Titus Andronicus & Timon of Athens (29 page)

Within there, Flaminius, Servilius!

SERVANTS
    My lord, my lord.

TIMON
    I will dispatch you
severally
²⁰⁰
: you to Lord

Lucius,— to Lord Lucullus you — I hunted with

his honour today—you to Sempronius.

Commend me to their loves, and I am proud, say, that my

occasions
have found
time
to use ’em
toward
²⁰⁴
a supply of

money: let the request be fifty talents.

FLAMINIUS
    As you have said, my lord.

FLAVIUS
    Lord Lucius and Lucullus?
Hum!
²⁰⁷

TIMON
    Go you, sir, to the senators —

Of whom,
even to the state’s best health,
²⁰⁹
I have

Deserved this hearing — bid ’em send o’th’instant

A thousand talents to me.

FLAVIUS
    I have been bold —

For that
I knew it the most
general
²¹³
way —

To them to use your
signet
²¹⁴
and your name,

But they do shake their heads, and I am here

No richer in return.

TIMON
    Is’t true? Can’t be?

FLAVIUS
    They answer in a joint and
corporate
²¹⁸
voice

That now they are at
fall
,
want
²¹⁹
treasure, cannot

Do what they would, are sorry, you are honourable,

But yet they could have wished — they know not —

Something hath been amiss, a noble nature

May
catch a wrench
²²³
— would all were well — ’tis pity.

And so,
intending
²²⁴
other serious matters,

After distasteful looks and these
hard fractions,
²²⁵

With certain
half-caps
and
cold-moving
²²⁶
nods

They froze me into silence.

TIMON
    You gods reward them!

Prithee, man, look
cheerly
²²⁹
. These old fellows

Have their ingratitude in them
hereditary:
²³⁰

Their blood is
caked
²³¹
, ’tis cold, it seldom flows:

’Tis
lack of
kindly
²³²
warmth they are not kind;

And nature, as it
grows again toward earth,
²³³

Is fashioned for the journey,
dull
²³⁴
and heavy.—

Go to Ventidius.— Prithee be not sad:

Thou art true and honest;
ingeniously
²³⁶
I speak.

No blame belongs to thee.— Ventidius lately

Buried his father, by whose death he’s
stepped
²³⁸

Into a great estate: when he was poor,

Imprisoned and in scarcity of friends,

I cleared him with five talents. Greet him from me,

Bid him suppose some
good necessity
²⁴²

Touches his friend, which craves to be remembered

With those five talents.—

                                      That had, give’t these fellows

To whom ’tis instant due. Ne’er speak or think

That Timon’s fortunes ’mong his friends can sink.

FLAVIUS
    I would I could not think it:
that thought is bounty’s
²⁴⁷

foe;

Being
free
²⁴⁹
itself, it thinks all others so.

SERVANT
    I have told my lord of you: he is coming down to

you.

FLAMINIUS
    I thank you, sir.

SERVANT
    Here’s my lord.

LUCULLUS
    One of Lord Timon’s men? A gift, I
warrant.
⁵

Why, this
hits right
: I dreamt of a silver basin and
ewer
⁶

tonight
⁷
.— Flaminius, honest Flaminius, you are very

respectively
⁸
welcome, sir.— Fill me some wine.—

And how does that honourable,
complete
,
free-hearted
⁹

gentleman of Athens, thy very bountiful

good lord and master?

FLAMINIUS
    His health is well sir.

LUCULLUS
    I am right glad that his health is well, sir. And what

hast thou there under thy cloak,
pretty
¹⁴
Flaminius?

FLAMINIUS
    Faith, nothing but an empty box, sir, which
in
¹⁵
my

lord’s behalf I come to entreat your honour to
supply
¹⁶
, who,

having great and instant occasion to use fifty talents, hath

sent to your lordship to
furnish
him,
nothing
¹⁸
doubting your

present
¹⁹
assistance therein.

LUCULLUS
    
La, la, la, la!
²⁰
‘Nothing doubting’ says he? Alas, good

lord! A noble gentleman ’tis, if he would not keep
so good a
²¹

house. Many a time and often I ha’ dined with him, and told

him
on’t
²³
, and come again to supper to him of purpose to

have him
spend less, and yet he would
embrace
²⁴
no counsel,

take no warning by my coming. Every man has his fault, and

honesty
²⁶
is his: I ha’ told him on’t, but I could ne’er get him

from’t.

SERVANT
    Please your lordship, here is the wine.

LUCULLUS
    Flaminius, I have noted thee always wise.

Here’s to thee.

FLAMINIUS
    Your lordship
speaks your pleasure.
³¹

LUCULLUS
    I have observed thee always for a
towardly
prompt
³²

spirit,
give
³³
thee thy due, and one that knows what belongs

to reason; and canst
use the time well
³⁴
, if the time use

thee well. Good
parts
³⁵
in thee.— Get you gone,

sirrah
³⁶
.—

Draw nearer, honest Flaminius. Thy lord’s a bountiful

gentleman, but thou art wise, and thou know’st well enough

— although thou com’st to me — that this is no time to lend

money, especially upon
bare
⁴⁰
friendship without

security
. Here’s three
solidares
for thee. Good boy,
wink
⁴¹
at me

and say thou saw’st me not. Fare thee well.

FLAMINIUS
    Is’t possible the world should so much
differ,
⁴³

And we alive that lived? Fly, damnèd baseness,

To him that worships thee.

LUCULLUS
    Ha? Now I see thou art a fool, and fit for thy master.

FLAMINIUS
    May
these
add to the number that may
scald
⁴⁷
thee!

Let
molten coin be thy damnation,
⁴⁸

Thou disease of a friend, and not
himself!
⁴⁹

Has friendship such a faint and
milky
⁵⁰
heart,

It
turns
⁵¹
in less than two nights? O you gods,

I feel my master’s
passion!
⁵²
This slave

Unto his honour has
my lord’s meat in him:
⁵³

Why should it thrive and turn to
nutriment,
⁵⁴

When he is turned to poison?

O, may diseases only work upon’t!

And when he’s sick to death, let not that part of nature

Which my lord paid for be of any power

To expel sickness, but prolong his
hour.
⁵⁹

LUCIUS
    Who, the Lord Timon? He is my very good friend,

and an honourable gentleman.

FIRST STRANGER
    We know him
for
³
no less, though we are but

strangers to him. But I can tell you one thing, my lord, and

which I hear from common rumours: now Lord Timon’s

happy hours are done and past, and his estate shrinks from

him.

LUCIUS
    Fie, no, do not believe it: he cannot want for money.

SECOND STRANGER
    But believe you this, my lord, that not long

ago, one of his men was with the lord Lucullus to borrow so

many talents — nay, urged extremely for’t and showed what

necessity belonged to’t
¹²
, and yet was denied.

LUCIUS
    
How?
¹³

SECOND STRANGER
    I tell you, denied, my lord.

LUCIUS
    What a strange case was that? Now before the gods,

I am ashamed on’t. Denied that honourable man? There was

very little honour showed in’t. For my own part, I must

needs confess I have received some small kindnesses from

him, as money, plate, jewels and such-like trifles — nothing

comparing to
his
: yet, had he
mistook him
²⁰
and sent to me, I

should ne’er have denied his
occasion
²¹
so many talents.

SERVILIUS
    See, by good
hap
²²
, yonder’s my lord:

I have
sweat
²³
to see his honour.— My honoured lord.

LUCIUS
    Servilius! You are kindly met, sir. Fare thee well:

commend me to thy honourable virtuous lord, my very

exquisite
²⁶
friend.

SERVILIUS
    May it please your honour, my lord hath sent—

LUCIUS
    Ha? What has he sent? I am so much
endeared
²⁸
to

that lord; he’s ever sending: how shall I thank him, think’st

thou? And what has he sent now?

SERVILIUS
    Has only sent his
present occasion
³¹
now, my lord,

requesting your lordship to supply his instant
use
³²
with so

many talents.

LUCIUS
    I know his lordship is but
merry
³⁴
with me:

He cannot want fifty— five hundred talents!

SERVILIUS
    But in the meantime he wants less, my lord.

If his occasion were not
virtuous,
³⁷

I should not urge it half so faithfully.

LUCIUS
    Dost thou speak seriously, Servilius?

SERVILIUS
    Upon my soul, ’tis true, sir.

LUCIUS
    What a wicked beast was I to
disfurnish myself
⁴¹

against such a good time, when I might ha’ shown myself

honourable! How unluckily it happened that I should

purchase the day before for a little part
, and
undo a great
⁴⁴

deal of honour. Servilius, now before the gods, I am not able

to do — the more beast, I say — I was sending to
use
⁴⁶
Lord

Timon myself — these gentlemen can witness — but I
would
⁴⁷

not, for the wealth of Athens, I had done’t now. Commend

me bountifully to his good lordship, and I hope his honour

will
conceive the fairest
⁵⁰
of me because I have no power to be

kind
⁵¹
: and tell him this from me, I count it one of my greatest

afflictions, say, that I cannot
pleasure
⁵²
such an honourable

gentleman. Good Servilius, will you
befriend me so far
⁵³
, as to

use mine own words to him?

SERVILIUS
    Yes, sir, I shall.