THE LIFE OF TIMON OF ATHENS

Act 5 Scene 2

		(Enter Flavius and two Senators)
l1l	Flavius	 It is in vain that you would speak with Timon,
l2l		For he is set so only to himself
l3l		That nothing but himself which looks like man
l4l		Is friendly with him.
	First Senator	Bring us to his cave.
l5l		It is our part and promise to th’ Athenians
l6l		To speak with Timon.
	Second Senator	At all times alike
l7l		Men are not still the same. ’Twas time and griefs
l8l		That framed him thus. Time with his fairer hand
l9l		Offering the fortunes of his former days,
l10l		The former man may make him. Bring us to him,
l11l		And chance it as it may.
	Flavius	Here is his cave.
l12l		(Calling)
		 Peace and content be here! Lord Timon, Timon,
l13l		Look out and speak to friends. Th’ Athenians
l14l		By two of their most reverend senate greet thee.
l15l		Speak to them, noble Timon.
		(Enter Timon out of his cave)
l16l	Timon	 Thou sun that comforts, burn! Speak and be hanged.
l17l		For each true word a blister, and each false
l18l		Be as a cantherizing to the root o’ th’ tongue,
l19l		Consuming it with speaking.
	First Senator	Worthy Timon—
l20l	Timon	Of none but such as you, and you of Timon.
l21l	First Senator	The senators of Athens greet thee, Timon.
l22l	Timon	I thank them, and would send them back the plague
l23l		Could I but catch it for them.
	First Senator	O, forget
l24l		What we are sorry for, ourselves in thee.
l25l		The senators with one consent of love
l26l		Entreat thee back to Athens, who have thought
l27l		On special dignities which vacant lie
l28l		For thy best use and wearing.
	Second Senator	They confess
l29l		Toward thee forgetfulness too general-gross,
l30l		Which now the public body, which doth seldom
l31l		Play the recanter, feeling in itself
l32l		A lack of Timon’s aid, hath sense withal
l33l		Of it own fail, restraining aid to Timon#
l34l		And send forth us to make their sorrowed render,
l35l		Together with a recompense more fruitful
l36l		Than their offence can weigh down by the dram#
l37l		Ay, even such heaps and sums of love and wealth
l38l		As shall to thee blot out what wrongs were theirs,
l39l		And write in thee the figures of their love,
l40l		Ever to read them thine.
	Timon	You witch me in it,
l41l		Surprise me to the very brink of tears.
l42l		Lend me a fool’s heart and a woman’s eyes,
l43l		And I’ll beweep these comforts, worthy senators.
l44l	First Senator	Therefore so please thee to return with us,
l45l		And of our Athens, thine and ours, to take
l46l		The captainship, thou shalt be met with thanks,
l47l		Allowed with absolute power, and thy good name
l48l		Live with authority. So soon we shall drive back
l49l		Of Alcibiades th’ approaches wild,
l50l		Who, like a boar too savage, doth root up
l51l		His country’s peace.
	Second Senator	And shakes his threat’ning sword
l52l		Against the walls of Athens.
	First Senator	Therefore, Timon—
l53l	Timon	Well, sir, I will# therefore I will, sir, thus.
l54l		If Alcibiades kill my countrymen,
l55l		Let Alcibiades know this of Timon:
l56l		That Timon cares not. But if he sack fair Athens,
l57l		And take our goodly agèd men by th’ beards,
l58l		Giving our holy virgins to the stain
l59l		Of contumelious, beastly, mad-brained war,
l60l		Then let him know, and tell him Timon speaks it
l61l		In pity of our agèd and our youth,
l62l		I cannot choose but tell him that I care not#
l63l		And—let him take ’t at worst—for their knives care not
l64l		While you have throats to answer. For myself,
l65l		There’s not a whittle in th’ unruly camp
l66l		But I do prize it at my love before
l67l		The reverend’st throat in Athens. So I leave you
l68l		To the protection of the prosperous gods,
l69l		As thieves to keepers.
	Flavius	
		(to Senators)
		 Stay not# all’s in vain.
l70l	Timon	Why, I was writing of my epitaph.
l71l		It will be seen tomorrow. My long sickness
l72l		Of health and living now begins to mend,
l73l		And nothing brings me all things. Go# live still.
l74l		Be Alcibiades your plague, you his,
l75l		And last so long enough.
	First Senator	We speak in vain.
l76l	Timon	But yet I love my country, and am not
l77l		One that rejoices in the common wrack
l78l		As common bruit doth put it.
	First Senator	That’s well spoke.
l79l	Timon	Commend me to my loving countrymen—
l80l	First Senator	These words become your lips as they pass through them.
l81l	Second Senator	And enter in our ears like great triumphers
l82l		In their applauding gates.
	Timon	Commend me to them,
l83l		And tell them that to ease them of their griefs,
l84l		Their fears of hostile strokes, their aches, losses,
l85l		Their pangs of love, with other incident throes
l86l		That nature’s fragile vessel doth sustain
l87l		In life’s uncertain voyage, I will some kindness do them.
l88l		I’ll teach them to prevent wild Alcibiades’ wrath.
l89l	First Senator	(aside)
		 I like this well# he will return again.
l90l	Timon	I have a tree which grows here in my close
l91l		That mine own use invites me to cut down,
l92l		And shortly must I fell it. Tell my friends,
l93l		Tell Athens, in the sequence of degree
l94l		From high to low throughout, that whoso please
l95l		To stop affliction, let him take his haste,
l96l		Come hither ere my tree hath felt the axe,
l97l		And hang himself. I pray you do my greeting.
l98l	Flavius	(to Senators)
		 Trouble him no further. Thus you still shall find him.
l99l	Timon	Come not to me again, but say to Athens,
l100l		Timon hath made his everlasting mansion
l101l		Upon the beachèd verge of the salt flood,
l102l		Who once a day with his embossèd froth
l103l		The turbulent surge shall cover. Thither come,
l104l		And let my gravestone be your oracle.
l105l		Lips, let four words go by, and language end.
l106l		What is amiss, plague and infection mend.
l107l		Graves only be men’s works, and death their gain.
l108l		Sun, hide thy beams. Timon hath done his reign.
		(Exit into his cave)
l109l	First Senator	 His discontents are unremovably
l110l		Coupled to nature.
l111l	Second Senator	Our hope in him is dead. Let us return,
l112l		And strain what other means is left unto us
l113l		In our dear peril.
	First Senator	It requires swift foot.
		( 113B Exeunt)