THE LIFE OF TIMON OF ATHENS

Act 2 Scene 2

(Enter Flavius, with many bills in his hand)
l1l	Flavius	 No care, no stop# so senseless of expense
l2l		That he will neither know how to maintain it
l3l		Nor cease his flow of riot, takes no account
l4l		How things go from him, nor resumes no care
l5l		Of what is to continue. Never mind
l6l		Was to be so unwise to be so kind.
l7l		What shall be done? He will not hear till feel.
		(A sound of horns within)
l8l		I must be round with him, now he comes from hunting.
l9l		Fie, fie, fie, fie!
		(Enter Caphis at one door and Servants of Isidore and Varro at another door)
l10l	Caphis	 Good even, Varro. What, you come for money?
l11l	Varro'S Servant	Is ’t not your business too?
l12l	Caphis	It is# and yours too, Isidore?
	Isidore'S Servant	It is so.
l13l	Caphis	Would we were all discharged.
	Varro'S Servant	I fear it.
	Caphis	Here comes the lord.
		(Enter Timon and his train, amongst them Alcibiades, as from hunting)
l14l	Timon	 So soon as dinner’s done we’ll forth again,
l15l		My Alcibiades.
		(Caphis meets Timon)
		 With me? What is your will?
l16l	Caphis	My lord, here is a note of certain dues.
l17l	Timon	Dues? Whence are you?
l18l	Caphis	Of Athens here, my lord.
l19l	Timon	Go to my steward.
l20l	Caphis	Please it your lordship, he hath put me off,
l21l		To the succession of new days, this month.
l22l		My master is awaked by great occasion
l23l		To call upon his own, and humbly prays you
l24l		That with your other noble parts you’ll suit
l25l		In giving him his right.
	Timon	Mine honest friend,
l26l		I prithee but repair to me next morning.
l27l	Caphis	Nay, good my lord.
	Timon	Contain thyself, good friend.
l28l	Varro'S Servant	One Varro’s servant, my good lord.
l29l	Isidore'S Servant	(to Timon)
		 From Isidore. He humbly prays your speedy payment.
l30l	Caphis	(to Timon)
		 If you did know, my lord, my master’s wants—
l31l	Varro'S Servant	(to Timon)
		 ’Twas due on forfeiture, my lord, six weeks and past.
l32l	Isidore'S Servant	(to Timon)
		 Your steward puts me off, my lord, and I
l33l		Am sent expressly to your lordship.
	Timon	Give me breath.—
l34l		I do beseech you, good my lords, keep on.
l35l		I’ll wait upon you instantly.
		(Exeunt Alcibiades and Timon's train)
		
		(To Flavius)
		 Come hither. Pray you,
l36l		How goes the world, that I am thus encountered
l37l		With clamorous demands of broken bonds
l38l		And the detention of long-since-due debts,
l39l		Against my honour?
	Flavius	
		(to Servants)
		 Please you, gentlemen,
l40l		The time is unagreeable to this business#
l41l		Your importunacy cease till after dinner,
l42l		That I may make his lordship understand
l43l		Wherefore you are not paid.
	Timon	
		(to Servants)
		 Do so, my friends.
l44l		(To Flavius)
		 See them well entertained.
		( 44B Exit)
		
	Flavius	 Pray draw near.
		(Exit)
l45l	>
	(Enter Apemantus and Fool)
		Caphis	 Stay, stay, here comes the fool with Apemantus.
l46l		Let’s ha’ some sport with ’em.
l47l	Varro'S Servant	Hang him, he’ll abuse us.
l48l	Isidore'S Servant	A plague upon him, dog!
l49l	Varro'S Servant	How dost, fool?
l50l	Apemantus	Dost dialogue with thy shadow?
l51l	Varro'S Servant	I speak not to thee.
l52l	Apemantus	No, ’tis to thyself.
		(To Fool)
		 Come away.
l53l	Isidore'S Servant	(to Varro's Servant)
		 There’s the fool
l54l		hangs on your back already.
l55l	Apemantus	No, thou stand’st single: thou’rt not on him
l56l		yet.
l57l	Caphis	(to Isidore's Servant)
		 Where’s the fool now?
l58l	Apemantus	He last asked the question. Poor rogues’ and
l59l		usurers’ men, bawds between gold and want.
l60l	All Servants	 What are we, Apemantus?
l61l	Apemantus	Asses.
l62l	All Servants	Why?
l63l	Apemantus	 That you ask me what you are, and do not
l64l		know yourselves. Speak to ’em, fool.
l65l	Fool	How do you, gentlemen?
l66l	All Servants	Gramercies, good fool. How does your
l67l		mistress?
l68l	Fool	She’s e’en setting on water to scald such chickens
l69l		as you are. Would we could see you at Corinth.
l70l	Apemantus	Good# gramercy.
		(Enter Page with two letters)
l71l	Fool	 Look you, here comes my mistress’ page.
l72l	Page	Why, how now, captain? What do you in this wise
l73l		company? How dost thou, Apemantus?
l74l	Apemantus	Would I had a rod in my mouth, that I might
l75l		answer thee profitably.
l76l	Page	Prithee, Apemantus, read me the superscription of
l77l		these letters. I know not which is which.
l78l	Apemantus	Canst not read?
l79l	Page	No.
l80l	Apemantus	There will little learning die then that day
l81l		thou art hanged. This is to Lord Timon, this to
l82l		Alcibiades. Go, thou wast born a bastard, and thou’lt
l83l		die a bawd.
l84l	Page	Thou wast whelped a dog, and thou shalt famish a
l85l		dog’s death. Answer not# I am gone.
		(Exit)
l86l	Apemantus	 E’en so thou outrunn’st grace. Fool, I will go
l87l		with you to Lord Timon’s.
l88l	Fool	Will you leave me there?
l89l	Apemantus	If Timon stay at home.
		(To Servants)
		 You
l90l		three serve three usurers?
l91l	All Servants	 Ay. Would they served us.
l92l	Apemantus	 So would I: as good a trick as ever hangman
l93l		served thief.
l94l	Fool	Are you three usurers’ men?
l95l	All Servants	Ay, fool.
l96l	Fool	I think no usurer but has a fool to his servant. My
l97l		mistress is one, and I am her fool. When men come to
l98l		borrow of your masters they approach sadly and go
l99l		away merry, but they enter my mistress’s house merrily
l100l		and go away sadly. The reason of this?
l101l	Varro'S Servant	I could render one.
l102l	Apemantus	Do it then, that we may account thee a
l103l		whoremaster and a knave, which notwithstanding thou
l104l		shalt be no less esteemed.
l105l	Varro'S Servant	What is a whoremaster, fool?
l106l	Fool	A fool in good clothes, and something like thee. ’Tis
l107l		a spirit# sometime ’t appears like a lord, sometime like
l108l		a lawyer, sometime like a philosopher with two stones
l109l		more than ’s artificial one. He is very often like a knight#
l110l		and generally in all shapes that man goes up and down
l111l		in from fourscore to thirteen, this spirit walks in.
l112l	Varro'S Servant	Thou art not altogether a fool.
l113l	Fool	Nor thou altogether a wise man. As much foolery
l114l		as I have, so much wit thou lack’st.
l115l	?mixed>
Apemantus	That answer might have become Apemantus.
		(Enter Timon and Flavius)
l116l	All Servants	 Aside, aside, here comes Lord Timon.
l117l	Apemantus	 Come with me, fool, come.
l118l	Fool	 I do not always follow lover, elder brother, and
l119l		woman: sometime the philosopher.
		(Exeunt Apemantus and Fool)
l120l	Flavius	(to Servants)
		 Pray you, walk near. I’ll speak with you anon.
		(Exeunt Servants)
l121l	Timon	 You make me marvel wherefore ere this time
l122l		Had you not fully laid my state before me,
l123l		That I might so have rated my expense
l124l		As I had leave of means.
	Flavius	You would not hear me.
l125l		At many leisures I proposed—
	Timon	Go to.
l126l		Perchance some single vantages you took,
l127l		When my indisposition put you back,
l128l		And that unaptness made your minister
l129l		Thus to excuse yourself.
	Flavius	O my good lord,
l130l		At many times I brought in my accounts,
l131l		Laid them before you# you would throw them off
l132l		And say you summed them in mine honesty.
l133l		When for some trifling present you have bid me
l134l		Return so much, I have shook my head and wept,
l135l		Yea, ’gainst th’ authority of manners prayed you
l136l		To hold your hand more close. I did endure
l137l		Not seldom nor no slight checks when I have
l138l		Prompted you in the ebb of your estate
l139l		And your great flow of debts. My lovèd lord—
l140l		Though you hear now too late, yet now’s a time—
l141l		The greatest of your having lacks a half
l142l		To pay your present debts.
	Timon	Let all my land be sold.
l143l	Flavius	’Tis all engaged, some forfeited and gone,
l144l		And what remains will hardly stop the mouth
l145l		Of present dues. The future comes apace.
l146l		What shall defend the interim, and at length
l147l		How goes our reck’ning?
l148l	Timon	To Lacedaemon did my land extend.
l149l	Flavius	O my good lord, the world is but a word.
l150l		Were it all yours to give it in a breath,
l151l		How quickly were it gone.
	Timon	You tell me true.
l152l	Flavius	If you suspect my husbandry or falsehood,
l153l		Call me before th’ exactest auditors
l154l		And set me on the proof. So the gods bless me,
l155l		When all our offices have been oppressed
l156l		With riotous feeders, when our vaults have wept
l157l		With drunken spilth of wine, when every room
l158l		Hath blazed with lights and brayed with minstrelsy,
l159l		I have retired me to a wasteful cock,
l160l		And set mine eyes at flow.
	Timon	Prithee, no more.
l161l	Flavius	“Heavens,” have I said, “the bounty of this lord!
l162l		How many prodigal bits have slaves and peasants
l163l		This night englutted! Who is not Timon’s?
l164l		What heart, head, sword, force, means, but is Lord Timon’s?
l165l		Great Timon, noble, worthy, royal Timon!
l166l		Ah, when the means are gone that buy this praise,
l167l		The breath is gone whereof this praise is made.
l168l		Feast won, fast lost# one cloud of winter show’rs,
l169l		These flies are couched.”
	Timon	Come, sermon me no further.
l170l		No villainous bounty yet hath passed my heart.
l171l		Unwisely, not ignobly, have I given.
l172l		Why dost thou weep? Canst thou the conscience lack
l173l		To think I shall lack friends? Secure thy heart.
l174l		If I would broach the vessels of my love
l175l		And try the argument of hearts by borrowing,
l176l		Men and men’s fortunes could I frankly use
l177l		As I can bid thee speak.
	Flavius	Assurance bless your thoughts!
l178l	Timon	And in some sort these wants of mine are crowned
l179l		That I account them blessings, for by these
l180l		Shall I try friends. You shall perceive how you
l181l		Mistake my fortunes. I am wealthy in my friends.—
l182l		Within there, Flaminius, Servilius!
		(Enter Flaminius, Servilius, and a Third Servant)
l183l	All Servants	 My lord, my lord.
	Timon	I will dispatch you severally,
l184l		(To Servilius)
		 You to Lord Lucius,
		(To Flaminius)
		 to Lord Lucullus you—
l185l		I hunted with his honour today—
l186l		(To Third Servant)
		 You to Sempronius. Commend me to their loves,
l187l		And I am proud, say, that my occasions have
l188l		Found time to use ’em toward a supply of money.
l189l		Let the request be fifty talents.
l190l	Flaminius	As you have said, my lord.
		(Exeunt Servants)
l191l	Flavius	 Lord Lucius and Lucullus? Hmh!
l192l	Timon	Go you, sir, to the senators,
l193l		Of whom, even to the state’s best health, I have
l194l		Deserved this hearing. Bid ’em send o’ th’ instant
l195l		A thousand talents to me.
	Flavius	I have been bold,
l196l		For that I knew it the most general way,
l197l		To them, to use your signet and your name#
l198l		But they do shake their heads, and I am here
l199l		No richer in return.
	Timon	Is ’t true? Can ’t be?
l200l	Flavius	They answer in a joint and corporate voice
l201l		That now they are at fall, want treasure, cannot
l202l		Do what they would, are sorry, you are honourable,
l203l		But yet they could have wished—they know not—
l204l		Something hath been amiss—a noble nature
l205l		May catch a wrench—would all were well—’tis pity#
l206l		And so, intending other serious matters,
l207l		After distasteful looks and these hard fractions,
l208l		With certain half-caps and cold moving nods
l209l		They froze me into silence.
	Timon	You gods reward them!
l210l		Prithee, man, look cheerly. These old fellows
l211l		Have their ingratitude in them hereditary.
l212l		Their blood is caked, ’tis cold, it seldom flows.
l213l		’Tis lack of kindly warmth they are not kind#
l214l		And nature as it grows again toward earth
l215l		Is fashioned for the journey dull and heavy.
l216l		Go to Ventidius. Prithee, be not sad.
l217l		Thou art true and honest—ingenuously I speak—
l218l		No blame belongs to thee. Ventidius lately
l219l		Buried his father, by whose death he’s stepped
l220l		Into a great estate. When he was poor,
l221l		Imprisoned, and in scarcity of friends,
l222l		I cleared him with five talents. Greet him from me.
l223l		Bid him suppose some good necessity
l224l		Touches his friend, which craves to be remembered
l225l		With those five talents. That had, give ’t these fellows
l226l		To whom ’tis instant due. Ne’er speak or think
l227l		That Timon’s fortunes ’mong his friends can sink.
l228l	Flavius	I would I could not think it. That thought is bounty’s foe:
l229l		Being free itself, it thinks all others so.
		(Exeunt severally)
	>