Yield him, who all thy human fons do's hate, Go great with tygers, dragons, wolves and bears, Never prefented O, a root dear thanks! Enter Apemantus. More man? plague, plague! Apem. I was directed hither. Men report 4 From change of fortune. Why this fpade? this place? 2 Enfear 3 marrows, veins, and 4 woods, ... old edit. Warb. emend. That That thou turn rafcal: hadft thou wealth again, Apem. Thou'aft caft away thy felf, being like thy felf, Answer meer nature; bid them flatter thee; Tim. A fool of thee; depart. Apem. I love thee better now than e'er I did. Apem. Only to vex thee.` Tim. Always a villain's office, or a fool's. Doft please thy felf in't? Арет, Ау. Tim. What a knave thou! Apem. If thou didft put this fowre cold habit on Wert thou not beggar. Willing mifery 9 'Out-ftrips incertain pomp, is crown'd 'before it : The one is filling ftill, never compleat; The other, at high with: Beft ftates, contentless, Worfe 8 too! Worfe than the worst, content. Thou shouldft defire to die, being miferable. Tim. Not by his breath, that is more miferable. Freely command; thou wouldst have plung'd thy felf The mouths, the tongues, the eyes, the hearts of men 3 4 Do on the oak; yet with one winter's brush That never knew but better, is fome burthen. Thy nature did commence in suff'rance, time Hath made thee hard in't. Why fhould'ft thou hate men? Apem. Art thou proud yet? Tim. Ay, that I am not thee. Were all the wealth I have fhut up in thee, 2 but bred 3 have 4 and Thus Thus would I eat it. a [Eating a root. Apem. What wouldst thou have to Athens? Tim. Thee thither in a whirlwind; if thou wilt, Tell them there I have gold; look, fo I have. Apem. Here is no ufe for gold. Tim. The best and trueft: For here it fleeps, and does no hired harm. Where feed'ft thou a-days, Apemantus? Apem. Where My ftomach finds meat, 'rather where I eat it. knew my mind! Tim. Would poifon were obedient, Apem. Where wouldst thou ? 'fend it then?` Apem. The middle of humanity thou never kneweft, but the extremity of both ends. When thou waft in thy gilt, and thy perfume, they mockt thee, for too much /courtesy; in thy rags thou knoweft none, but art defpis'd for the contrary. What things in the world canst thou nearest compare to thy flatterers? (a) Thus would I eat it. Apem. Here will I mend thy feaft. Tim. First mend my company, take away thy felf. If not, I would it were. (b) Apem. What wouldst thou, &c. the contrary. There's a medlar for thee, eat it. Tim. On what I hate, I feed not. Apem. Doft hate a medlar? Tim. Ay, though it look like thee. Tim. Apem. An th' hadft hated medlars fooner, thou fhouldst have loved thy felf better now. What man didft thou ever know unthrift, that was beloved after his means? Tim. Who without those means thou talk'ft of, didft thou ever know beloved? Apem. My felf. Tim. I understand thee, thou hadft fome means to keep a dog. Apem. What things, &c. 5 or rather 6 and knew 7 fend it? 8 curiofity; Tim. Women nearest; but men, men are the things themselves. What wouldst thou do with the world, Apemantus, if it lay in thy power ? Apem. Give it the beafts, to be rid of the men. Tim. Wouldst thou have thy felf fall in the confufion of men, 'and remain a beaft with the beafts? Apem. Ay, Timon. Tim. A beaftly ambition, which the Gods grant thee t'attain to! If thou wert a lion, the fox would beguile thee; if thou wert the lamb, the fox would eat thee; if thou wert the fox, the lion would fufpect thee, when peradventure thou wert accus'd by the afs; if thou wert the afs, thy dulnefs would torment thee; and still ''thou’dst live but as a breakfast to the wolf. If thou wert the wolf, thy greedinefs would afflict thee; and oft thou fhouldft hazard thy life for thy dinner. Wert thou the unicorn, pride and wrath would confound thee, and make thine own felf the conqueft of thy fury. a Wert thou a bear, thou wouldst be kill'd by the horfe; wert thou a horfe, thou wouldst be feized by the leopard; wert thou a leopard, thou wert german to the lion, and the fpots of thy kindred were jurors on thy life. All thy fafety were remotion, and thy defence abfence. What beaft couldft thou be, that were not fubject to a beaft? and what a beaft art thou already, and feeft not thy lofs in transfor mation! Apem. If thou couldst please me with speaking to me, thou might'ft have hit upon it here. The commonwealth of Athens is become a foreft of beafts. Tim. How has the afs broke the wall, that thou art out of the city? Apem. Thou art the cap of all the fools alive. Tim. (a) The account given of the Unicorn is this: that he and the Lion being enemies by nature, as foon as the Lion fees the Unicorn he be takes himself to a tree: The Unicorn in his fury and with all the fwiftness of bis courfe running at him flicks bis horn faft in the tree, and then the Lior falls upon him and kills him. Gefner Hift. Animal. |