Apem. Ay. Tim. What! a knave too? Apem. If thou didst put this fower cold habit on The other, at high wifh: Beft ftates, contentless, Thou should't defire to die, being miferable. Freely command; thou wouldst have plung'd thyself The mouths, the tongues, the eyes, the hearts of men Do on the oak; have with one winter's brush Tim. What a knave too?] Mr. Warburton proposes a correction here, which, tho' it oppofes the reading of all the printed copies, has great juftness and propriety in it. He would read thus ; What! and know't too ? The reasoning of the text, as it ftands in the books, is, in fome fort, concluding backward: or rather making a knave's and villain's office different: which, furely, is abfurd. The correction quite removes the abfurdity, and gives this fenfible rebuke. "What! do'ft "thou please thyfelf in vexing me, and at the fame time know it to be the office of a villain or fool ?” Thy Thy nature did commence in fuff'rance, time Hath made thee hard in't. Why shouldst thou hate men? Apem. Art thou proud yet? Were all the wealth I have, shut up in thee, I'd give thee leave to hang it. Get thee gone- Thus would I eat it. Apem. Here, I will mend thy feast. [Eating a root. Tim. First mend my company, take away thyfelf. (30) Apem. So I fhall mend my own, by th' lack of thine. Tim. 'Tis not well mended fo, it is but botcht; If not, I would it were. Apem. What wouldst thou have to Athens ? Tim. Thee thither in a whirlwind; if thou wilt, Tell them there, I have gold; look, so I have. Apem. Here is no ufe for gold. Tim. The best and trueft: For here it fleeps, and does no hired harm. Where feed'ft thou o'days, Apemantus ? Apem. Where my ftomach finds meat; or, rather, where I eat it. Tim. Would poison were obedient, and knew my Tim. To fauce thy dishes. mind! (30) First mend thy company,- -] Thus the old copies; but com mon fenfe and the whole tenour of the context warrant that it fhould be my company.-I obferve, Mr. Rawe in his Svo edition of our poet has likewife made this correction. H. 6 Apem. Apem. The middle of humanity thou never knewek, but the extremity of both ends. When thou wat in thy gilt, and thy perfume, they mockt thee for too much curiofity; in thy rags thou knoweft none, but art defpis'd for the contrary. There's a medlar for thee, eat it. Tim. On what I hate, I feed not. Tim. Ay, though it look like thee. Apem. An th'hadft hated medlars fooner, thou shouldst have loved thyfelf better now. What man didft thou ever know unthrift, that was beloved after his means ? Tim. Who, without those means thou talk'ft of, didst thou ever know beloved? Apem. Myfelf. Tim. I understand thee, thou hadft fome means to keep a dog. Apem. What things in the world canft thou nearest compare to thy flatterers ? Tim. Women nearest; but men, men are the things themselves. What wouldst thou do with the world, Apemantus, if it lay in thy power? Apem. Give it the beafts, to be rid of the men. Tim. Wouldst thou have thyself fall in the confusion of men, or remain a beaft with the beasts? Apem. Ay, Timon. Tim. A beaftly ambition, which the gods grant thee t' attain to! If thou wert a lion, the fox would beguile thee; if thou wert the lamb, the fox would eat thee; if thou wert the fox, the lion would fufpect thee, when, peradventure, thou wert. accus'd by the afs; if thou wert the afs, thy dulnefs would torment thee; and still thou liv'dft but as a breakfast to the wolf. If thou wert the wolf, thy greediness would afflict thee; and oft thou fhouldt hazard thy life for thy dinner. Wert thou the unicorn, pride and wrath, would confound thee, and make thine own felf the conqueft of thy fury. Wert: thou a bear, thou wouldst be kill'd by the horse; wert thou a horse, thou wouldst be feized by the leopard; wert thou a leopard, thou wert german to the lion, and the the fpots of thy kindred were jurors on thy life. All thy fafety were remotion, and thy defence abfence. What beast couldst thou be, that were not subject to a beait̃? and what a beast art thou already, and feest not thy loss. in transformation! Apem. If thou couldst please me with speaking to me, thou might't have hit upon it here. The commonwealth of Athens is become a forest of beafts. Tim. How has the afs broke the wall, that thou art out of the city? Apem. Yonder comes a poet, and a painter. (31) The plague of company light upon thee! I will fear to catch it, and give way. When I know not what else to do, I'll fee thee again. Tim. When there is nothing living but thee, thou fhalt be welcome. I had rather be a beggar's dog, than Apemantus. Apem. Thou art the cap of all the fools alive. Tim. Would, thou wert clean enough to fpit upon. A plague on thee! (32). Apem. Thou art too bad to curse. Tim. All villains, that do ftand by thee, are pure. Apem. I would my tongue could rot them off! (31) Apem. Yonder comes a poet, &c.] Apemantus is fuppos'd to lock out here, and to fee the poet and painter at a diftance, as traverfing the woods in queft of Timon. This preparation of scenery Mr. Pope did not conceive; and therefore, I don't know by what authority, has peremptorily thrown out fome part, and tranfpofed another part of this and the next fpeech to the place where Apemantus goes off. None of the old books countenance fuch a tranfpofition. (32) A plague on thee! Apem- -Thou art too bad to curfe.] In the former editions,, this whole verfe was placed to Apemantus by which, abfurdly, he was made to curfe Timon, and immediately to fubjoin that he was too bad to curfe. In my SHAKESPEARE reftor'd I gave the former part of the hemiftich to Timon, and the latter part to Apemantus; as it is now regulated in the text and Mr. Pop, in his laft edition, has vouchfafed to embrace this regulation, Choler Choler does kill me, that thou art alive: I fwoon to fee thee. Apem. Would thou wouldst burst! Tim. Away, thou tedious rogue, I am forry I fhall lofe a ftone by thee. Apem. Beaft! Tim. Slave! Apem. Toad! Tim. Rogue! rogue! rogue! [Apem. retreats backwards, as going. I am fick of this falfe world, and will love nought Then, Timon, prefently prepare thy grave; [Looking on the gold. "Twixt natural fon and fire! thou bright defiler Of Hymen's pureft bed! thou valiant Mars! Thou ever young, fresh, lov'd, and delicate wooer, Whose blush doth thaw the confecrated fnow, That lies on Dian's lap! thou vifible god, That foldreft clofe impoffibilities, And mak'ft them kifs! that speak'ft with every tongue, To every purpofe! oh, thou touch of hearts! Think, thy flave man rebels; and by thy virtue Set them into confounding odds, that beafts May have the world in empire. Apem. Would 'twere fo, But not 'till I am dead! I'll fay, thou haft gold: Tim. Throng'd to ? Apem. Ay. Tim. Thy back, I pr'ythee. Apem. Live, and love thy mifery! Tim. Long live fo, and fo die. I am quit. Apem. Mo things like men-eat, Timon, and abhor them. [Exit Apem. Enter |