Titus Andronicus & Timon of Athens (33 page)

TIMON
    O blessèd
breeding
sun,
draw from the earth
¹

Rotten humidity: below thy
sister’s orb
²

Infect the air. Twinned brothers of one womb,

Whose procreation,
residence
⁴
, and birth,

Scarce is
dividant
,
touch
them with
several
⁵
fortunes,

The greater scorns the lesser.
Not nature,
⁶

To whom all sores lay siege, can bear great fortune

But by contempt of nature.

Raise me
⁹
this beggar, and deny’t that lord,

The senators shall
bear contempt hereditary,
¹⁰

The beggar
native honour.
¹¹

It is the
pasture
lards
¹²
the beggar’s sides,

The
want
¹³
that makes him lean. Who dares, who dares

In
purity of manhood
¹⁴
stand upright

And say ‘This man’s a flatterer’? If one be,

So are they all, for every
grece
¹⁶
of fortune

Is
smoothed
by that below. The learnèd
pate
¹⁷

Ducks
to the
golden
fool. All’s
oblique:
¹⁸

There’s nothing
level
¹⁹
in our cursèd natures

But
direct
²⁰
villainy. Therefore be abhorred

All feasts, societies, and throngs of men!

His
semblable
²²
, yea, himself, Timon disdains.

Destruction
fang
²³
mankind. Earth, yield me roots.

Who seeks for better
of
thee,
sauce
²⁴
his palate

With thy most
operant
²⁵
poison! What is here?

Gold? Yellow, glittering, precious gold?

No, gods, I am no idle
votarist:
²⁷

Roots, you
clear
heavens. Thus much of
this
²⁸
will make

Black white, foul fair, wrong right,

Base noble, old young, coward valiant.

Ha, you gods! Why this? What this, you gods? Why, this

Will
lug
³²
your priests and servants from your sides,

Pluck stout men’s pillows from below their heads:

This yellow slave

Will
knit
³⁵
and break religions, bless th’accursed,

Make the
hoar
leprosy adored,
place
³⁶
thieves

And give them title,
knee
³⁷
and approbation

With senators on the bench. This is it

That makes the
wappened
³⁹
widow wed again;

She whom the
spittle house
⁴⁰
and ulcerous sores

Would
cast the gorge at
,
this
embalms and spices
⁴¹

To
th’April day
⁴²
again. Come, damnèd earth,

Thou
common whore
of mankind, that puts
odds
⁴³

Among the
rout
⁴⁴
of nations, I will make thee

Do thy right nature.
⁴⁵

                                   Ha? A drum? Thou’rt
quick,
⁴⁵

But yet I’ll bury thee: thou’lt
go
, strong
thief,
⁴⁶

When gouty
keepers
⁴⁷
of thee cannot stand.

Nay, stay thou out
for earnest.
⁴⁸

ALCIBIADES
    What art thou there? Speak.

TIMON
    A beast, as thou art. The
canker
⁵⁰
gnaw thy heart

For showing me again the eyes of man!

ALCIBIADES
    What is thy name? Is man so hateful to thee

That art thyself a man?

TIMON
    I am
Misanthropos
⁵⁴
, and hate mankind.

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

That I might love thee
something.
⁵⁶

ALCIBIADES
    I know thee well,

But in thy fortunes am unlearned and
strange.
⁵⁸

TIMON
    I know thee too, and more than that I know thee

I not desire to know. Follow thy drum,

With man’s blood paint the ground
gules
⁶¹
, gules.

Religious
canons
⁶²
, civil laws are cruel:

Then what should war be? This
fell
⁶³
whore of thine

Hath in her more destruction than thy sword,

For all her
cherubin look.
⁶⁵

PHRYNIA
    Thy
lips rot off!
⁶⁶

TIMON
    I will not kiss thee, then the rot returns

To thine own lips again.

ALCIBIADES
    How came the noble Timon to this change?

TIMON
    As the moon does, by
wanting
⁷⁰
light to give.

But then
renew
⁷¹
I could not like the moon:

There were no suns to borrow of.

ALCIBIADES
    Noble Timon, what friendship may I do thee?

TIMON
    None, but to maintain my opinion.

ALCIBIADES
    What is it, Timon?

TIMON
    Promise me friendship, but perform none: if thou

wilt not promise, the gods plague thee, for thou art a man. If

thou dost perform, confound thee, for thou art a man.

ALCIBIADES
    I have heard
in some sort
⁷⁹
of thy miseries.

TIMON
    Thou saw’st them when I had prosperity.

ALCIBIADES
    I see them now: then was a blessèd time.

TIMON
    As thine is now, held with a
brace
⁸²
of harlots.

TIMANDRA
    Is this th’Athenian
minion
⁸³
whom the world

Voiced so regardfully?
⁸⁴

TIMON
    Art thou Timandra?

TIMANDRA
    Yes.

TIMON
    Be a whore still. They love thee not that
use
⁸⁷
thee:

Give them diseases, leaving with thee their lust.

Make use of thy
salt
hours:
season
⁸⁹
the slaves

For
tubs and baths
⁹⁰
, bring down rose-cheeked youth

To the
tub-fast
⁹¹
and the diet.

TIMANDRA
    Hang thee, monster!

ALCIBIADES
    Pardon him, sweet Timandra, for his wits

Are drowned and lost in his calamities.

I have but little gold
of late
⁹⁵
, brave Timon,

The want
whereof
⁹⁶
doth daily make revolt

In my
penurious
band
⁹⁷
. I have heard and grieved

How cursèd Athens,
mindless
⁹⁸
of thy worth,

Forgetting thy great deeds, when neighbour states,

But
for thy sword and fortune
trod
¹⁰⁰
upon them—

TIMON
    I prithee beat thy drum and get thee gone.

ALCIBIADES
    I am thy friend, and pity thee, dear Timon.

TIMON
    How dost thou pity him whom thou dost trouble?

I had rather be alone.

ALCIBIADES
    Why, fare thee well:

Here is some gold for thee.

TIMON
    Keep it, I cannot eat it.

ALCIBIADES
    When I have laid proud Athens
on a heap
¹⁰⁸
—

TIMON
    Warr’st thou gainst Athens?

ALCIBIADES
    Ay, Timon, and have cause.

TIMON
    The gods confound them all in thy conquest,

And thee after, when thou hast conquerèd!

ALCIBIADES
    Why me, Timon?

TIMON
    That by killing of villains

Thou wast born to conquer my country.

Put
up
¹¹⁶
thy gold. Go on, here’s gold, go on.

Be as a
planetary plague
when
Jove
¹¹⁷

Will
o’er some
high-viced
¹¹⁸
city hang his poison

In the
sick
air. Let not thy sword
skip
¹¹⁹
one.

Pity not honoured age for his white beard:

He is an usurer.
Strike me
the
counterfeit matron:
¹²¹

It is her
habit
¹²²
only that is honest,

Herself’s a bawd. Let not the virgin’s cheek

Make soft thy
trenchant
sword, for those
milk-paps
¹²⁴

That through the
window-bars
¹²⁵
bore at men’s eyes,

Are not within the
leaf of pity
¹²⁶
writ,

But
set
¹²⁷
them down horrible traitors. Spare not the babe

Whose dimpled smiles from fools
exhaust
¹²⁸
their mercy;

Think it a bastard whom the oracle

Hath
doubtfully
pronounced
the throat shall cut,
¹³⁰

And
mince
it
sans
remorse. Swear against
objects,
¹³¹

Put armour on thine ears and on thine eyes

Whose
proof
¹³³
nor yells of mothers, maids, nor babes,

Nor sight of priests in holy vestments bleeding,

Shall pierce a jot. There’s gold to pay thy soldiers:

Make large
confusion
¹³⁶
, and, thy fury spent,

Confounded be thyself. Speak not, be gone.

ALCIBIADES
    Hast thou gold yet? I’ll take the gold thou givest me,

Not all thy
counsel.
¹³⁹

TIMON
    
Dost thou or dost thou not
¹⁴⁰
, heaven’s curse upon thee!

PHRYNIA
and
TIMANDRA
    Give us some gold, good Timon. Hast thou more?

TIMON
    Enough to make a whore
forswear
¹⁴²
her trade,

And to
make whores, a bawd
¹⁴³
. Hold up, you sluts,

Your aprons
mountant.
¹⁴⁴

                                    You are not
oathable,
¹⁴⁴

Although I know you’ll swear, terribly swear

Into strong shudders and to heavenly
agues
¹⁴⁶

Th’immortal gods that hear you. Spare your oaths:

I’ll trust to your
conditions
¹⁴⁸
. Be whores still,

And he whose pious breath seeks to convert you,

Be strong in
whore
, allure him,
burn him up:
¹⁵⁰

Let your
close fire
predominate
his
smoke,
¹⁵¹

And
be no turncoats
. Yet may
your pains six months
¹⁵²

Be quite contrary, and thatch your poor
thin roofs
¹⁵³

With
burdens of
¹⁵⁴
the dead — some that were hanged,

No matter. Wear them, betray with them, whore still,

Paint
till a horse may
mire upon
¹⁵⁶
your face.

A
pox
¹⁵⁷
of wrinkles!

PHRYNIA
and
TIMANDRA
    Well, more gold: what then?

Believe’t that we’ll
do
¹⁵⁹
anything for gold.

TIMON
    
Consumptions
¹⁶⁰
sow

In hollow bones of man, strike their
sharp
¹⁶¹
shins,

And
mar
men’s
spurring
¹⁶²
. Crack the lawyer’s voice,

That he may never more false
title
¹⁶³
plead,

Nor sound his
quillets
shrilly.
Hoar
the
flamen
¹⁶⁴

That
scolds against the quality of flesh,
¹⁶⁵

And not believes himself.
Down with the nose,
¹⁶⁶

Down with it flat: take the bridge quite away

Of him that,
his particular to foresee,
¹⁶⁸

Smells from the general weal
. Make
curled-pate
¹⁶⁹
ruffians bald,

And let the unscarred
braggarts
¹⁷⁰
of the war

Derive some pain from you. Plague all,

That your
activity
¹⁷²
may defeat and quell

The source of all
erection
¹⁷³
. There’s more gold.

Do you damn others, and let this damn you,

And ditches
grave
¹⁷⁵
you all!

PHRYNIA
and
TIMANDRA
    More counsel with more money, bounteous Timon.

TIMON
    More whore, more mischief first: I have given you
earnest.
¹⁷⁷

ALCIBIADES
    Strike up the drum towards Athens!— Farewell, Timon:

If I thrive well, I’ll visit thee again.

TIMON
    If I hope well, I’ll never see thee more.

ALCIBIADES
    I never did thee harm.

TIMON
    Yes, thou spok’st well of me.

ALCIBIADES
    Call’st thou that harm?

TIMON
    Men daily find
it
¹⁸⁴
. Get thee away, and take

Thy
beagles
¹⁸⁵
with thee.

ALCIBIADES
    We but offend him.
Strike!
¹⁸⁶