Apem. Of nothing so much, as that I am not like Ere we depart, we'll share a bounteous time Timon.

608

themselves. Why, I have often wished myself poorer, [ that I might come nearer to you. We are born to do benents: and what better or properer can we call our own than the riches of our friends? O, what a precious comfort 'tis, to have so many like brothers, commanding one another's fortunes! O joy, e'en made away ere it can be born! Mine eyes cannot hold out water, methinks; to forget their faults, I drink to you.

Apem. Thou weepest to make them drink, Timon. 2 Lord. Joy had the like conception in our eyes, And, at that instant, like a babe sprung up.

Apem. Ho, ho! I laugh to think that babe a bastard.
3 Lord. I promise you, my lord, you mov'd me much.
[Tucket sounded.
Apem. Much.
Tim. What means that trump?-How now?

Enter a Servant.

Serv. Please you, my lord, there are certain ladies most desirous of admittance.

Tim. Ladies? What are their wills?
Serv. There comes with them a forerunner, my lord,
which bears that office, to signity their pleasures.
Tim. I pray, let them be admitted.

Enter Cupid.

Cup. Hail to thee, worthy Timon ;-and to all That of his bounties taste!-The five best senses Acknowledge thee their patron; and come freely To congratulate thy plenteous bosom: The ear, Taste, touch, smell, all pleas'd from thy table rise; They only now come but to feast thine eyes.

Tim. They are welcome all; let them have kind admittance,

Music, make their welcome.

[Exit Cupid. 1 Lord. You see, my lord,how ample you are belov'd. Music.

Re-enter Cupid, with a masque of Ladies, as Amazons, with lute in their hands, dancing, and playing.

Apem. Hey day, what a sweep of vanity comes this
They dance they are mad women.
[way!
Like madness is the glory of this life,
As this pomp shews to a little oil, and root.
We make ourselves fools, to disport ourselves;
And spend our flatteries, to drink those men,
Upon whose age we void it up again,
With poisonous spite, and envy. Who lives, that's not
Depraved, or depraves? who dies, that bears
Not one spurn to their graves of their friends' gift?
I should fear, those, that dance before me now,
Would one day stamp upon me: It has been done:
Men shut their doors against a setting sun.

The Lords rise from table, with much adoring of TIMON;
and, to shew their loves, each singles out an Amazon,
and all dance, men with women, a lofty strain or two
to the hautboys, and cease.

Tim. You have done our pleasures much grace, fair
Set a fair fashion on our entertainment, [ladies,
Which was not half so beautiful and kind;
You have added worth unto't, and lively lustre,
And entertain'd me with mine own device;
I am to thank you for it.

1 Lady. My lord, you take us even at the best. Apem. 'Faith, for the worst is filthy; and would not hold taking, I doubt me.

Tim. Ladies, there is an idle banquet Attends you: Please you to dispose yourselves. All Lad. Most thankfully, my lord.

Tim. Flavius,

[Exeunt Cupid, and Ladies

Flav. My lord.
Tim.

[Aside.

The little casket bring me hither.
Flav. Yes, my lord.-More jewels yet!
There is no crossing him in his humour;
Else I should tell him,-Well,-i'faith, I should,
When all's spent, he'd be cross'd then, an he could.
'Tis pity, bounty had not eyes behind;
That man might ne'er be wretched for his mind.
[Erit, and returns with the casket.

1 Lord. Where be our men?
Serv. Here, my lord, in readiness.
2 Lord. Our horses.
Tim.

O my friends, I have one word
To say to you;-Look you, my good lord, I must
Entreat you, honour me so much, as to
Advance this jewel;

Accept it, and wear it, kind my lord.

1 Lord. I am so far already in your gifts,—
All. So are we all.

Enter a Servant.

Serv. My lord, there are certain nobles of the senate Newly alighted, and come to visit you.

Tim. They are fairly welcome.

Flav.
I beseech your honour,
Vouchsafe me a word; it does concern you near.
Tim. Near; why then another time I'll hear thee:
I pr'ythee, let us be provided
To shew them entertainment.
Flav.

I scarce know how. [Asude.

Enter another Servant.

2 Serv. May it please your honour, the lord Lucius, Out of his free love, hath presented to you Four milk-white horses, trapp'd in silver.

Tim. I shall accept them fairly. let the presents

Enter a third Servant.

Be worthily entertain'd.-How now, what news?

3 Serv. Please you, my lord, that honourable gentleman, lord Lucullus, entreats your company tomorrow to hunt with him; and has sent your honour two brace of greyhounds.

Tim. I'll hunt with him; and let them be receiv'd, Not without fair reward.

Flav. [Aside.]

What will this come to?
He commands us to provide, and give great gifts,
And all out of an empty coffer.-

Nor will he know his purse; or yield me this,
To shew him what a beggar his heart is,
Being of no power to make his wishes good;
His promises fly so beyond his state,
That what he speaks is all in debt, he owes
For every word; he is so kind, that he now

Pays interest for't; his lands put to their books.
Well, 'would I were gently put out of office,
Before I were forc'd out!

Happier is he that has no friend to feed,
Than such as do even enemies exceed.
I bleed inwardly for my lord.

Tim.

[Exit. You do yourselves Much wrong, you bate too much of your own merits: Here, my lord, a trifle of our love.

2 Lord. With more than common thanks I will re3 Lord. O, he is the very soul of bounty! [ceive it. Tim. And now I remember me, my lord, you gave Good words the other day of a bay courser I rode on it is yours, because you lik'd it! 2 Lord. I beseech you, pardon me, my lord, in that. Tim. You may take my word, iny lord; I know

I weigh my friend's affection with mine own;
I'll tell you true. I'll call on you.

friends,

None so welcome.
All Lords.
Tim. I take all and your several visitations
So kind to heart, 'tis not enough to give;
Methinks, I could deal kingdoms to my
And ne'er be weary.- Alcibiades,
Thou art a soldier, therefore seldom rich,
It comes in charity to thee: for all thy living
Is 'mongst the dead; and all the lands thou hast
L'e in a pitch'd field.
Alcib.

Ay, defiled land,

1 Lord. We are so virtuously bound,Tim.

Am I to you.

2 Lord.

1 Lord.

So infinitely endear’d

my

Commend me to your master—and the cap

Plays in the right hand thus:—but tell him, sirrah,
My uses cry to me, I must serve my turn
Out of mine own; his days and times are past,
And my reliances on his fracted dates

Have smit my credit: I love, and honour him;
But must not break my back, to heal his finger :
Immediate are my needs; and my relief
Must not be toss'd and turn'd to me in words,
But find supply immediate. Get you gone:
Put on a most importunate aspect,
A visage of demand; for, I do fear,
When every feather sticks in his own wing,
And so Lord Timon will be left a naked gull,
Which flashes now a phoenix. Get you gone.
Caph. I go, sir.

lord.

Tim. All to you.-Lights, more lights.
The best of happiness,
Honour, and fortunes, keep with you, lord Timon!
Tim. Ready for his friends.
[Exeunt ALCIBIADES, Lords, &c.
What a coil's here!
Apem.
Serving of becks, and jutting out of bums!
I doubt whether their legs be worth the sums
That are given for 'em. Friendship's full of dregs:
Methinks, false hearts should never have sound legs.
Thus honest fools lay out their wealth on court'sies.
Tim. Now, Apemantus, if thou wert not sullen
I'd be good to thee.

Apem.

No, I'll nothing for

If I should be brib'd too, there would be none left
To rail upon thee; and then thou would'st sin the
Thou giv'st so long, Timon, I fear me, thou [faster.
Wilt give away thyself in paper shortly:
What need these feasts, pomps, and vain glories?

Tim.

An you begin to rail on society once,

I am sworn, not to give regard to you.
Farewell; and come with better music.

Apem. So;

Nay,

Sen. I go, sir?-take the bonds along with you,
And have the dates in compt.
I will, sir.
Caph.
Sen.

SCENE II.-The same.

Go. [Ex.

A Hall in Timon's House

Enter FLAVIUS, with many bills in his hand.
Flav. No care, no stop! so senseless of expense,
That he will neither know how to maintain it,
Nor cease his flow of riot: Takes no account
How things go from him; nor resumes no care
Of what is to continue; Never mind
Was to be so unwise, to be so kind.

What shall be done? He will not hear, till feel:
I must be round with him, now he comes from hunt-
[ing.

[Exit.

Is't not your business too?
Caph. It is ;-and yours too, Isidore?
Isid. Serv.

It is so.

[lock

I fear it.

Thou'lt not hear me now,-thou shalt not then, I'll
Thy heaven from thee. O, that men's ears should be
To counsel deaf, but not to flattery!

ACT II.

[Exit.

SCENEI-The same. A Room in a Senator's House.

Enter a Senator, with papers in his hand.

Sen. And late, five thousand to Varro; and to
Isidore

He owes nine thousand; besides my former sum,
Which makes it five and twenty.-Still in motion
Of raging waste? It cannot hold; it will not.
If I want gold, steal but a beggar's dog,
And give it Timon, why, the dog coins gold:
If I would sell my horse, and buy twenty more
Better than he, why, give my horse to Timon,
Ask nothing, give it him, it foals me, straight,
And able horses: No porter at his gate;
But rather one that smiles, and still invites
All that pass by. It cannot hold; no reason
Can found his state in safety. Caphis, ho!
Caphis, I say!

Caph. 'Would we were all discharg'd!
Var. Serv.

Caph. Here comes the lord.

Enter TIMON, ALCIBIADES, and Lords, &c.
Tim. So soon as dinner's done, we'll forth again,
What's
My Alcibiades. With me;
will?
your
Caph. My lord, here is a note of certain dues.
Tim. Dues? whence are you
Caph.

?

Of Athens here, my lord.

Tim Go to my steward.
Caph. Please it your lordship, he hath put me off
To the succession of new days this month:

My master is awak'd by great occasion,
To call upon his own: and humbly prays you,
That with your other noble parts you'll suit,
In giving him his right.

Tim.

Mine honest friend,

I pr'ythee, but repair to me next morning.
Caph. Nay, good my lord,-

Tim.

Contain thyself, good friend.
Var. Serv. One Varro's servant, my good lord,—
From Isidore;
Isid. Serv.

He humbly prays your speedy payment,-
Caph. If you did know, my lord, my master's

wants,

Var. Serv. 'Twas due on forfeiture, my lord, six
And past,
| weeks
Isid. Serv. Your steward puts me off, my lord;
And I am sent expressly to your lordship.
Tim. Give me breath:

I do beseech you, good my lords, keep on ;
[Exeunt ALCIBIADES and Lords
2 Q

Enter APEMANTUS and a Fool.

Caph. Stay, stay, here comes the fool with Ape-
mantus; let's have some sport with 'em.
Var. Serv. Hang him, he'll abuse us.
Isid. Serv. A plague upon him, dog!
Var. Serv. How dost, fool?

Apem. Dost dialogue with thy shadow?
Var. Serv. I speak not to thee.
Apem. No; 'tis to thyself.-Come away.
[To the Fool.
Isid. Serv. [To VAR. Serv.] There's the fool hangs
on your back already.

Apem. No, thou stand'st single, thou art not on Caph. Where's the fool now? [him yet. Apem. He last asked the question.-Poor rogues and usurers' men! bawds between gold and want! All Serv. What are we, Apemantus ? Apem. Asses.

All Serv. Why?

Enter Page.

Fool. Look you, here comes my mistress' page. Page. [To the Fool.] Why, how now, captain? what do you in this wise company? How dost thou, Apemantus?

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

Page. Pr'ythee, Apemantus, read me the super-
scription of these letters; I know not which is which.
Apem. Canst not read?
Page. No.

Apem. There wili little learning die then, that day hou art hanged. This is to lord Timon; this to Alcibiades. Go; thou wast born a bastard, and thou'lt die a bawd.

Page. Thou wast whelped a dog; and thou shalt famish, a dog's death. Answer not, I am gone. [Exit Page.

Apem. Even so thou out-run'st grace. Fool, I will go with you to lord Timon's. Fool. Will you leave me there?

Var. Serv. 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 esteemed.

Var. Serv. What is a whoremaster, fool?

Fool. A fool in good clothes, and something like thee. "Tis a spirit: sometime, it appears like a lord; Sometime, like a lawyer; sometime, like a philosopher, with two stones more than his artificial one: He is very often like a knight; and, generally, in all shapes, that man goes up and down in, from fourscore to thirteen, this spirit walks in.

Var. Serv. Thou art not altogether a fool.
Fool. Nor thou altogether a wise man: as much
foolery as I have, so much wit thou lackest

Apem. That answer might have become Apemantus.
All Serv. Aside, aside; here comes lord Timon.
Re-enter TIMON and FLAVIUS.

Apem. Come with me, fool, come.
and woman; sometime, the philosopher.
Fool. I do not always follow lover, elder brother,

anon.

[Exeunt APEMANTUS and Fool.
Flav. 'Pray you, walk near; I'll speak with you
[Exeunt Serv.
Tim. You make me marvel: Wherefore, ere this
Had you not fully laid my state before me; [time,
That I might so have rated my expense,
As I had leave of means?
Flav.

You would not hear me,

At many leisures I propos'd.
Tim.
Go to:
When my indisposition put you back;
Perchance, some single vantages you took,
Thus to excuse yourself.
And that unaptness made your minister,

Flav.

O my good lord!
At many times I brought in my accounts,
Laid them before you; you would throw them off,
And say, you found them in mine honesty.
When, for some trifling present, you have bid me
Return so much, I have shook my head, and wept;
Yea, 'gainst the authority of manners pray'd you
To hold your hand more close: I did endure
Not seldom, nor no slight checks; when I have
Prompted you, in the ebb of your estate,
And your great flow of debts. My dear-lov'd lɔrd,
Though you hear now, (too late!) yet now's a time,
The greatest of your having lacks a half
To pay your present debts.

Tim.

Let all my land be sold
Flur. "Tis all engag'd, some forfeited and gone;
And what remains will hardly stop the incuth
Of present dues: the future comes apace:
What shall defend the interim? and at length
How goes our reckoning?

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

Apem. If Timon stay at home.-You three serve How quickly were it gone?
hree usurers?

All Serv. Ay; 'would they served us!

Tim.
You tell me true.
Flav. If you suspect my husbandry or falsehood

Apem. So would I,-as good a trick as ever hang- Call me before the exactes auditors,
nan served thief.

Fool. Are you three usurers' men?

All Serv. Ay, fool.

And set me on the proof. So the gods bless me,
When all our offices have been oppress'd
With riotous feeders: when our vaults have wept

Fool. I think, no usurer but has a fool to his ser- With drunken spilth of wine; when every room