Timon of Athens

Shakespeare, William

• Publisher: pubOne.info
• Year: 2010
• eBook ISBN: 9782819912941
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Classics
• Index: Literature

pubOne.info thank you for your continued support and wish to present you this new edition. [Enter Poet, Painter, Jeweller, Merchant, and Others, at severa

SCENE III. Woods and Caves near the Sea-shore.

[Enter TIMON from the Cave.]

TIMON.
O blessed breeding sun! draw from the earth
Rotten humidity; below thy sister's orb
Infect the air! Twinn'd brothers of one womb,
Whose procreation, residence and birth,
Scarce is dividant, touch them with several fortunes;
The greater scorns the lesser: not nature,
To whom all sores lay siege, can bear great fortune,
But by contempt of nature.
Raise me this beggar, and deny't that lord;
The senator shall bear contempt hereditary,
The beggar native honour.
It is the pasture lards the rother's sides,
The want that makes him lean. Who dares, who dares,
In purity of manhood stand upright,
And say, 'This man's a flatterer'? if one be,
So are they all; for every grize of fortune
Is smooth'd by that below: the learned pate
Ducks to the golden fool: all is oblique;
There's nothing level in our cursed natures
But direct villainy. Therefore, be abhorr'd
All feasts, societies, and throngs of men!
His semblable, yea, himself, Timon disdains:
Destruction fang mankind! Earth, yield me roots!

[Digging.]

Who seeks for better of thee, sauce his palate
With thy most operant poison! What is here?
Gold! yellow, glittering, precious gold! No, gods,
I am no idle votarist. Roots, you clear heavens!
Thus much of this 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 your priests and servants from your sides,
Pluck stout men's pillows from below their head:
This yellow slave
Will knit and break religions; bless the accurs'd,
Make the hoar leprosy ador'd; place thieves,
And give them title, knee, and approbation,
With senators on the bench; this is it
That makes the wappen'd widow wed again;
She, whom the spital-house and ulcerous sores
Would cast the gorge at, this embalms and spices
To the April day again. Come, damned earth,
Thou common whore of mankind, that putt'st odds
Among the rout of nations, I will make thee
Do thy right nature. - [March afar off.]
Ha! a drum? thou'rt quick,
But yet I'll bury thee: thou'lt go, strong thief,
When gouty keepers of thee cannot stand:
Nay, stay thou out for earnest.

[Keeping some gold.]

[Enter ALCIBIADES, with drum and fife, in warlike
manner; PHRYNIA and TIMANDRA.]

ALCIBIADES.
What art thou there? speak.

TIMON.
A beast, as thou art. The canker 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, and hate mankind.
For thy part, I do wish thou wert a dog,
That I might love thee something.

ALCIBIADES.
I know thee well,
But in thy fortunes am unlearn'd and strange.

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, gules;
Religious canons, civil laws are cruel;
Then what should war be? This fell whore of thine
Hath in her more destruction than thy sword
For all her cherubin look.

PHRYNIA.
Thy lips rot off!

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 light to give:
But then renew 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 man! If thou dost
perform, confound thee, for thou art a man!

ALCIBIADES.
I have heard in some sort of thy miseries.

TIMON.
Thou saw'st them when I had prosperity.

ALCIBIADES.
I see them now; then was a blessed time.

TIMON.
As thine is now, held with a brace of harlots.

TIMANDRA.
Is this the Athenian minion whom the world
Voic'd so regardfully?

TIMON.
Art thou Timandra?

TIMANDRA.
Yes.

TIMON.
Be a whore still; they love thee not that use thee;
Give them diseases, leaving with thee their lust.
Make use of thy salt hours; season the slaves
For tubs and baths; bring down rose-cheeked youth
To the tub - fast and the diet.

TIMANDRA.
Hang thee, monster!

ALCIBIADES.
Pardon him, sweet Timandra, for his wits
Are drown'd and lost in his calamities.
I have...

Table of contents

• Act I.
• Scene I. - Athens. A Hall in TIMON'S House
• Scene II. - The Same. A room of state in TIMON'S House.
• Act II.
• Scene I. Athens. A Room in a SENATOR'S House.
• Scene II. The same. A Hall in TIMON'S House.
• Act III.
• Scene I. Athens. A Room in LUCULLUS' House.
• Scene II. A Public Place.
• Scene III. The Same. A Room in SEMPRONIUS' House.
• Scene IV. A hall in TIMON'S House.
• Scene V. The Same. The Senate House. The Senate Sitting.
• Scene VI. A room of State in TIMON'S House.
• Act IV.
• Scene I. Without the walls of Athens
• Scene II. Athens. A Room in TIMON's House.
• SCENE III. Woods and Caves near the Sea-shore.
• Act V.
• Scene I. The woods. Before TIMON's Cave.
• Scene II. Before the walls of Athens.
• Scene III. The Woods. TIMON's cave, and a rude tomb seen.
• Scene IV. Before the walls of Athens
• Copyright