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MER. Ay, Apemantus.

APEM. Traffick confound thee, if the gods will not!

MER. If traffick do it, the gods do it.

APEM. Traffick's thy god, and thy god confound thee!

Trumpets found. Enter a Servant.

TIM. What trumpet's that?

'Tis Alcibiades, and

SERV.
Some twenty horfe, all of companionship. 3

us.

TIM. Pray, entertain them; give them guide to [Exeunt fome Attendants. You must needs dine with me:-Go not you hence, Till I have thank'd you; and, when dinner's done,* Show me this piece.-I am joyful of your fights.

Enter ALCIBIADES, with his Company.

Moft welcome, fir!

APEM.

So, fo! there!

[They falute.

Aches contract and ftarve your fupple joints !— That there fhould be small love 'mongst these sweet

knaves,

And all this court'fy! The ftrain of man's bred out Into baboon and monkey. 5

3

all of companionship.] This expreffion does not mean barely that they all belong to one company, but that they are all fuch as Alcibiades honours with his acquaintance, and fels on a himfelf. STEEVENS.

level with

4 and, when dinner's done,] And, which is wanting in the firft folio, is fupplied by the fecond. STEEVENS.

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Into baboon and monkey. Man is exhaufted and degenerated; bis ftrain or lineage is worn down into a monkey. JOHNSON.

ALCIB. Sir, you have fav'd my longing, and I feed Moft hungrily on your fight.

TIM.

5

Right welcome, fir:

Fre we depart, we'll fhare a bounteous time
In different pleasures. Pray you, let us in.

[Exeunt all but APEMANTUS,

Enter two Lords.

1. LORD. What time a day is't, Apemantus?

APEM. Time to be honest.

1. LORD. That time ferves ftill.

APEM. The most accursed thou, that ftill omit'st

it.

2. LORD. Thou art going to lord Timon's feaft. APEM. Ay; to fee meat fill knaves, and wine heat fools.

2. LORD. Fare thee well, fare thee well.

APEM. Thou art a fool, to bid me farewell twice. 2. LORD. Why, Apemantus?

APEM. Shouldft have kept one to thyself, for I mean to give thee none.

5 Ere we depart,] Who depart? Though Alcibiades was to leave Timon, Timon was not to depart. Common fense favours my emendation. THEOBALD.

Mr. Theobald proposes-do part. Common fense may favour it, but an acquaintance with the language of Shakspeare would not have been quite fo propitious to his emendation. Depart and part have the fame meaning. So, in King John:

Hath willingly departed with a part."

i. e. hath willingly parted with a part of the thing in queftion. See Vol. XI. p. 355, n. 2. STEEVENS.

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The more degenerate aud bafe art thou-." STEEVENS.

1. LORD, Hang thyfelf.

APEM No I will do nothing at thy bidding: make thy requefts to thy friend.

2. LORD. Away, unpeaceable dog, or I'll spurn thee hence.

APEM. I will fly, like a dog, the heels of the afs.
[Exit.
1. LORD. He's oppofite to humanity. Come,
fhall we in,

And tafte lord Timon's bounty? he outgoes
The very heart of kindness.

2. LORD. He pours it out; Plutus, the god of
gold,

Is but his fteward: no meed,' but he repays
Sevenfold above itself; no gift to him,
But breeds the giver à return exceeding
All ufe of quittance.

1. LORD.

8

The nobleft mind he carriés,

That ever govern'd man.

2. LORD. Long may he live in fortunes! Shall we in?

1. LORD. I'll keep you company.

[Exeunt.

no meed,] Meed, which in general fignifies reward or recompence, in this place feems to mean defert. So, in Heywood's Silver Age, 1613:

"And yet thy body meeds a better grave.

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i. e. deferves. Again, in a comedy called Look about you, 1600: "Thou shalt be rich in honour, full of speed;

"Thou shalt win foes by fear, and friends by meed."

See Vol. XV. p. 45, n. 6. STEEVENS.

All ufe of quittance.] i. e. all the cuftomary returns made in discharge of obligations. WARBURTON.

1

SCENE II.

The fame. A Room of State in Timon's Houfe.

Hautboys playing loud mufick. A great banquet ferved in; FLAVIUS and others attending; then enter TIMON, ALCIBIADES, LUCIUS, LUCULLUS, SemPRONIUS, and other Athenian Senators, with VENTIDIUS and Attendants. Then comes, dropping after all, APEMANTUS, difcontentedly.

8

VEN. Moft honour'd Timon, 't hath pleas'd the
gods remember?

My father's age, and call him to long peace.
He is gone happy, and has left me rich:
Then, as in grateful virtue I am bound
To your free heart, I do return those talents,
Doubled, with- thanks, and service, from whose
help

I deriv'd liberty.

TIM.

O, by no means,

Honeft Ventidius: you mistake my love;
I gave it freely ever; and there's none
Can truly fay, he gives, if he receives:

8

difcontentedly.]

himself. STEEVENS.

The ancient flage-direction adds—like

9 Moft honour'd Timon, 't hath pleas'd the gods remember —] The old copy reads to remember. But I have omitted, for the fake of metre, and in conformity to our author's practice on other occafions, the adverb-to. Thus in King Henry VIII. A& IV. fc. ii. Vol. XVI. p. 158:

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Patience, is that letter

"I caus'd you write, yet fent away?"

Every one must be aware that the particle-to was purpofely left out, before the verb-write. STEEVENS.

If our betters play at that game, we muft not dare To imitate them; Faults that are rich, are fair.2

* If our betters play at that game, we must not dare
To imitate them; Faults that are rich, are fair.]

Thefe two

lines are abfurdly given to Timon. They fhould be read thus: Tim. If our betters play at that game, we must not.

Apem. Dare to imitate them. Faults that are rich are fair. This is faid fatirically, and in character. It was a fober reflection. in Timon; who by our betters meant the gods, which require to be repaid for benefits received; but it would be impiety in men to exped the fame obfervance for the trifling good they do. Apemantus, agreeably to his character, perverts this fentiment; as if Timon had spoke of earthly grandeur and potentates, who expect largeft returns for their favours; and therefore, ironically replies as above. WARBURTON.

I cannot fee that these lines are more proper in any other mouth than Timon's, to whofe character of generofity and condefcenfion they are very fuitable. To fuppofe that by our belters are meant the gods, is very harsh, becaufe to imitate the gods has been hitherto reckoned the highest pitch of human virtue. The whole is a trite and obvious thought, uttered by Timon with a kind of affected modesty. If I would make any alteration, it should be only to reform the numbers thus:

Our belters play that game; we must not dare

'T imitate them: faults that are rich are fair. JOHNSON. The faults of rich perfons, and which contribute to the increase of riches, wear a plaufible appearance, and as the world goes are thought fair; but they are faults notwithstanding. HEATH.

Dr. Warburton with his usual love of innovation, transfers the laft word of the firft of thefe lines, and the whole of the fecond to Apemantus. Mr. Heath has juftly obferved that this cannot have been Shakspeare's intention, for thus Apemantus would be made to address Timon personally, who must therefore have seen and heard him; whereas it appears from a fubfequent speech that Timon had not yet taken notice of him, as he falutes him with fome furprize

"O, Apemantus!-you are welcome."

The term-our betters, being used by the inferior claffes of men when they speak of their fuperiors in the ftate, Shakspeare uses these words, with his ufual laxity, to exprefs perfons of high rank and fortune. MALONE.

So, in King Lear, A& III. fc. vi. Edgar fays, (referring to the diftra&ted king):

"When we our betters fee bearing our woes,

"We fcarcely think our miseries our foes." STEEVENS.

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