Your reaking villany. Live loth'd, and long,
Moft fmiling, fmooth, detefted parafites,
Courteous deftroyers, affable wolves, meek bears,
You fools of fortune, trencher-friends, time-flies,
Cap-and-knee flaves, vapours, and minute-jacks;
Of man and beaft the infinite malady

Cruft you quite o'er !- What, doft thou go!
Soft, take thy phyfic firft- -thou too- and thous
[Throwing the dishes at them, and drives 'em out.
Stay, I will lend thee money, borrow none.
What! all in motion? henceforth be no feaft,
Whereat a villain's not a welcome guest.
Burn house, fink Athens, henceforth hated be
Of Timon, man, and all humanity!

Re-enter the Senators.

1 Sen. How now, my Lords?

[Exit.

2 Sen. Know you the quality of Lord Timon's fury! 3. Sen. Pfha! did you see my cap?

4 Sen. I've loft my gown.

Sen. He's but a mad Lord, and nought but humour fways him. He gave me a jewel th' other day, and now he has beat it out of my cap. Did you fee my jewel?

2 Sen. Did you fee my cap

3 Sen.

Here 'tis.

4 Sen.

Here lies my gown.

i Sen. Let's make no stay.

2 Sen. Lord Timon's mad..

3

Sen. I feel't upon my bones.

Sen. One day he gives us diamonds, next day ftones.

L

Without the walls of Athens.

Enter Timon.

ET me look back upon thee. O thou wall,

That girdleft in those wolves! dive in the earth, And fence not Athens! Matrons, turn incontinent; • Obedience fail in children; flaves and fools

Pluck

• Plack the grave wrinkled fenate from the bench,
• And minifter in their fteads: to general filth
• Convert o'th' inftant, green virginity!

• Do't in your parents' eyes. Bankrupts, hold faft; • Rather than render back, out with your knives, • And cut your trufters' throats. Bound fervants, steal; Large-handed robbers your grave masters are,

And pill by law. Maid, to thy master's bed;

Thy miftrefs is o'th' brothel. Son of fixteen, • Pluck the lin'd crutch from thy old limping fire, ⚫ And with it beat his brains out! Fear and piety, Religion to the gods, peace, juftice, truth, • Domestic awe, night-reft, and neighbourhood, • Inftruction, manners, misteries and trades, ⚫ Degrees, obfervances, customs and laws, Decline to your confounding contraries!

And yet confufion live!-Plagues, incident to men, • Your potent and infectious fevers heap

On Athens, ripe for ftroke! Thou cold Sciatica, • Cripple our Senators, that their limbs may halt As lamely as their manners. Luft and liberty Creep in the minds and marrows of our youth, That 'gainst the ftream of virtue they may strive, And drown themselves in riot! Itches, blains, • Sow all the Athenian bofoms, and their crop • Be general leprofy! Breath infect breath, That their fociety (as their friendship) may Be merely poifon! Nothing I'll bear from thee, • But nakedness, thou town deteftable! Take thou that too, with multiplying banns: Timon will to the woods, where he fhall find Th' unkindest beast much kinder than mankind. The gods confound (hear me, ye good gods all) Th' Athenians both within and out that wall; And grant, as Timon grows, his hate may grow To the whole race of mankind, high and low! [Exit.

SCENE

II. Changes to Timon's house.

Enter Flavius, with two or three Servants.

1 Ser. Hear you, good mafter fteward, where's our Are we undone, caft off, nothing remaining? [mafter > M 3

Flav.

Flav. Alack, my fellows, what fhould I fay to you? Let me be recorded by the righteous gods,

I am as poor as you.

1 Ser. Such a houfe broke!

So noble a master fall'n! all gone! and not
One friend to take his fortune by the arm,
And go along with him?

2 Ser. As we do turn our backs

D

From our companion thrown into his grave,
So his familiars from his buried fortunes

Slink all away; leave their falfe vows with him,
Like empty purfes pick'd: and his poor self,
A dedicated beggar to the air,

• With his disease of all-fhunn'd poverty,

• Walks, like contempt, alone.More of our fellows. Enter other Servants.

Flav. All broken implements of a ruin'd houfe!
3 Ser. Yet do our hearts wear Timon's livery,
That fee I by our faces; we are fellows still,
Serving alike in forrow. Leak'd is our bark,
And we poor mates ftand on the dying deck,
Hearing the furges threat. We must all part
Into the fea of air.

Flav. Good fellows all,

The latest of my wealth I'll fhare amongst you.
Where-ever we fhall meet, for Timon's fake,
Let's yet be fellows; fhake our heads, and fay,
(As 'twere a knell unto our master's fortunes),
We have seen better days. Let each take some;
Nay, put out all your hands; not one word more,
Thus part we rich in forrow, parting poor.

[He gives them money; they embrace, and part
feveral ways.

"Oh, the firft wretchedness that glory brings us!
Who would not wish to be from wealth exempt,
Since riches point to mifery and contempt?
Who'd be fo mock'd with glory, as to live
But in a dream of friendship?

To have his pomp, and all what ftate compounds,
But only painted, like his varnish'd friends!
Poor honeft Lord! brought low by his own heart,

Undone

Undone by goodness: ftrange unusual blood,
When man's worft fin is, he does too much good.
Who then dares to be half fo kind again?

For bounty, that makes gods, does still mar men.
My dearest Lord, blefs'd to be most accurs'd,
Rich only to be wretched, thy great fortunes
Are made thy chief afflictions. Alas, kind Lord!
He's flung in rage from this ungrateful feat
Of monftrous friends; nor has he with him to
Supply his life, or that which can command it:
I'll follow, and inquire him out.

I'll ever ferve his mind with my beft will;
Whilft I have gold, I'll be his steward ftill.

SCENE

[Exit.

III. The woods.

Enter Timon.

Tim. "O bleffing-breeding fun, draw from the earth "Rotten humidity: below thy fifter's orb "Infect the air! Twinn'd brothers of one womb, "Whofe procreation, refidence, and birth, "Scarce is dividant, touch with feveral fortunes, "The greater fcorns the leffer. Not ev'n nature, "To whom all fores lay fiege, can bear great fortune "But by contempt of nature.

"Raife me this beggar, and denude that Lord, "The fenator fhall bear contempt hereditary,

"The beggar native honour:

"It is the pafture lards the wedder's fides,

"The want that makes him lean. Who dares, who

"In purity of manhood stand upright,

"And fay this man's a flatterer

If one be,

[dares,

"So are they all; for every greeze of fortune "Is fmooth'd by that below. The learned pate "Ducks to the golden fool: all is oblique ; "There's nothing level in our curfed natures, "But direct villany." Then be abhorr'd, All feafts, focieties, and throngs of men! His femblable, yea himself, Timon difdains. Destruction phang mankind! Earth, yield me roots! [Digging the earth. "Who feeks for better of thee, fauce his palate

"With thy moft operant poison !—What is here ? "Gold? yellow, glittering, precious gold? "No, gods, I am no idle votarift.

"Roots, you clear heav'ns! thus much of this will make "Black, white; foul, fair; wrong, right;

"Bafe, noble; old, young; coward, valiant.

You gods! why this? what this? you gods! why,

this

• Will lug your priests and fervants from your fides: • Pluck ftout mens' pillows from below their heads. This yellow flave

⚫ Will knit and break religions; bless th' accurs'd; • Make the hoar leprofy ador'd; place thieves,

And give them title, knee, and approbation,

• With fenators on the bench: this is it

• That makes the waped widow wed again; • She whom the spittle-house and ulcerous fores • Would caft the gorge at, this embalms and fpices To th' April day again. Come, damned earth,

• Thou common whore of mankind, that putt'ft odds Among the rout of nations, I will make thee

• Do thy right nature.-[March afar off] Ha, a drum? -thou'rt quick.

But yet I'll bury theethou'lt go, (ftrong thief),
When gouty keepers of thee cannot ftand.

Nay, stay thou out for earnest.

SCENE

[Keeping fome gold.

IV.

Enter Alcibiades with drum and fife in warlike manner,

and Phrynia and Timandra.

Alc. What art thou there? fpeak.

Tim. A beaft, as thou art.

Cankers gnaw thy heart,

For fhewing me again the eyes of man!

Alc. What is thy name? is man fo hateful to thee,

That art thyself a man?

Tim. I am Mifanthropos, and hate mankind.

For thy part, I do wish thou wert a dog,

That I might love thee fomething.

Ale. I know thee well:

But in thy fortunes am unlearn'd and ftrange. [thee, Tim. I know thee too, and more than that I know