sword, for those
milk-paps
124
That through the
window-bars
125
bore at men’s eyes,
Are not within the
leaf of pity
126
writ,
But
set
127
them down horrible traitors. Spare not the babe
Whose dimpled smiles from fools
exhaust
128
their mercy;
Think it a bastard whom the oracle
Hath
doubtfully
pronounced
the throat shall cut,
130
And
mince
it
sans
remorse. Swear against
objects,
131
Put armour on thine ears and on thine eyes
Whose
proof
133
nor yells of mothers, maids, nor babes,
Nor sight of priests in holy vestments bleeding,
Shall pierce a jot. There’s gold to pay thy soldiers:
Offers gold
Make large
confusion
136
, and, thy fury spent,
Confounded be thyself. Speak not, be gone.
ALCIBIADES
Hast thou gold yet? I’ll take the gold thou givest me,
Takes gold
Not all thy
counsel.
139
TIMON
Dost thou or dost thou not
140
, heaven’s curse upon thee!
PHRYNIA
and
TIMANDRA
Give us some gold, good Timon. Hast thou more?
TIMON
Enough to make a whore
forswear
142
her trade,
And to
make whores, a bawd
143
. Hold up, you sluts,
Throws gold into their aprons
Your aprons
mountant.
144
You are not
oathable,
144
Although I know you’ll swear, terribly swear
Into strong shudders and to heavenly
agues
146
Th’immortal gods that hear you. Spare your oaths:
I’ll trust to your
conditions
148
. Be whores still,
And he whose pious breath seeks to convert you,
Be strong in
whore
, allure him,
burn him up:
150
Let your
close fire
predominate
his
smoke,
151
And
be no turncoats
. Yet may
your pains six months
152
Be quite contrary, and thatch your poor
thin roofs
153
With
burdens of
154
the dead — some that were hanged,
No matter. Wear them, betray with them, whore still,
Paint
till a horse may
mire upon
156
your face.
A
pox
157
of wrinkles!
PHRYNIA
and
TIMANDRA
Well, more gold: what then?
Believe’t that we’ll
do
159
anything for gold.
TIMON
Consumptions
160
sow
In hollow bones of man, strike their
sharp
161
shins,
And
mar
men’s
spurring
162
. Crack the lawyer’s voice,
That he may never more false
title
163
plead,
Nor sound his
quillets
shrilly.
Hoar
the
flamen
164
That
scolds against the quality of flesh,
165
And not believes himself.
Down with the nose,
166
Down with it flat: take the bridge quite away
Of him that,
his particular to foresee,
168
Smells from the general weal
. Make
curled-pate
169
ruffians bald,
And let the unscarred
braggarts
170
of the war
Derive some pain from you. Plague all,
That your
activity
172
may defeat and quell
The source of all
erection
173
. There’s more gold.
Do you damn others, and let this damn you,
And ditches
grave
175
you all!
PHRYNIA
and
TIMANDRA
More counsel with more money, bounteous Timon.
TIMON
More whore, more mischief first: I have given you
earnest.
177
ALCIBIADES
Strike up the drum towards Athens!— Farewell, Timon:
If I thrive well, I’ll visit thee again.
TIMON
If I hope well, I’ll never see thee more.
ALCIBIADES
I never did thee harm.
TIMON
Yes, thou spok’st well of me.
ALCIBIADES
Call’st thou that harm?
TIMON
Men daily find
it
184
. Get thee away, and take
Thy
beagles
185
with thee.
ALCIBIADES
We but offend him.
Strike!
186