1. THIEF. Let us first see peace in Athens: There is no time so miferable, but a man may be true. 6 [Exeunt Thieves. Enter FLAVIUS. FLAV. O you gods! Is yon despis'd and ruinous man my lord? Desperate want made!' What viler thing upon the earth, than friends, Who can bring noblest minds to basest ends! How rarely does it meet with this time's guife, When man was wish'd to love his enemies:9 Let us first fee peace in Athens: There is no time so miferable, but a man may be true.] [Dr. Warburton divides this line between the two thieves.] This and the concluding little speech have in all the editions been placed to one speaker: But, it is evident, the latter words ought to be put in the mouth of the second thief, who is repenting, and leaving off his trade. WARBURTON. The fecond thief has just said, he'll give over his trade. It is time enough for that, fays the first thief: let us wait till Athens is at peace. There is no hour of a man's life so wretched, but he always has it in his power to become a true, i. e. an honest man. I have explained this easy passage, because it has, I think, been mifunderstood. Our author has made Mrs. Quickly utter nearly the fame exhortation to the dying Falstaff. - Now I bid him not think of God; there was time enough for that yet." MALONE. What an alteration of honour has Desperate want made! An alteration of honour, is an altera tion of an honourable ftate to a state of disgrace. JOHNSON. 8 How rarely does it meet-) Rarely for fitly; How curiously; how happily. MALONE. not for seldom. WARBURTON. 9 When man was wish'd to love his enemies :) We should read will'd. He forgets his Pagan system here again. WARBURTON. Wish'd is right. It means recommended. See Vol. IV. p. 462, n. 4; and Vol. VI. p. 417, n. 8. REED. Grant, I may ever love, and rather woo • Still ferve him with my life. - My dearest master! TIMON comes forward from his cave. TIM. Away! what art thou? FLAV. Have you forgot me, fir?, TIM. Why dost ask that? I have forgot all men; Then, if thou grant'st thou'rt man, I have forgot thee. FLAV. An honest poor servant of yours. I know thee not: I ne'er had honeft man FLAV. Then 5 The gods are witness, Ne'er did poor steward wear a truer grief For his undone lord, than mine eyes for you. 2 Grant, I may ever love, and rather woo Those that would mischief me, than those that do!] It is plain, that in this whole speech friends and enemies are taken only for those who profess friendship and profess enmity; for the friend is supposed not to be more kind, but more dangerous than the enemy. The sense is, Let me rather woo or caress those that would mischief, that profess to mean me mischief, than those that really do me mischief, under false profeffioms of kindness. The Spaniards, I think, have this proverb: Defend me from my friends, and from my enemies I will defend myself. This proverb is a fufficient comment on the passage. JOHNSON. 3 4 -thou'rt man,] Old copy-thou'rt a man. STEEVENS. that fake. STEEVENS. knaves, 5 want and a rafcal. P i TIM. What, dost thou weep? -Come nearer;- Because thou art a woman, and disclaim'st weeping! FLAV. I beg of you to know me, good my lord, To accept my grief, and, whilst this poor wealth lasts, To entertain me as your steward still. TIM. Had I a steward so true, so just, and now So comfortable? It almost turns My dangerous nature wild. Let me behold 4 -Pity's sleeping:) I do not know that any correction is necessary, but I think we might read : eyes do never give, But thorough luft and laughter, pity sleeping: Eyes never flow (to give is to diffolve, as faline bodies in moist weather,) but by luft or laughter, undisturb'd by emotions of pity. JOHNSON. -Pity's fleeping :) So, in Daniel's second Sonnet, 1594: 5 "Waken her sleeping pity with your crying." MALONE. It almost turns My dangerous nature wild.] i. e. It almost turns my dangerous nature to a dangerous nature; for, by dangerous nature is meant wildness. Shakspeare wrote: It almost turns my dangerous nature mild. i. e. It almost reconciles me again to mankind. For fear of that, he puts in a caution immediately after, that he makes an exception but for one man. To which the Oxford editor says, rectè. WARBURTON. This emendation is specious, but even this may be controverted. To turn wild is to distract. An appearance so unexpected, says Timon, almost turns my favageness to distraction. Accordingly he examines with nicety left his phrenzy should deceive him: Let me behold Thy face. Surely, this man was born of woman.-" And to this suspected diforder of mind he alludes: Perpetual-fober gods!" Ye powers whose intellects are out of the reach of perturbation. JOHNSON, He who is so much disturbed as to have no command over his actions, and to be dangerous to all around him, is already distracted, Thy face. Surely, this man was born of woman.- One honest man,-mistake me not, but one; Methinks, thou art more honest now, than wife; If not a ufuring kindness; and as rich men deal gifts, and therefore it would be idle to talk of turning such "a dangerous nature wild:" it is wild already. Besides; the baseness and ingratitude of the world might very properly be mentioned as driving Timon into frenzy: (So in Antony and Cleopatra : "The ingratitude of this Seleucus does "Even make me wild.") but furely the kindness and fidelity of his steward was more likely to foften and compose him; that is, to render his dangerous nature mild. I therefore strongly incline to Dr. Warburton's emendation. MALONE. 6 Perpetual-fober-] Old copy, unmetrically, You perpetual &C. STEEVENS. 7 If not a ufuring -) If not seems to have flipt in here, by an error of the press, from the preceding line. Both the sense and metre would be better without it. TYRWHITT. I do not fee any need of change. Timon afks-Has not thy kindness some covert design? Is it not proposed with a view to gain Some equivalent in return, or rather to gain a great deal more than thou offereft? Is it not at least the offspring of avarice, if not of fomething worse, of ufury? In this there appears to me no difficulty. MALONE. My opinion most perfectly coincides with that of Mr. Tyrwhitt. The sense of the line, with or without the contested words, is nearly the fame; yet, by the omission of them, the metre would become fufficiently regular. STEEVENS. Expecting in return twenty for one? FLAV. No, my most worthy master, in whose breaft Doubt and suspect, alas, are plac'd too late: You should have fear'd false times, when you did feaft: Suspect still comes where an estate is least. That which I show, heaven knows, is merely love, For any benefit that points to me, TIM. Look thee, 'tis so!-Thou singly honest man, Here, take:-the gods out of my misery And fo, farewell, and thrive. FLAV. And comfort you, my master. 7 O, let me stay, - from men ;) Away from human habitations. JOHNSON. 8 Debts wither them:) Old copy Debts wither them to nothing: I have omitted the redundant words, not only for the fake of metre, but because they are worthless. Our author has the same phrase in Antony and Cleopatra: Age cannot wither her,-." STEEVENS. |