TIMON OF ATHENS.

"And leave you hindmost."

As this line is short, and as further on there is a line with two superfluous feet, it is evident that there has been a misarrangement. I have, therefore, in my Edition, rearranged this and the following lines. I have there read, "Fallen inthefirst rank;" but it might be better, though less forcible, to read:—

"Fallen in first rank, lies there for pavement to."

"And give to dust that is a little giltMore laud than gilt o'erdustede'er is given."

"And give to dust that is a little gilt

More laud than gilt o'erdustede'er is given."

"Made emulous missions 'mongst the gods themselves."

I incline to reademulations.

"Whilst emulation in the army crept."—ii. 2.

"When, for so slight and frivolous a cause,Such factious emulations shall arise."

"When, for so slight and frivolous a cause,

Such factious emulations shall arise."

1 Hen. VI. iv. 1.

Here one word appears, as elsewhere, to have become two in the printer's hands. (See Introd. p.67.) But as the poet was probably familiar with Chapman's Iliads, the allusion may be to the various missions of Apollo, Minerva, Hermes, and Iris.

"Does thoughts unveil in their dumb cradleslaid."

"During all question of the gentle truce."

If 'question' be genuine here it must mean intercourse, conversation, a sense of which I have met with no example.

"We'll not commend what we intend to sell."

In Son. xxi. we have, "I will not praise that purpose not to sell." Hence some would add a negative here; but it is not necessary. He means that they would sell Helen dearly.

"As infants empty of all thought."

Editors read 'infants' in the genitive. In either case I thinktohas been omitted before it.

"Beshrew the witch! with venomous wights she staysAs tediously as hell."

"Beshrew the witch! with venomous wights she stays

As tediously as hell."

No sense has been, or, I think, can be made of 'venomous wights.' I think 'venomous' must be an error.

"Good, good, my lord; the secrets of Nature have notMore gift in taciturnitythan I."

"Good, good, my lord; the secrets of Nature have not

More gift in taciturnitythan I."

"To shame the seal of my petition to theeIn praising her."

"To shame the seal of my petition to thee

In praising her."

We should readzeal, as is usually done.

"No trumpet answers.—'Tis but early day[s]."

"That give a coasting welcome ere it comes."

There can be little doubt, I think, that 'coasting' is a noun; and I regard it as the same as 'costingby aphæresis fromaccosting.

"I shall forestall thee, Lord Ulysses, thou."—

Tyrwhitt's conjecture,thoughfor 'thou,' is a happy one, and should perhaps be admitted.

"Can scarce entreat you to be odd with him."

Perhaps 'odd,' which is so unusual, should beat odds.

"Why, thou picture of what thou seemest, andthouidol."

"Thou art thought to be Achilles' male varlet."

As he elsewhere, it might appear, calls himbrach, Hanmer's readingharlotwould seem to have been the poet's word. But on the other hand, in the Honest Whore,varletis used as synonymous withpunk, of a woman in man's clothes. "'Tis amale varletsure, my lord, for a woman's tailor never measured him."

"They say he keeps a Trojan drab, and uses the traitor Calchas' tent. I'll afterhim."

The wordhim, requisite for the metre, had been lost.

"A juggling trick, to be open secretly."

The 4tos and folio read 'secretly open.'

"And yet the spacious breadth of this divisionAdmits no orifice for a point as subtleAs Ariachne's broken woof to enter."

"And yet the spacious breadth of this division

Admits no orifice for a point as subtle

As Ariachne's broken woof to enter."

This is a curious instance of a copyist's or printer's transposition.(Introd. p.61.) It is downright nonsense; but read

"As subtle as Arachne's broken woof,Admits no orifice for a point to enter,"

"As subtle as Arachne's broken woof,

Admits no orifice for a point to enter,"

and what excellent sense emerges! 'Subtle' (or, as we should now write,subtile), used also by Chapman (Odyss. x. 296) of Circe's web, issubtilis, 'fine-spun'; and the 'broken woof' is the web torn by Minerva; 'admits' is allows of,i.e.contains; for 'orifice' the originals haveorifex. As Shakespeare was a great reader of Golding's Ovid, Ariachne could never have beenhisword. A perfect parallel to the embarrassed structure of this passage is offered by

"That have sod their infants in—and after eat them—The brine they wept at killing 'em; then if."

"That have sod their infants in—and after eat them—

The brine they wept at killing 'em; then if."

Two Noble Kinsmen, i. 3.

Which should be:

"That have sod their infants in the brine they weptAt killing 'em, and after eat them; then if."

"That have sod their infants in the brine they wept

At killing 'em, and after eat them; then if."

(See on Cymb. i. 7.) The meaning of this very obscure passage is, that there could not be now even the slightest doubt of Cressida's infidelity, incredible as it might seem. 'Instance' in the following lines is, proof.

"It is as lawfulFor we would count give much to as violent thefts."

"It is as lawful

For we would count give much to as violent thefts."

This is pure nonsense. The first 'as' cannot be right, and it probably gave origin to the second. I read with confidence,

"It is unlawfulFor we would give much count to violent thefts."

"It is unlawful

For we would give much count to violent thefts."

In my Edition I read 'soto,' but it is needless. 'Count' is account, importance, value.

"Thieves for their robbery have authorityWhen judges steal themselves."

"Thieves for their robbery have authority

When judges steal themselves."

Meas. for Meas. ii. 2.

"My free driftHalts not particularly, but moves alongIn a wide sea of wax. No levell'd maliceInfects one comma in the course I hold,But flies an eagle's flight, bold and forth on,Leaving no tract behind."

"My free drift

Halts not particularly, but moves along

In a wide sea of wax. No levell'd malice

Infects one comma in the course I hold,

But flies an eagle's flight, bold and forth on,

Leaving no tract behind."

There is much here that seems dubious.Holdsmight seem preferable to 'Halts'; yet I would make no change; for 'Halts not particularly,' I think, may mean stops at, dwells on, no individual. For 'wax' we might read, as has been proposed,verse; but the allusion may be to the waxed tables on which the ancients wrote. We might also readWhichfor 'But,' yet it is more probable that a line is lost before it.

"To those have shut him up; which failinghim."

So Capell also; 2nd folio tohim.

"My friend when he must need me."

Better, perhaps, with 3rd folio,most needs.

"Therefore he will be, Timon."

Something is lost after 'be,' and Timon is never addressed during his prosperity by any one but Apemantus without Lord or some other title of honour. I therefore read 'he will beblest,LordTimon.' In ii. 2, we have an omission of 'Lord' by the printer. Singer proposedrewardedafter 'be.' Possibly 'Timon' was a mere addition of the printer's.

"That I had no angry wit to be a lord."

I cannot find a meaning in this. Perhaps 'no' should beso, and 'angry'little,mean,poor, or something of the kind. Warburton readhungry. Singer's folioan empty.

"Traffic's thy god, andmaythy god confound thee!"

"Than my fortunesareto me."

"But yonderman is ever angery."

"Let me stayhereat thine apperil, Timon."

Timon had assigned him 'a table by himself.'

"Here's that which is too weak to be a sinner."

We should, of course, readliarto rime withmire.

"Amen,amen. So fall to't."

"Much good dich thy good heart, Apemantus!"

This might seem to be a mere misprint ofdo it; but it is in reality a mere corruption of it.

"Please you, my lord, there are certain ladieswho are."

"The ear,Taste, touch, smell, pleased from thy table rise."

"The ear,

Taste, touch, smell, pleased from thy table rise."

The admirable restoration of Warburton. The 4tos and folio had "There, taste, touch, all pleas'd from thy table rise." The two first letters ofsmellhad probably been effaced. See on Ham. iii. 4.

"You have added worth and lustre unto it."

In the originals 'unto't and lustre.' The 2nd folio reads 'andlivelylustre.'

"Vouchsafe me a word; it does concern you near.—Neär? Why, then, another time I'll hear thee.I pr'ythee let us be providednowTo show them entertainment.—I scarce know how."

"Vouchsafe me a word; it does concern you near.—

Neär? Why, then, another time I'll hear thee.

I pr'ythee let us be providednow

To show them entertainment.—I scarce know how."

Metre and rime both seem to require this addition. Perhaps in the two first lines we should read 'nearly,' thus making a rime, or omit 'thee.'

"May it please your honour,thelord Lucius."

"Four milk-white horses, trapp'd in silver-harness.""Thy horses shall be trapp'd,Their harness studded all with gold and pearl."

"Four milk-white horses, trapp'd in silver-harness."

"Thy horses shall be trapp'd,Their harness studded all with gold and pearl."

"Thy horses shall be trapp'd,

Their harness studded all with gold and pearl."

Tam. of Shrew, Induct. ii.

"And now I rememberme, my lord, you gave."

"I doubtmewhether their legs be worth the sums."

"It cannot hold; no reasonCan sound his state in safety."

"It cannot hold; no reason

Can sound his state in safety."

If 'sound' be the right word, it must be a nautical metaphor. Editors in general readfound.

"Plays in the right hand thus;—but tell himthat."

"Ay go, sir.—Take the bonds along with you,And have the dates in. Come...."

"Ay go, sir.—Take the bonds along with you,

And have the dates in. Come...."

This is the reading of the folio, and is perfectly intelligible; perhaps we should read 'inmind.' Editors in general follow Theobald in reading for 'Come'compt.

"Never mindWas to be so unwise, to be so kind."

"Never mind

Was to be so unwise, to be so kind."

Here 'to be' is being. See Introd. p.70.

"What shall be done? He will not hear tillhefeel."

"He humbly prays your speedy paymentof."

"With clamorous demands of [debt] broken bonds."

I think 'debt' was introduced from the next line. Malone reads 'date-broken.'

"Look you, here comes my master's page."

For 'master's,' both here, and in the following speech, Malone very properly read 'mistress'.' See on Tam. of Shr. i. 2.

"I have retired me to a wasteful cock."

By 'cock' here can only be meant a cockloft, and perhaps, as it is at the end of the line,loftmay have been effaced. See Introd. p.58.

"This night englutted! Who is notLordTimon's?"

"Canst thou the conscience lackTo think I shall lack friends?"

"Canst thou the conscience lack

To think I shall lack friends?"

As to lack conscience is to be unconscionable, and would sound here rather ironically, I think 'lack' has been suggested by the following line forhave, or some other word.

"Men and men's fortunes could Iasfrankly use."

"And in some sort these wants of mine are crown'd."

Here also 'crown'd' seems to occupy the place of some other word.

"Ipr'ythee, man, look cheerly; these old fellows."

"I would I could not [think it]. That thought is bounty's foe."

Several of the editors concur in this proper omission.

"This slaveUnto his honour has my lord's meat in him."

"This slave

Unto his honour has my lord's meat in him."

As this is not sense it requires emendation, and the simplest, I think, isdishonourfor 'his honour.' I had also conjecturedthis hour, in which I had been anticipated. Collier's folio readshumour. Mr. Dyce thinks the error is in 'slave,' for which he readsscandal, quoting "Thisscandalof hisblood" (R. II. i. 1). "Thouslanderof thy heavy mother's womb" (R. III. i. 3). It must be observed that neitherslavenorscandalis followed byuntoelsewhere in Shakespeare.

"In himwhen he is turned to poison? Oh, may."

"Yet had he mistook him and sent to me."

I do not see the meaning of 'mistook' here, and I have no probable emendation to offer. For 'so many talents' here and elsewhere in this scene some read 'fiftytalents.'

"The more beastI, I say."

"And just of the same pieceIs every flatterer's sport."

"And just of the same piece

Is every flatterer's sport."

Theobald's reading,spiritfor 'sport,' should be received.

"And kept his credit, with his purse,upright."

"He does deny him, in respect of hiswant."

It is quite plain that this or some such word was effaced.

"Has Lucullus and Ventidius denied him?And does he send to me? Three ... humph! It showsBut little love or judgement in him. Must IBe his last refuge? His friends, like physicians,Thrice give him over."

"Has Lucullus and Ventidius denied him?

And does he send to me? Three ... humph! It shows

But little love or judgement in him. Must I

Be his last refuge? His friends, like physicians,

Thrice give him over."

For 'Thrice,' the correction of Johnson, the folio readsThrive, which Steevens and Malone retain. It also reads 'Ventidius and Lucullus.'

"Imaybe thought a fool."

The 2nd folio addedI; themayseems also necessary.

"Save the gods only. Now his friends are dead."

So also Hanmer; the folio has 'only the gods.'

"We cannot take this forananswer, sir."

"Lucius, Lucullus, and Sempronius, Ullorxa, all."

The barbarous term 'Ullorxa' is, I suspect, a mere corruption ofall on 'em. How ithasperplexed the critics!

"He did behave his anger, ere 'twas spent."

'Behave' is Warburton's reading for 'behove' of the folio. It is generally followed, but I am dubious of it. Jackson and Singer have proposedbehood.

"And not endure all threats? sleep upon't."

With Hanmer, I read threatnings, for the sake of the metre.

"Without repugnancy? if there bethen."

Hanmer read 'Butif.'

"The fellowLoaden with irons wiser than the judge."

"The fellow

Loaden with irons wiser than the judge."

For 'fellow' Johnson readfelon, which I adopt.

"Why,Isay, my lords, he has done fair service."

This is the reading of the 2nd folio.

"He has made too much plenty with himself."

"If there were nootherfoes, this were enough."

"Only in bone, that none may lookupon you."

For 'in bone,' which is not very clear, Mr. Staunton would readat home.

"Pours into captain's wounds?—Ha!banishment!"

"The swallow follows not summer more willingly."

"Who stuck and spangledbyyou with flatteries."

Hanmer reads 'with yourflatteries.'

"Thy mistress is o' the brothel."

I read without hesitation 'atthe brothel.' Thetinatwas not sounded. See Introd. p.52.

"Pluck the lin'd crutch from thy old limping sire."

In its ordinary sense, and I know no other, 'lined' cannot be applied to a crutch. I therefore readlean'd, with an ellipsis, in the usual manner, ofon, which would give a tolerable sense. See Tr. and Cr. v. 3.

"Rise mov'd, andgravely leaning on one crutch,Lift the other like a sceptre."

"Rise mov'd, andgravely leaning on one crutch,

Lift the other like a sceptre."

Fletch. Beggar's Bush, ii. 1.

"And yet confusion live!"

I preferlet; Hanmer did the same.

"As we do turn our backsFrom our companion thrown into his grave,So his familiars to his buried fortunes ...Slink all away, leave their false vows with him," etc.

"As we do turn our backs

From our companion thrown into his grave,

So his familiars to his buried fortunes ...

Slink all away, leave their false vows with him," etc.

If we readUponorOnfor 'From,' and point as I have done, all seems simple enough. M. Mason ingeniously transposed 'From' and 'to.' After all, however, 'From' may have been the poet's word.

"And we, poor mates, stand on the dying deck."

A 'dying deck' is an odd expression;sinkingwould apparently make better sense. Yetdying bed, i.e. death-bed, may still be heard.

"Who would be so mock'd with glory? or to liveBut in a dream of friendship,and surviveTo have his pomp and all what state comprehendsBut only painted, like his varnish'd friends?"

"Who would be so mock'd with glory? or to live

But in a dream of friendship,and survive

To have his pomp and all what state comprehends

But only painted, like his varnish'd friends?"

I have ventured on these corrections, as this part of the speech is in rime. The folio reads 'compounds.' Collier's folio and Sidney Walker also proposecomprehends. For 'or to live' we might read 'orwouldlive.' See Temp. iii. 1.

"I'll follow and enquire him out,and then."

"The greater scorns the lesser; noteven thatnature,To which all sores lay siege, can bear great fortuneBut by contempt of nature. Raise me this beggar,And deny't that lord, the senator shall bearContempt hereditary, the beggar native honour.It is the pasture lards the rother's sides,The want that makes him lean."

"The greater scorns the lesser; noteven thatnature,

To which all sores lay siege, can bear great fortune

But by contempt of nature. Raise me this beggar,

And deny't that lord, the senator shall bear

Contempt hereditary, the beggar native honour.

It is the pasture lards the rother's sides,

The want that makes him lean."

The excellent correction of 'rother' forbrotherof the folio is due to Mr. Singer, and to Collier's folio.Rother-(hrytherA.S.)beastisjuvencus; there was arother-market in Stratford.

"A thousand herds ofrother-beasts he in his field did keep."

Golding, Ovid. p. 52.

For 'lean' the folio hasleave, an evident misprint. With respect to the addition to the first line, it is demanded by the metre, and the meaning is that even a diseased beggar, a Lazarus as it were, would have to change his nature to be able to bear prosperity with equanimity.

"Black, white; foul, fair; wrong, right; * * *"

Perhaps the lost words may have beenguilt, innocence, orguilty, innocent.

"Pluck stout men's pillows from below their heads."

Hanmer read 'sickmen's,' alluding to a practice of hired nurses.

"This,this, it isThat makes the wappen'd widow wed again."

"This,this, it is

That makes the wappen'd widow wed again."

For 'wappen'd' Singer readwapper'd, worn out, debilitated, of the use of which word he gives examples.

"With man's blood paint the ground gules, gules;for if."

A foot has certainly been lost. Sense seems to require this addition.

"Forthat by killingOf villains thou wast born to conquer my country."

"Forthat by killing

Of villains thou wast born to conquer my country."

"For those milk-papsThat through the window barne bore at men's eyes,Are not within the leaf of pity writ,But set 'em down horrible traitors. Spare not the babe."

"For those milk-paps

That through the window barne bore at men's eyes,

Are not within the leaf of pity writ,

But set 'em down horrible traitors. Spare not the babe."

This is a difficult passage. 'Milk-paps' seems to mean tender young maidens, and editors are probably right in readingbarsfor 'barne.' The 'bars,' as Mr. Staunton observes, seem to mean the cross-lacing on the bosom, still to be seen in Switzerland. We should perhaps omit ''em,' not 'But,' as the editors do, in the last line.

"And be no turn-coats. Yet may your pains six monthsthence."

"Nor sound his quillets shrilly; hoar the flamen."

Singer adopts Upton's reading ofhoarsefor 'hoar'; but though it would agree with what follows, I know of no such verb. We might read 'makehoar,' or 'makehoarse.'

"Derive some pain from you. Plague allof them."

"Men daily find itso. Get thee away."

"Teems and feeds all; whose self-sameformingmetal."

"Yield him who all the human sons doth hate."

Here again, as so often, we have 'the' forthy.

"Dry up thy marrows, vines, and plough-torn leas."

For 'marrows' Mr. Dyce reads 'marrowy,' Collier's foliomeadows. I readmarriedsc. to the elms, etc. The marriage of the elm and the vine is noticed in Com. of Errors, ii. 2, Cymb. i. 7.

"Whereof ungrateful man, with liquorish draughts,And morsels unctuous, greases his pure mind."

"Whereof ungrateful man, with liquorish draughts,

And morsels unctuous, greases his pure mind."

As 'pure' is rather an odd expression in the mouth of Timon, we should perhaps read 'impure.' The negative is often thus omitted. See on Com. of Err. ii. 2.

"From change of fortune. Why this spade? this place?"

The folio has 'change of future'; the correction was made independently by Southern and Rowe.

"Will these moist treesThat have outliv'd the eagle."

"Will these moist trees

That have outliv'd the eagle."

Hanmer's emendation ofmoss'dfor 'moist' has been generally and justly received.

"Willing miseryOutlives incertain pomp, is crown'd beforeit."

"Willing misery

Outlives incertain pomp, is crown'd beforeit."

"At duty, more than I could frame employment;"

There is evidently a line lost here.

"If thou wilt curse thy father, that poor rag."

For 'rag' Johnson readrogue, which is also in Singer's folio, and is probably right, as he afterwards terms him "poor rogue hereditary."

"First mend my company. Take thyself away."

The folio readsthyfor 'my.'

"'Twixt natural son and sire."

The folio readssun and fire.

"Do villainy, do, since you profess to do it."

The reading of the folio is 'protest,' and also 'villain.'

"Break open shops;fornothing can you stealBut thieves do lose it. Stealnot theless for this."

"Break open shops;fornothing can you steal

But thieves do lose it. Stealnot theless for this."

Rowe also addednot, which was indispensable.

"It almost turns my dangerous nature wild."

The context plainly shows that for 'wild' we should, with Warburton, readmild.

Back to Index Next