Titus Andronicus & Timon of Athens (26 page)

FIRST LORD
    What time o’day is’t, Apemantus?

APEMANTUS
    Time to be honest.

FIRST LORD
    
That time serves still.
²⁸⁵

APEMANTUS
    The most accursèd thou, that still
omitt’st
²⁸⁶
it.

SECOND LORD
    Thou art going to Lord Timon’s feast?

APEMANTUS
    Ay, to see
meat
²⁸⁸
fill knaves and wine heat fools.

SECOND LORD
    Fare thee well, fare thee well.

APEMANTUS
    Thou art a fool to bid me farewell twice.

SECOND LORD
    Why, Apemantus?

APEMANTUS
    Shouldst have kept one to thyself, for I mean to give

thee none.

FIRST LORD
    Hang thyself!

APEMANTUS
    No, I will do nothing at thy bidding: make thy

requests to thy friend.

SECOND LORD
    Away,
unpeaceable
dog, or I’ll
spurn
²⁹⁷
thee hence!

APEMANTUS
    I will
fly
, like a dog, the heels
o’th’ass.
²⁹⁸

FIRST LORD
    He’s
opposite to
²⁹⁹
humanity. Come, shall we in,

And taste Lord Timon’s bounty? He
outgoes
³⁰⁰

The very heart of kindness.

SECOND LORD
    He pours it out.
Plutus
³⁰²
, the god of gold,

Is but his
steward
: no
meed
³⁰³
, but he repays

Sevenfold above itself: no gift to him

But breeds the giver a return exceeding

All use of quittance.
³⁰⁶

FIRST LORD
    The noblest mind he carries

That ever governed man.

SECOND LORD
    Long may he live in fortunes! Shall we in?

I’ll keep you company.

VENTIDIUS
    Most honoured Timon,

It hath pleased the gods to remember my father’s age,

And call him to
long peace.
³

He is gone happy, and has left me rich:

Then, as in grateful virtue I am bound

To your
free
⁶
heart, I do return those talents,

Doubled with thanks and
service
⁷
, from whose help

I derived liberty.

TIMON
    O, by no means,

Honest Ventidius. You mistake my love:

I gave it freely
ever
¹¹
, and there’s none

Can truly say
he gives if he receives.
¹²

If our betters play at
that game
¹³
, we must not dare

To imitate them:
faults that are rich are fair.
¹⁴

VENTIDIUS
    A noble spirit!

TIMON
    Nay, my lords,

Ceremony
¹⁷
was but devised at first

To
set a gloss on
faint
deeds,
hollow
¹⁸
welcomes,

Recanting goodness
, sorry
ere
¹⁹
’tis shown,

But where there is true friendship, there needs
none.
²⁰

Pray, sit: more welcome are ye to my fortunes

Than my fortunes to me.

FIRST LORD
    My lord, we always have
confessed
²³
it.

APEMANTUS
    Ho, ho, confessed it?
Hanged
²⁴
it, have you not?

TIMON
    O, Apemantus, you are welcome.

APEMANTUS
    No, you shall not make me welcome:

I come to have thee thrust me out of doors.

TIMON
    
Fie
, thou’rt a
churl
: ye’ve got a
humour
²⁸
there

Does not
become
²⁹
a man: ’tis much to blame.

They say, my lords,
Ira furor brevis est
,
³⁰

But
yond
³¹
man is ever angry.

Go, let him have a table by himself,

For he does neither
affect
³³
company,

Nor is he fit for’t, indeed.

APEMANTUS
    Let me stay at thine
apperil,
³⁵
Timon:

I come to
observe
, I give thee warning
on’t.
³⁶

TIMON
    I take no
heed
³⁷
of thee; thou’rt an Athenian, therefore

welcome. I myself
would
have no
power
: prithee let my
meat
³⁸

make thee silent.

APEMANTUS
    I scorn thy meat:
’twould choke me, for I should
⁴⁰

ne’er flatter thee. O you gods, what a number of men
eats
⁴¹

Timon, and he sees ’em not! It grieves me to see so many
dip
⁴²

their meat in one man’s blood, and
all the madness is, he
⁴³

cheers them up too.

I wonder men dare trust themselves with men.

Methinks they should invite them
without knives:
⁴⁶

Good for their meat
⁴⁷
, and safer for their lives.

There’s much
example
⁴⁸
for’t: the fellow that sits next him,

now parts bread with him,
pledges the breath of him
⁴⁹
in a

divided draught
⁵⁰
, is the readiest man to kill him: ’t’as been

proved. If I were a
huge
⁵¹
man, I should fear to drink at meals,

Lest they should
spy my windpipe’s dangerous
notes:
⁵²

Great men should drink with
harness
⁵³
on their throats.

TIMON
    My lord,
in heart
, and let the
health
⁵⁴
go round.

SECOND LORD
    Let it flow this way, my good lord.

APEMANTUS
    ‘Flow this way’? A
brave
fellow: he
keeps his
tides
⁵⁶

well.
Those
health
s will make thee and thy
state
⁵⁷
look ill,

Timon.

Here’s that which is too weak to be a
sinner
⁵⁹
—

Honest water — which ne’er left man
i’th’mire.
⁶⁰

This and my food are equals, there’s no
odds.
⁶¹

Feasts are too
proud
⁶²
to give thanks to the gods.

Immortal gods, I crave no
pelf.
⁶³

I pray for no man but myself:

Grant I may never prove so
fond,
⁶⁵

To trust man on his oath or bond,

Or a
harlot
⁶⁷
for her weeping

Or a dog that seems a-sleeping,

Or a
keeper
⁶⁹
with my freedom,

Or my friends if I should need ’em.

Amen. So
fall to’t.
⁷¹

Rich men sin, and I eat
root.
⁷²

Much good
dich
⁷³
thy good heart, Apemantus!

TIMON
    Captain Alcibiades, your heart’s in the
field
⁷⁴
now.

ALCIBIADES
    My heart is ever at your service, my lord.

TIMON
    You had rather be at a
breakfast of enemies
⁷⁶
than a

dinner of friends.

ALCIBIADES
    
So
they were bleeding
new
⁷⁸
, my lord, there’s no

meat like ’em: I could wish my best friend at such a feast.

APEMANTUS
    Would all those flatterers were thine enemies then,

that then thou mightst kill ’em and
bid me to ’em!
⁸¹

FIRST LORD
    Might we but have that happiness, my lord, that

you would once
use our hearts
⁸³
whereby we might express

some part of our
zeals
⁸⁴
, we should think ourselves for ever

perfect.
⁸⁵

TIMON
    O, no doubt, my good friends, but the gods themselves

have provided that I shall have much help from you: how

had you been my friends
else
? Why have you that
charitable
⁸⁸

title
from
⁸⁹
thousands, did not you chiefly belong to my heart?

I have
told more of you to myself than you
⁹⁰
can with modesty

speak in your own behalf, and thus far I
confirm
⁹¹
you. O you

gods, think I, what need we have any friends if we should

ne’er have need of ’em? They were the most
needless
⁹³
creatures

living, should we ne’er have use for ’em, and would most

resemble sweet instruments hung up in cases that keeps

their sounds to themselves. Why, I have often wished myself

poorer, that I might come nearer to you. We are born to

do benefits
: and what better or
properer
⁹⁸
can we call our own

than the
riches of our friends
⁹⁹
? O, what a precious comfort

’tis to have so many like brothers
commanding
¹⁰⁰
one another’s

fortunes! O joy’s e’en
made away ere’t can be born
¹⁰¹
: mine

eyes cannot hold out water, methinks. To forget their
faults,
¹⁰²
I

drink to you.

APEMANTUS
    
Thou weep’st to make them drink,
¹⁰⁴
Timon.

SECOND LORD
    Joy had the
like
¹⁰⁵
conception in our eyes

And at that instant like a babe
sprung up.
¹⁰⁶

APEMANTUS
    Ho, ho! I laugh to think that babe
a bastard.
¹⁰⁷

THIRD LORD
    I promise you, my lord, you moved me much.

APEMANTUS
    
Much!
¹⁰⁹

TIMON
    What means that
trump
¹¹⁰
? How now?

SERVANT
    
Please
you, my lord, there are certain ladies
most
¹¹¹

desirous of admittance.

TIMON
    Ladies? What are their wills?

SERVANT
    There comes with them a
forerunner
¹¹⁴
, my lord,

which bears that office to signify their pleasures.
¹¹⁵

TIMON
    I pray, let them be admitted.

CUPID
    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
gratulate
thy
plenteous bosom:
¹²⁰

There
taste, touch,
all
¹²¹
, pleased from thy table rise.

They
only now come but
¹²²
to feast thine eyes.

TIMON
    They’re welcome all, let ’em have
kind
¹²³
admittance:

Music, make their welcome!

FIRST LORD
    You see, my lord, how
ample
¹²⁵
you’re beloved.