Imatges de pàgina
PDF
EPUB

Tim. Ready for his friends.
Apem. What a coil's here,

[Exeunt Lords.

Serving of becks and jutting out of bums! (9)
I doubt, whether their legs be worth the fums
That are giv'n for 'em. Friendship's full of dregs:
Methinks, falfe hearts fhould never have found legs.
Thus honeft fools lay out their wealth on courtefies.
Tim. Now, Apemantus, if thou wert not fullen,
I would be good to thee.

Apem. No, I'll nothing; for if I fhould be brib'd too, there would be none left to rail upon thee, and then thou wouldst fin the fafter. Thou giv'ft fo long Timon, (10) I fear me, thou wilt give away thy felf in paper

- fhortly.

(9) Serving of becks] I have not ventur'd to alter this phrafe, tho' I confefs freely, I don't understand it. It may be made intelligible two ways, with very flight alteration. Mr. Warburton acutely fropos'd to me,

Serring of becks,

from the French word ferrer, to join clofe together, to lock one within another; by a metaphor taken from the billing of pigeons, who interfert their bills into one another. Or, we might read,

Scruing of backs, and jutting out of bums! For Apemantus is obferving on the ridiculous congees, and complimental motions of the flattering guests in taking their leave. Both conjectures are fubmitted to judgment.

(10) I fear me, thou wilt give away thyself in paper fhortly.] i, e, be ruined by his fecurities entered into. But this fenfe, as Mr. Warburton obferves, is cold; and relishes very little of that salt which is in Apemantus's other reflections. He propofes,

-give away thyself in proper shortly.

i. e. in perfon; thy proper felf. This latter is an expreffion of our author's in the Tempeft;

And ev'n with fuch like valour men hang and drown
Their proper felves.

And of B. Jonfon in the induction to his Cynthia's Revels;

-If you pleafe to confer with our author by attorney, you may,

Sir: our proper felf here ftands for him.

And the other phrafe, thyself in proper-without the fubftantive fube join'd, I believe, may be justified by fimilar ufage.

B. Jonfon in his Sejanus;

My Lords, this ftrikes at ev'ry Roman's private.

i. e. private property, or intereft. And again, in the fame play ; Macro, thou art engag'd; and what before

Was public, now must be thy privase.

i. e. thy

fhortly. What need these feafts, pomps, and vain-, glories?

Tim. Nay, if you begin to rail on fociety once, I am fworn not to give regard to you. Farewel, and come. with better mufick. [Exit. Apem. So (11) thou wilt not hear me now, thou

[blocks in formation]

A

Enter a Senator.

SENATOR.

ND late, five thoufand: to Varro and to Ifidore He owes nine thousand, befides my former fum; Which makes it five and twenty.-Still in motion

i. e. thy private concern. And, to quote one authority from an author of more modern date;

Milton in his Paradife Loft, B. 7. v. 367.

By tincture, or reflection, they augment

Their fmall peculiar.

i. e. peculiar body, or brightnefs; for it is fpoken of the stars.
(11) Thou wilt not bear me now, thou shalt not then.

Tlllock thy beaven from thee.] So, in Cymbeline, Imogen fays;
if he fhould write,
And I not have it, 'tis a paper loft

As offer'd mercy is.

i. e. not to be retrieved. In both thefe paffages our poet is alluding to a theological opinion, that the Holy Spirit by fecret whispers in the mind, the ftill voice, inward fuggeftions, offers its affiftance very often when it is not attended to either when men are drag'd away by the violence of the paffions, or blinded by too great attention to worldly avocations. This by divines is called the lofs of offered mercy: and when it is for a length of time rejected, or difregarded, the offender's cafe is looked upon to be the more defperate.

Mr. Warburton.

of

Of raging wafte? It cannot hold, it will not.
If I want gold, fteal but a beggar's dog,
And give it Timon, why, the dog coins gold.
If I would fell my horfe, and buy ten more
Better than he; why, give my horse to Timon;
Afk nothing, give it him, it foals me straight
Ten able horse. No porter at his gate; (12)
But rather one that fmiles, and ftill invites
All that pafs by it. It cannot hold; no reason
Can found his ftate in fafety. Caphis, hoa!
Caphis, I say.

Enter Caphis.

Cap. Here, Sir, what is your pleasure ?

Sen. Get on your cloak, and hafte you to Lord Timon ; Importune him for monies, be not ceaft

With flight denial; nor then filenc'd with

Commend me to your mafter-and the cap

Plays in the right hand, thus:- but tell him, firrah,

My ufes cry to me, I must ferve my turn

Out of mine own; his days and times are paft,

And my reliance on his fracted dates

Has fmit my credit. I love and honour him;
But must not break my back, to heal his finger.
Immediate are my needs, and my relief
Must not be toft and turn'd to me in words,
But find fupply immediate. Get you gone.
Put on a molt importunate afpect,

A visage of demand; for I do fear,

(12) Afk nothing, give it him, it foals me ftraight

An able borfe.] The stupidity of this corruption will be very obvious, if we take the whole context together. "If I want gold, (fays "the Senator) let me fteal a beggar's dog, and give it to Timon, the "dog coins me gold. If I would fell my horfe, and had a mind to "buy ten better instead of him; why, I need but give my horse to "Timon, to gain this point; and it presently fetches me an borse.” But is that gaining the point proposed? fenfe and reason warrant the reading, that I have restored to the text. The first Folio reads, lefs corruptly than the modern impreffions,

-And able horfes.

Which reading, join'd to the reasoning of the paffage, gave me the hint for this emendation.

When

When every feather sticks in his own wing,
Lord Timon will be left a naked Gull,
Who flashes now a Phoenix-get you gone.
Cap. I go, Sir.

Sen. I go, Sir-take the bonds along with you, (13) And have the dates in compt..

Cap. I will, Sir.

Sen. Go.

[Exeunt.

SCENE changes to Timon's hall.

Enter Flavius, with many bills in his hand.

Flav. N That he will neither know how to maintain it,

O care, no top? fo fenfelefs of expence,

Nor ceafe his flow of riot? Takes no account
How things go from him, and resumes no care
Of what is to continue: never mind

Was to be fo unwife, to be so kind.

What shall be done?-he will not hear, 'till feel :
I must be round with him, now he comes from hunting.
Fie, fie, fie, fie.

Enter Caphis, Ifidore, and Varro.

Cap. Good evening, Varro; what you come for money? Var. Is't not your bufinefs too?

Cap. It is; and yours too, Ifidore?

Ifid. It is fo.

Cap. Would we were all discharg❜d.

Var. I fear it.

Cap. Here comes the Lord.

(13) -take the bonds along with you,

And have the dates in. Come.] The abfurdity of this paffage is fo glaring, that one cannot help wondering, none of our poet's editors fhould have been fagacious enough to ftumble at it. Certainly, ever fince bonds were given, the date was put in when the bond was enter'd into: And thefe bonds Timon had already given, and the time limited for their payment was laps'd. The Senator's charge to his fervant must be to the tenour as I have amended the text; viz. Take good notice of the dates, for the better computation of the intereft due upon them. Mr. Pope has vouchfafed to acknowledge my emendation, and cry recte to it in the appendix to his last impreffion.

2

Enter

Enter Timon, and his train.

Tim. So foon as dinner's done, we'll forth again, My Alcibiades.-Well, what's your will?

[They prefent their bills.

Cap. My Lord, here is a note of certain dues.
Tim. Dues? whence are you ?

Cap. Of Athens here, my Lord.
Tim. Go to my Steward.

Cap. Please it your Lordship, he hath put me off
To the fucceffion of new days, this month:
My matter is awak'd by great occafion,

To call upon his own; and humbly prays you,
That with your other nobler parts you'll fuit,
In giving him his right.

Tim. Mine honeft friend,

I pr'ythee, but repair to me next morning.
Cap. Nay, good my Lord.

Tim. Contain thyself, good friend.

Var. One Varro's fervant, my good Lord

Ifid. From Ifidore, he prays your fpeedy payment—
Cap. If you did know, my Lord, my mafter's wants-
Var. 'Twas due on forfeiture, my Lord, fix weeks, and
paft.-

Ifid. Your fteward puts me off, my Lord, and I
Am fent expressly to your Lordship.

Tim. Give me breath:-
:-

I do beseech you, good my Lords, keep on, [Ex. Lords.
I'll wait upon you inftantly.-Come hither:

How goes the world, that I am thus encountred
With clam'rous claims of debt, of broken bonds,
And the detention of long-fince-due debts,

Against my honour ?

Flav. Pleafe you, gentlemen,

The time is unagreeable to this business:

Your importunity ceafe, 'till after dinner;

That I may make his Lordship understand

Wherefore you are not paid.

Tim. Do fo, my friends; fee them well entertain❜d.

[Exit Tim,

« AnteriorContinua »