Tim. Now, Apemantus, if thou wert not fullen, I would 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 fin the faster.
Thou giv❜ft fo long, Timon, I fear me, thou

Wilt give away thyfelf in paper fhortly 5:

What need these feafts, pomps, and vain-glories?

Tim. Nay, an you begin to rail on fociety once, I am fworn, not to give regard to you. Farewel; and come with better mufick. Apem. So ;

[Exit.

Thou wilt not hear me now,-thou fhalt not then, I'll

lock

6

Thy heaven from thee. O, that men's ears fhould be To counsel deaf, but not to flattery!

[Exit.

A CT II.

SCENE I.

The fame. A Room in a Senator's House.

Enter a Senator, with papers in his hand.

Sen. And late, five thousand to Varro; and to Ifidore, He owes nine thousand ;-befides my former fum, Which makes it five and twenty.-Still in motion Of raging wafte? 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 fell my horfe, and buy twenty more Better than he, why, give my horfe to Timon, Afk nothing, give it him, it foals me, straight, And able horses: No porter at his gate; But rather one that fmiles 7, and ftill invites

5 i. e. be ruined by his fecurities entered into.

6 The pleasure of being flattered.

All

7 I imagine that a line is loft here, in which the behaviour of a furly

porter was defcribed. JOHNSON.

There is no occafion to fuppofe the lofs of a line. Sternness was the

characteristick

All that pafs by. It cannot hold; no reason
Can found his ftate in safety. Caphis, ho!
Caphis, I say!

Enter CAPHIS.

Caph. Here, fir; What is your pleasure ?

Sen. Get on your cloak, and hafte you to lord Timon ;
Impórtune him for my monies; be not ceas'd
With flight denial; nor then filenc'd, when-
Commend me to your master-and the cap

Plays in the right hand, thus :-but tell him, firrah,
My uses cry to me, I muft ferve my turn
Out of mine own; his days and times are paft,
And my reliances on his fracted dates

Have fmit my credit: I love, and honour him;
But must not break my back, to heal his finger;
Immediate are my needs; and my relief
Muft not be toft and turn'd to me in words,
But find fupply immediate. Get you gone:
Put on a most importunate afpéct,
A vifage of demand; for, I do fear,
When every feather sticks in his own wing,
Lord Timon will be left a naked gull,

Which flashes now a phoenix. Get you gone.

Caph. I go, fir.

Sen. I go, fir?-take the bonds along with And have the dates in compt.

Caph. I will, fir.

Sen. Go.

you,

[Exeunt.

characteristick of a porter. There appeared at Killingworth caftle,

[3575,] a porter, tall of parfon, big of lim, and fearn of coun

Binauns." FARMER.

The word one in the fecond line does not refer to porter, but means a perfon. He has no ftern forbidding porter at his gate to keep people out, but a perfon who invites them in. MASON.

si. e. ftopp'd.

9 A gull is a bird as remarkable for the poverty of its feathers, as a phoenix is fuppofed to be for the richness of its plumage.

Which flashes, &c.] Which, the pronoun relative, relating to things, is frequently used, as in this inftance, by Shakspeare, instead of wbo, the pronoun relative, applied to perfons. The ufe of the former inftead of the latter is still preferved in the Lord's prayer.

VOL. VI.

L

SCENE

SCENE II.

The fame. A Hall in Timon's House.
Enter FLAVIUS, with many bills in his hand.
Flav. No care, no ftop! fo fenfelefs of expence,
That he will neither know how to maintain it,
Nor ceafe his flow of riot: Takes no account
How things go from him; nor refumes no care
Of what is to continue; Never mind

Was to be fo unwife, to be fo kind.

What fhall be done? He will not hear, till feel:

I must be round with him, now he comes from hunting. Fye, fye, fye, fye!

Enter CAPHIS, and the fervants of Ifidore and Varro. Caph. Good even, Varro 3: What,

You come for money?

Var. Serv. Is't not your business too?
Caph. It is; And yours too, Ifidore?
Ifid. Serv. It is fo.

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

Caph. Here comes the lord.

2 i. e. Nature, in order to make a profufe mind, never before endowed any man with so large a fhare of folly. "Of this mode of expreffion, converfation affords many examples: "I was always to be blamed, whatever happened." "I am in the lottery, but I was always to draw blanks."

3 It is obfervable, that this good evening is before dinner : for Timon tells Alcibiades, that they will go forth again as foon as dinner's done, which may prove that by dinner our author meant not the caena of ancient times, but the mid-day's repast. I do not fuppofe the paffage corrupt: fuch inadvertencies neither author nor editor can escape.

There is another remark to be made. Varro and Ifidore fink a few lines afterwards into the servants of Varro and Ifidore. Whether fervants, in our author's time, took the names of their mafters, I know not. Perhaps it is a flip of negligence. JOHNSON.

Enter

Enter TIMON, ALCIBIADES, and Lords, &c.

Tim. So foon as dinner's done, we'll forth again*, My Alcibiades. With me? What is your will?

Caph. My lard, here is a note of certain dues.
Tim. Dues? Whence are you?

Caph. Of Athens here, my lord.
Tim. Go to my fteward.

Caph. Please it your lordship, he hath put me off
To the fucceffion of new days this month:
My mafter is awak'd by great occafion,
To call upon his own; and humbly prays you,
That with your other noble parts you'll fuit 5,
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 thy felf, good friend.

Var. Serv. One Varro's fervant, my good lord,

Ifid. Serv. From Ifidore;

He humbly prays your speedy payment,→→

Caph, If you did know, my lord, my mafter's wants,Var. Serv. 'Twas due on forfeiture, my lord, fix weeks,

And past.

Ifid. Ser. Your fteward puts me off, my. lord; And I am fent exprefsly to your lord hip.

Tim. Give me breath:

I do beseech you, good my lords, keep on;

[Exeunt ALCIBIADES, and Lords.

I'll wait upon you inftantly.-Come hither, pray you.

[to Flavius.

And

How goes
the world, that I am thus encounter'd,
With clamorous demands of date-broken bonds,

L 2

i. e. to hunting, from which diverfion we find by Flavius's speech he was just returned. It may be here obferved, that in our author's time it was the custom to hunt as well after dinner as before. Thus, in Laneham's Account of the Entertainment at Kenelworth Castle, we find that Queen Elizabeth always while there, hunted in the afternoon.

5 i. e. that you will behave on this occafion in a manner confiftent with your other noble qualities.

And the detention of long-fince-due debts,
Against my honour?

Flav. Pleafe you, gentlemen,

The time is unagreeable to this business:
Your importunacy cease, till after dinner;
That I may make his lordship understand
Wherefore you are not paid.

Tim. Do fo, my friends:

See them well entertain'd.

Flav. Pray draw near.

[Exit TIMON. [Exit FLAVIUS.

Enter APEMANTUS, and a Fool".

Caph. Stay, ftay, here comes the fool with Apemantus; let's have some sport with 'em.

Var. Serv. Hang him, he'll abuse us.
Ifid. Serv. A plague upon him, dog!
Var. Serv. How doft, fool?

Apem. Doft dialogue with thy fhadow?
Var. Serv. I fpeak not to thee.

Apem. No, 'tis to thyfelf.-Come away. [To the Fool.. Ifid. Serv. [to Var. Serv.] There's the fool hangs on your back already.

Apem. No, thou ftand'ft fingle, thou art not on him yet. Caph. Where's the fool now?

Apem. He laft afk'd the question.-Poor rogues, and ufurers' men! bawds between gold and want! All Serv. What are we, Apemantus?

Apem. Affes.

All Serv. Why?

Apem. That you ask me, what you are, and do not know yourselves.-Speak to 'em, fool.

Fool. How do you, gentlemen?

All Serv. Gramercies, good fool: How does your mistress?

Fool.

6 I fufpect fome fcene to be loft, in which the entrance of the fool, and the page that follows him, was prepared by fome introductory dialogue, in which the audience was informed that they were the fool and page of Phrynia, Timandra, or fome other courtefan, upon the knowledge of which depends the greater part of the ensuing jocularity.

OHNSON.