Titus Andronicus & Timon of Athens (37 page)

FIRST SENATOR
    I like this well: he will return again.

TIMON
    I have a tree, which grows here in my
close
²²⁵

That mine own
use
²²⁶
invites me to cut down,

And shortly must I fell it. Tell my friends,

Tell Athens, in the
sequence of degree
²²⁸

From high to low throughout, that
whoso please
²²⁹

To stop affliction, let him
take his haste,
²³⁰

Come hither ere my tree hath felt the axe,

And hang himself. I pray you do my greeting.

FLAVIUS
    Trouble him no further: thus you
still
²³³
shall find him.

TIMON
    Come not to me again, but say to Athens,

Timon hath made his
everlasting mansion
²³⁵

Upon the
beachèd verge
of the
salt flood,
²³⁶

Who
once a day with his
embossèd
²³⁷
froth

The turbulent surge shall cover: thither come,

And let my gravestone
be your oracle.
²³⁹

Lips, let four words go by and language end.

What is amiss, plague and infection mend.

Graves only be men’s works, and death their gain.

Sun, hide thy beams. Timon hath done his reign.

FIRST SENATOR
    His discontents are unremovably

Coupled to nature.
²⁴⁵

SECOND SENATOR
    Our hope in him is dead: let us return,

And
strain
²⁴⁷
what other means is left unto us

In our
dear
²⁴⁸
peril.

FIRST SENATOR
    It requires swift foot.

THIRD SENATOR
    Thou hast
painfully discovered
. Are his
files
¹

As full as thy report?

MESSENGER
    I have spoke the
least.
³

Besides,
his expedition promises
⁴

Present approach.

FOURTH SENATOR
    We
stand much hazard
⁶
if they bring not Timon.

MESSENGER
    I met a courier,
one
mine
ancient
⁷
friend,

Whom, though
in general part we were opposed,
⁸

Yet our old love made a
particular
⁹
force

And made us speak like friends. This man was riding

From Alcibiades to Timon’s cave

With letters of entreaty which
imported
¹²

His
fellowship
¹³
i’th’cause against your city,

In part for his sake moved.
¹⁴

THIRD SENATOR
    Here come our
brothers.
¹⁵

FIRST SENATOR
    No talk of Timon, nothing of him expect.

The enemy’s drum is heard, and
fearful
scouring
¹⁷

Doth choke the air with dust. In, and prepare:

Ours is the
fall
, I fear, our foes
the snare.
¹⁹

SOLDIER
    By all description this should be the place.

Who’s here? Speak, ho! No answer? What is this?

‘Timon is dead, who hath
outstretched his span.
³

Some beast read this;
there does not live a man
⁴
.’

Dead, sure, and this his grave. What’s on this tomb

I cannot read: the
character
I’ll
take with wax.
⁶

Our captain hath in every
figure
⁷
skill,

An
aged
⁸
interpreter, though young in days.

Before proud Athens he’s
set down
by
this,
⁹

Whose fall
the
mark
¹⁰
of his ambition is.

ALCIBIADES
    
Sound
¹
to this coward and lascivious town

Our
terrible
²
approach.

Till now you have gone on and filled the time

With
all licentious measure
, making your
wills
⁴

The
scope
⁵
of justice. Till now myself and such

As
slept
⁶
within the shadow of your power

Have wandered with our
traversed arms
, and
breathed
⁷

Our sufferance
vainly
. Now the time is
flush
⁸

When
crouching marrow
⁹
in the bearer strong

Cries
of itself
‘No more.’ Now
breathless wrong
¹⁰

Shall sit and pant in your great chairs of ease,

And
pursy
insolence shall
break his wind
¹²

With fear and horrid flight.

FIRST SENATOR
    Noble and young,

When thy first
griefs
were but a mere
conceit,
¹⁵

Ere thou hadst power or we had cause of fear,

We
sent
to thee to give thy rages
balm,
¹⁷

To wipe out our ingratitude with loves

Above their quantity.
¹⁹

SECOND SENATOR
    
So
did we
woo
²⁰

Transformèd Timon to our city’s love

By humble message and by promised
means:
²²

We were not all unkind, nor all deserve

The
common
²⁴
stroke of war.

FIRST SENATOR
    These walls of ours

Were not erected by their hands from whom

You have received your grief, nor are
they
²⁷
such

That these great tow’rs,
trophies and schools
²⁸
should fall

For
private
²⁹
faults in them.

SECOND SENATOR
    Nor are they living

Who were the
motives that you first went out:
³¹

Shame that they wanted cunning, in excess,
³²

Hath broke their hearts. March, noble lord,

Into our city with thy banners spread:

By
decimation and a tithèd death
³⁵
—

If thy revenges hunger for that
food
³⁶

Which nature loathes — take thou the destined tenth,

And by the
hazard of the spotted die
³⁸

Let die the
spotted.
³⁹

FIRST SENATOR
    All have not offended.

For those that
were
, it is not
square
⁴¹
to take

On those that
are
⁴²
, revenge: crimes like lands

Are not inherited. Then, dear countryman,

Bring in thy ranks, but leave
without
⁴⁴
thy rage.

Spare thy Athenian cradle and those kin

Which in the
bluster
⁴⁶
of thy wrath must fall

With those that have offended: like a shepherd,

Approach the
fold
and
cull
⁴⁸
th’infected forth,

But kill not all together.

SECOND SENATOR
    What thou
wilt,
⁵⁰

Thou rather shalt enforce it with thy smile

Than hew to’t with thy sword.

FIRST SENATOR
    Set but thy foot

Against our
rampired
gates, and they shall
ope,
⁵⁴

So
thou wilt send thy
gentle
⁵⁵
heart before,

To say thou’lt enter friendly.

SECOND SENATOR
    
Throw
⁵⁷
thy glove,

Or any
token
⁵⁸
of thine honour else,

That thou wilt use the wars as thy redress

And not as our
confusion
: all thy
powers
⁶⁰

Shall
make their harbour
⁶¹
in our town till we

Have
sealed
⁶²
thy full desire.

ALCIBIADES
    Then there’s my glove.

Descend, and open your
unchargèd ports:
⁶⁴

Those enemies of Timon’s and mine own

Whom you yourselves shall
set out for reproof
⁶⁶

Fall and no more; and to
atone
⁶⁷
your fears

With my more noble meaning
⁶⁸
, not a man

Shall
pass
his
quarter
⁶⁹
or offend the stream

Of regular justice in your city’s bounds

But shall be remedied to
⁷¹
your public laws

At
heaviest answer.
⁷²

BOTH
    ’Tis most nobly spoken.

ALCIBIADES
    Descend, and keep your words.

MESSENGER
    My noble general, Timon is dead:

Entombed upon the very hem o’th’sea.

And on his gravestone this
insculpture
⁷⁷
, which

With wax I brought away, whose soft impression

Interprets
⁷⁹
for my poor ignorance.

ALCIBIADES
    
Reads the epitaph

‘Here lies a wretched corpse, of wretched soul bereft.

Seek not my name. A plague consume you wicked
caitiffs
⁸¹
left!

Here lie I, Timon, who alive all living men did hate:

Pass by and curse thy fill, but pass and
stay not here thy gait
⁸³
.’

These
well express in thee thy
latter
⁸⁴
spirits.

Though thou abhorred’st in us our human griefs,

Scornedst our
brains’ flow
⁸⁶
and those our droplets which

From
niggard
nature fall, yet rich
conceit
⁸⁷

Taught thee to make vast
Neptune
weep for
aye
⁸⁸

On thy
low
grave, on
faults forgiven
⁸⁹
. Dead

Is noble Timon, of whose
memory
⁹⁰

Hereafter more. Bring me into your city,

And I will use the
olive
⁹²
with my sword,

Make war breed peace, make peace
stint
⁹³
war, make each

Prescribe to other as each other’s
leech.
⁹⁴

Let our drums strike.

List of parts
adapted from
“THE ACTORS NAMES”
at end of
F
text

1.1.27 gum, which oozes
= Ed. F = Gowne, which vses
101 hands
= F2. F = hand
fly
= Ed. F = sit
200 SD
Apemantus
often spelled Apermantus in
F
236 cost
= F3. F = cast
310 I’ll … company
.
Later editors have assigned this line to
FIRST LORD

1.2.0 SD
Ventidius
spelled Ventigius in
F
28 ye’ve
spelled
ye’haue
in
F
31 ever
= Ed. F = verie
37 thou’rt
spelled
Th’art
in
F
121 There
= F.
Sometimes emended to
“Th’ear”
123 welcome
= F2. F = wecome
125 SD
Enter … playing
placed sixteen lines earlier in
F
146 SH LADY
= Ed. F =
Lord
.
163 SD
Enter Flavius
placed ten lines later in
F
179 SH SECOND
= Ed.
Not in
F

2.1.7 more
spelled
moe
in
F

2.2.1 SH FLAVIUS
= Ed. F =
Stew
. (
throughout rest of F
)
11 SH VARRO’S SERVANT
= Ed. F =
Var
.
13 SH ISIDORE’S SERVANT
= Ed. F =
Isid
.
46 broken
= Ed. F = debt, broken
69 SH ALL SERVANTS
= Ed. F =
Al
.
84 SH PAGE
= F4. F =
Boy
.
114 sometime’t
spelled
sometime t’
in
F
127 walk near
spelled
walk en eere
in
F
133 proposed
= F2. F = propose
140 accounts
spelled
accompts
in
F
142 found
= F2. F = sound.
Some editors emend to
summed
198 Flaminius
= Ed. F =
Flavius

3.2.3 SH FIRST STRANGER
= Ed. F = 1 (
throughout scene
)
9 SH SECOND STRANGER
= Ed. F = 2 (
throughout scene
)
24 SH LUCIUS
= F2. F =
Lucil
.
62 sport
= F.
Sometimes emended to
spirit
73 SH THIRD STRANGER
= Ed. F = 3

3.4.1 SH FIRST SERVANT
= Ed. F =
man
4 SH LUCIUS’ SERVANT
= Ed. F =
Luci
.
51 SH VARRO’S SECOND SERVANT
= Ed. F = 2.
Varro
94 SH HORTENSIUS
= Ed. F = 1
Var
.
95 VARRO’S FIRST
and
SECOND SERVANTS
= Ed. F = 2
Var
.

3.5.9 all luxurs
= Ed. F =
Vllorxa

3.6.22 behave
= Ed. F = behooue
51 fellow
= F.
Sometimes emended to
felon
66 Why, I
= F2. F = Why
70 ’em
= F2. F = him

3.7.1 SH FIRST LORD
= Ed. F = 1 (F
provides only numerals for the Lords’ speech headings throughout this scene
)
51 SH FIRST
and
SECOND LORDS
= Ed. F =
Both
73 foes
= Ed. F =
Fees
74 tag
= Ed. F =
legge
79 SH SOME LORDS
= Ed. F =
Some speake
80 SH OTHER LORDS
= Ed. F =
Some other
84 with your
= Ed. F = you with
106 SH THIRD LORD
= Ed. F =
2 107 SH SECOND LORD
= Ed. F = 3

4.1.13 Son
= F2. F = Some
21 yet
= F.
Sometimes emended to
let

4.2.44 does
= F4. F = do

4.3.12 beggar’s
= Ed. F = Brothers
13 lean
= F3. F = leaue
15 say
= F2. F = fay
16 grece
spelled
grize
in
F
91 tub-fast
= Ed. F = Fubfast
125 window-bars
= Ed. F = window Barne
141 SH PHRYNIA
and
TIMANDRA
= Ed. F =
Both
165 scolds
= Ed. F = scold’st
196 thy
= Ed. F = the
215 fortune
= Ed. F = future
271 command
= Ed. F = command’st
302 my
= Ed. F = thy
382 swoon
spelled
swoond
in
F
397 son and sire
= Ed. F = Sunne and fire
416 them
= Ed. F = then
417 SH FIRST BANDIT
= Ed. F = 1 (F
provides only numerals for the Bandits’ speech headings throughout this scene
)
427 SH OTHER BANDITTI
= Ed. F =
All
.
453 villains
= Ed. F = Villaine
495 grant’st
= Ed. F. = grunt’st
513 wild
= F.
Sometimes emended to
mild

5.1.5 Phrynia
= Ed. F =
Phrinica
Timandra
= F2. F =
Timandylo
49 worship
= Ed. F = worshipt
65 go naked, men
= Ed. F = go, Naked men
122 in
= F3.
Not in
F
134 chance
= F3. F = chanc’d
159 sense
= Ed. F = since
197 reverend’st
spelled
reuerends
in
F

5.2.1 SH THIRD SENATOR
= Ed. F = 1 (F
numbers afresh in this scene: thus the senator at line 6 is
“2”
and that at line 16 is
“3”)

5.3.4 read
= F.
Sometimes emended to
reared

5.4.80 corpse
spelled Coarse in
F