Titus Andronicus & Timon of Athens (25 page)

OLD MAN
    Lord Timon, hear me speak.

TIMON
    Freely, good
father.
¹²⁷

OLD MAN
    Thou hast a servant named Lucilius.

TIMON
    I have so: what of him?

OLD MAN
    Most noble Timon, call the man before thee.

TIMON
    Attends he here or no? Lucilius!

LUCILIUS
    Here, at your lordship’s service.

OLD MAN
    This fellow here, Lord Timon, this thy
creature,
¹³³

By night frequents my house. I am a man

That from my
first
have been inclined to
thrift,
¹³⁵

And my estate deserves an heir
more raised
¹³⁶

Than
one which holds a
trencher.
¹³⁷

TIMON
    Well, what further?

OLD MAN
    One only daughter have I, no kin else

On whom I may confer what I have got:

The maid is fair,
o’th’youngest for a bride,
¹⁴¹

And I have
bred
¹⁴²
her at my dearest cost

In
qualities
¹⁴³
of the best. This man of thine

Attempts
¹⁴⁴
her love: I prithee, noble lord,

Join with me to forbid him
her resort,
¹⁴⁵

Myself have spoke in vain.

TIMON
    The man is
honest.
¹⁴⁷

OLD MAN
    
Therefore he will be,
¹⁴⁸
Timon:

His honesty rewards him in itself,

It must not
bear
¹⁵⁰
my daughter.

TIMON
    Does she love him?

OLD MAN
    She is young and
apt:
¹⁵²

Our own
precedent
¹⁵³
passions do instruct us

What
levity’s
¹⁵⁴
in youth.

TIMON
    Love you the maid?

LUCILIUS
    Ay, my good lord, and she accepts of it.

OLD MAN
    If in her marriage my consent be missing,

I call the gods to witness, I will choose

Mine heir from forth the beggars of the world,

And dispossess her
all.
¹⁶⁰

TIMON
    
How shall she be endowed
¹⁶¹

If she be mated with an equal husband?

OLD MAN
    Three talents on the present; in future, all.

TIMON
    This
gentleman
¹⁶⁴
of mine hath served me long:

To build his fortune I will strain a little,

For ’tis a
bond
¹⁶⁶
in men. Give him thy daughter:

What you bestow, in him I’ll
counterpoise,
¹⁶⁷

And make him weigh
with
¹⁶⁸
her.

OLD MAN
    Most noble lord,

Pawn me to this your honour
¹⁷⁰
, she is his.

TIMON
    My hand to thee: mine honour on my promise.

LUCILIUS
    Humbly I thank your lordship: never may

That
state
¹⁷³
or fortune fall into my keeping,

Which is not owed to you!

POET
    
Vouchsafe
¹⁷⁵
my labour, and long live your lordship!

TIMON
    I thank you. You shall hear from me
anon:
¹⁷⁶

Go not away.— What have you there, my friend?

PAINTER
    A piece of painting, which I do beseech

Your lordship to accept.

TIMON
    Painting is welcome.

The painting is almost
the natural man,
¹⁸¹

For since dishonour
traffics
¹⁸²
with man’s nature,

He is but outside
: these
pencilled
¹⁸³
figures are

Even such as they give out
¹⁸⁴
. I like your work,

And you
shall find I like it
¹⁸⁵
: wait attendance

Till you hear further from me.

PAINTER
    The gods preserve ye!

TIMON
    Well fare you, gentleman: give me your hand,

We
must needs
¹⁸⁹
dine together.— Sir, your jewel

Hath suffered under praise.
¹⁹⁰

JEWELLER
    What, my lord, dispraise?

TIMON
    
A mere satiety
¹⁹²
of commendations.

If I should pay you for’t as ’tis
extolled
¹⁹³

It would
unclew
¹⁹⁴
me quite.

JEWELLER
    My lord, ’tis
rated
¹⁹⁵

As
those which sell would give
¹⁹⁶
: but you well know

Things of
like
¹⁹⁷
value differing in the owners

Are
prized by their masters
¹⁹⁸
. Believe’t, dear lord,

You
mend
¹⁹⁹
the jewel by the wearing it.

TIMON
    Well
mocked.
²⁰⁰

MERCHANT
    No, my good lord, he speaks the
common tongue
²⁰¹

Which all men speak with him.

TIMON
    Look, who comes here.
Will you be chid?
²⁰³

JEWELLER
    We’ll bear with your lordship.

MERCHANT
    He’ll spare none.

TIMON
    Good
morrow
²⁰⁶
to thee, gentle Apemantus!

APEMANTUS
    Till I be
gentle
,
stay
²⁰⁷
thou for thy good morrow —

When
²⁰⁸
thou art Timon’s dog, and these knaves honest.

TIMON
    Why dost thou call them knaves? Thou know’st them not.

APEMANTUS
    Are they not Athenians?

TIMON
    Yes.

APEMANTUS
    Then I repent not.

JEWELLER
    You know me, Apemantus?

APEMANTUS
    Thou know’st I do: I called thee by thy
name.
²¹⁴

TIMON
    Thou art
proud,
²¹⁵
Apemantus!

APEMANTUS
    Of nothing so much as that I am not like Timon.

TIMON
    Whither art going?

APEMANTUS
    To knock out an honest Athenian’s brains.

TIMON
    That’s a deed thou’lt die for.

APEMANTUS
    Right, if
doing nothing
²²⁰
be death by th’law.

TIMON
    How lik’st thou this picture, Apemantus?

APEMANTUS
    The best, for the
innocence.
²²²

TIMON
    
Wrought
²²³
he not well that painted it?

APEMANTUS
    
He
²²⁴
wrought better that made the painter, and yet

he’s but a filthy piece of work.

PAINTER
    You’re a
dog.
²²⁶

APEMANTUS
    Thy mother’s of my
generation
²²⁷
: what’s she, if I be

a dog?

TIMON
    Wilt dine with me, Apemantus?

APEMANTUS
    No, I
eat not lords.
²³⁰

TIMON
    
An
²³¹
thou shouldst, thou’dst anger ladies.

APEMANTUS
    O, they
eat
lords: so they
come by
great bellies.
²³²

TIMON
    That’s a lascivious
apprehension.
²³³

APEMANTUS
    
So thou apprehend’st it, take it for thy labour.
²³⁴

TIMON
    How dost thou like this jewel, Apemantus?

APEMANTUS
    
Not so well as
plain-dealing
²³⁶
, which will not cost a

man a
doit.
²³⁷

TIMON
    What dost thou think ’tis worth?

APEMANTUS
    Not worth my thinking.—
How now
²³⁹
, poet?

POET
    How now, philosopher?

APEMANTUS
    Thou liest.

POET
    Art not one?

APEMANTUS
    Yes.

POET
    Then I lie not.

APEMANTUS
    Art not a
poet?
²⁴⁵

POET
    Yes.

APEMANTUS
    Then thou liest: look in thy last work, where thou

hast feigned
him
²⁴⁸
a worthy fellow.

POET
    That’s not feigned, he is so.

APEMANTUS
    Yes, he is
worthy of
²⁵⁰
thee, and to pay thee for thy

labour. He that loves to be flattered is worthy o’th’flatterer.

Heavens, that I were a lord!

TIMON
    What wouldst do then, Apemantus?

APEMANTUS
    
E’en
²⁵⁴
as Apemantus does now: hate a lord with my

heart.

TIMON
    What, thyself?

APEMANTUS
    Ay.

TIMON
    
Wherefore?
²⁵⁸

APEMANTUS
    That I had
no angry wit
²⁵⁹
to be a lord.— Art not

thou a merchant?

MERCHANT
    Ay, Apemantus.

APEMANTUS
    
Traffic
confound
²⁶²
thee, if the gods will not!

MERCHANT
    If traffic do it, the gods do it.

APEMANTUS
    Traffic’s thy god, and thy god confound thee!

TIMON
    
What
²⁶⁵
trumpet’s that?

MESSENGER
    ’Tis Alcibiades, and some twenty
horse
²⁶⁶

All
of companionship.
²⁶⁷

TIMON
    Pray
entertain
them,
give them guide
²⁶⁸
to us.

You must needs dine with me.— Go not you hence

Till I have thanked you.— When dinner’s done,

Show me this piece.— I am joyful
of your sights.
²⁷¹

Most welcome, sir!

APEMANTUS
    
So, so, there!
²⁷³

Aches
contract and starve
²⁷⁴
your supple joints!

That there should be
small
love amongst these
sweet
²⁷⁵
knaves,

And all this courtesy! The
strain
of man’s
bred out
²⁷⁶

Into baboon and monkey.

ALCIBIADES
    Sir, you have
saved my longing
²⁷⁸
, and I feed

Most
hungerly
on
your sight.
²⁷⁹

TIMON
    Right welcome, sir!

Ere
we
depart
, we’ll share a
bounteous
²⁸¹
time

In
different
pleasures. Pray you, let us
in.
²⁸²