Read Titus Andronicus & Timon of Athens Online
Authors: William Shakespeare
Enter Timon from his cave
Unobserved by the others
Aside
TIMON
Excellent workman, thou canst not paint a
man so bad as is thyself.
POET
I am thinking what I shall say I have provided for
him: it must be a
personating of himself
32
, a satire against the
softness of prosperity, with a
discovery
33
of the infinite
flatteries that follow youth and
opulency.
34
Aside
TIMON
Must thou needs
stand for
35
a villain in thine
own work? Wilt thou
whip
36
thine own faults in other men?
Do so, I have gold for thee.
POET
Nay, let’s seek him:
Then do we sin against our own estate,
39
When we may profit meet and come too late.
PAINTER
True:
When the day
serves
42
, before black-cornered night,
Find what thou want’st by free and offered light. Come.
Aside
TIMON
I’ll
meet you at the turn
44
. What a god’s gold,
That he is worshipped in a baser temple
Than where swine feed!
’Tis
thou
that
rigg’st the bark
47
and plough’st the foam,
Settlest
48
admirèd reverence in a slave:
To thee be worship, and
thy saints
for
aye
49
Be crowned with plagues that thee alone obey.
Comes forward
Fit
51
I meet them.
POET
Hail, worthy Timon!
PAINTER
Our
late
53
noble master!
TIMON
Have I
once
54
lived to see two honest men?
POET
Sir,
Having often of your
open
56
bounty tasted,
Hearing you were
retired
57
, your friends fall’n off,
Whose thankless natures — O abhorrèd spirits! —
Not all the whips of heaven are large enough:
What, to you,
Whose star-like nobleness gave life and
influence
61
To their whole being? I am
rapt
62
and cannot cover
The monstrous bulk of this ingratitude
With any
size
64
of words.
TIMON
Let it go naked, men may see’t the better:
You that are honest, by being what you are,
Make
them
67
best seen and known.
PAINTER
He and myself
Have travelled in the great
shower
69
of your gifts,
And sweetly felt it.
TIMON
Ay, you are honest men.
PAINTER
We are hither come to offer you our service.
TIMON
Most honest men. Why, how shall I requite you?
Can you eat roots and drink cold water? No.
BOTH
What we can do we’ll do to do you service.
TIMON
You’re honest men. You’ve heard that I have gold,
I am sure you have. Speak truth: you’re honest men.
PAINTER
So it is said, my noble lord, but
therefore
78
Came not my friend nor I.
TIMON
Good honest men.— Thou draw’st a
counterfeit
80
To Painter
Best in all Athens. Thou’rt, indeed, the best:
Thou counterfeit’st most
lively.
82
PAINTER
So, so
83
, my lord.
To Poet
TIMON
E’en so
, sir, as I say.— And for thy
fiction,
84
Why, thy verse swells with stuff so fine and
smooth
85
That
thou art even natural in thine art.
86
But, for all this, my honest-natured friends,
I must needs say you have a little fault:
Marry, ’tis not
monstrous
89
in you, neither wish I
You take much pains to mend.
BOTH
Beseech your honour
To make it known to us.
TIMON
You’ll take it
ill.
93
BOTH
Most thankfully, my lord.
TIMON
Will you indeed?
BOTH
Doubt it not, worthy lord.
TIMON
There’s
never a one of you but
97
trusts a knave
That mightily deceives you.
BOTH
Do we, my lord?
TIMON
Ay, and you hear him
cog
, see him
dissemble,
100
Know his gross
patchery,
101
love him, feed him,
Keep
in your
bosom:
102
yet remain assured
That he’s a
made-up
103
villain.
PAINTER
I know none such, my lord.
POET
Nor I.
TIMON
Look you, I love you well. I’ll give you gold,
Rid me these villains from your companies:
Hang them or stab them, drown them in a
draught,
108
Confound
them by some
course
109
, and come to me,
I’ll give you gold enough.
BOTH
Name them, my lord, let’s know them.
TIMON
You that way—and you this—but two in company:
112
Each man apart, all single and alone,
Yet an arch-villain keeps him company.
If where
thou art two villains shall not be,
115
Come not near
him
116
. If thou wouldst not reside
But where one villain is, then him abandon.
Throws stones at them
Hence,
pack!
118
There’s gold: you came for gold, ye slaves.
To Painter
You have work for me; there’s payment. Hence!
To Poet
You are an
alchemist
120
, make gold of that.
Out, rascal dogs!
Exeunt
[
Poet and Painter
]
Timon retires to
his cave
Enter Steward and two Senators
FLAVIUS
It is in vain that you would speak with Timon,
For he is
set so only to himself
123
That nothing but himself which looks like man
Is friendly with him.
FIRST SENATOR
Bring us to his cave:
It is our
part
127
and promise to th’Athenians
To speak with Timon.
SECOND SENATOR
At all times alike
Men are not
still
130
the same: ’twas time and griefs
That
framed
him thus: time with his
fairer
131
hand,
Offering the fortunes of his former days,
The former man may make him. Bring us to him,
133
FLAVIUS
Here is his cave.—
Peace and content be here! Lord Timon, Timon,
Look out and speak to friends: th’Athenians
By two of their most reverend senate greet thee.
Speak to them, noble Timon.
Enter Timon out of his cave
TIMON
Thou sun that comforts burn! Speak and be hanged,
For each true word a blister, and each false
Be as a
cantherizing
142
to the root o’th’tongue,
Consuming it with speaking!
FIRST SENATOR
Worthy Timon—
TIMON
Of none but such as you, and you of Timon.
145
FIRST SENATOR
The senators of Athens greet thee, Timon.
TIMON
I thank them, and would send them back the plague
Could I but catch it for them.
FIRST SENATOR
O, forget
What we are sorry for ourselves in thee.
150
The senators with
one consent
151
of love
Entreat thee back to Athens, who have thought
On special
dignities
153
which vacant lie
For thy best use and
wearing.
154
SECOND SENATOR
They confess
Toward thee forgetfulness too
general gross;
156
Which now the public body, which doth seldom
Play the
recanter
158
, feeling in itself
A lack of Timon’s aid, hath sense
withal
159
Of it own fall,
restraining
160
aid to Timon,
And send forth us to make their
sorrowed
render,
161
Together with a recompense more fruitful
Than their offence can
weigh down by the
dram:
163
Ay, even such heaps and sums of love and wealth
As shall to thee blot out what wrongs were theirs
And
write in thee
166
the figures of their love,
Ever to read them thine.
TIMON
You
witch
168
me in it,
Surprise
169
me to the very brink of tears;
Lend me a fool’s heart and a woman’s eyes,
And I’ll
beweep
171
these comforts, worthy senators.
FIRST SENATOR
Therefore so please thee to return with us
And of our Athens, thine and ours, to take
The captainship, thou shalt be met with thanks,
Allowed
175
with absolute power and thy good name
Live with authority: so soon we shall drive back
Of Alcibiades th’approaches wild,
177
Who, like a boar too savage, doth root up
His country’s peace.
SECOND SENATOR
And shakes his threat’ning sword
Against the walls of Athens.
FIRST SENATOR
Therefore, Timon—
TIMON
Well, sir, I will: therefore, I will, sir, thus.
If Alcibiades kill my countrymen,
Let Alcibiades know this of Timon:
That Timon cares not. But if he
sack
186
fair Athens,
And take our goodly agèd men by th’beards,
Giving our holy virgins to the
stain
188
Of
contumelious
189
, beastly, mad-brained war,
Then let him know, and tell him Timon speaks it,
In pity of our agèd and our youth,
I cannot choose but tell him that I care not.
And let him
take’t at worst
193
, for their knives care not
While you have throats to
answer
194
. For myself,
There’s not a
whittle
195
in th’unruly camp
But I do
prize it at my love before
196
The reverend’st throat in Athens. So I leave you
To the protection of the prosperous gods,
As thieves to
keepers.
199
FLAVIUS
Stay not, all’s in vain.
TIMON
Why, I was writing of my epitaph:
It will be seen tomorrow. My long sickness
Of health and living now begins to mend,
And
nothing
204
brings me all things. Go, live still,
Be Alcibiades your plague, you his,
FIRST SENATOR
We speak in vain.
TIMON
But yet I love my country, and am not
One that rejoices in the common wreck
As common
bruit
210
doth put it.
FIRST SENATOR
That’s well spoke.
TIMON
Commend me to my loving countrymen—
FIRST SENATOR
These words
become
213
your lips as they pass
through them.
SECOND SENATOR
And enter in our ears like great
triumphers
215
In their applauding gates.
TIMON
Commend me to them,
And tell them that to ease them of their griefs,
Their fears of hostile strokes, their aches, losses,
Their pangs of love, with other incident
throes
220
That
nature’s fragile vessel
221
doth sustain
In life’s uncertain voyage, I will some kindness do them:
I’ll teach them to prevent wild Alcibiades’ wrath.