Jew. What, my lord, difpraife? Tim. A meer fatiety of commendations. If I should pay you for't as 'tis extoll'd, It would unclew me quite. 5 Jew. My lord, 'tis rated As thofe, which fell, would give: but you well know, Tim. Well mock'd. Mer. No, my good lord; he speaks the common tongue, Which all men speak with him. Tim. Look, who comes here. 7 Enter Apemantus. Will you be chid? Jew. We will bear with your lordship. 8 Tim, Good-morrow to thee, gentle Apemantus! Apem. 'Till I be gentle, ftay for thy good-morrow. When thou art Timon's dog, and thefe knaves honeft, 9 Tim. 5 -unclew me quite,] To unclew, is to unwind a ball of thread. To unclew a man, is to draw out the whole mafs of his fortunes. JOHNSON. 6 Are prized by their masters: Are rated according to the esteem in which their poffeffor is held. JOHNSON. 7 Enter Apementus.] See this character of a cynic finely drawn by Lucian, in his Auction of the Philofophers; and how well WARBURTON. Shakespeare has copied it. 8 Tim. Good-morrow to thee, gentle Apemantus! Apem. Till I be gentle, ftay for thy good-morrow; When thou art Timon's dog, and thefe knaves honeft,—} The first line of Apemantus's anfwer is to the purpofe; the fe cond abfurd and nonfenfical; which proceeds from the lofs of a Speech dropt from between them, that fhould be thus reftored. Tim, Tim. Why doft thou call them knaves? thou know'st them not? Apem. Are they not Athenians? Apem. Then I repent not. Jew. You know me, Apemantus. Apem. Thou know'st I do; I call'd thee by thy name. Tim. Thou art proud, Apemantus. Apem. Of nothing fo much as that I am not like Timon. Tim. Whither art going? Apem. To knock out an honest Athenian's brains. Tim. That's a deed thou'lt die for. Apem. Right, if doing nothing be death by the law. Tim. How lik'ft thou this picture, Apemantus? Apem. The beft, for the innocence. Tim. Wrought he not well, that painted it? Apem. He wrought better that made the painter, and yet he's but a filthy piece of work, Poet. You are a dog. Apem. Thy mother's of my generation : what's she, if I be a dog? Tim. Wilt dine with me, Apemantus? Apem. No; I eat not lords. Tim. If thou should'ft, thou'dst anger ladies. Apem. O, they eat lords; fo they come by great bellies. Tim. Good-morrow to thee, gentle Apemantus! [Poet. When will that be?] Apem. When thou art Timon's dog, and thefe knaves honeft, WARBURTON. I think my punctuation may clear the paffage without any greater effort. JOHNSON. 9 When thou art Timon's dog.] When thou haft gotten a better character, and inftead of being Timon, as thou art, fhalt be changed to Timon's dog, and become more worthy of kindness and falutation, JOHNSON. Tim. That's a lafcivious apprehenfion. Apem. So thou apprehend'ft it. Take it for thy labour. Tim. How doft thou like this jewel, Apemantus? Apem. Not fo well as plain-dealing, which will not coft a man a doit. Tim. What doft thou think 'tis worth? Apem. Not worth my thinking.-How now, poet? Poet. How now, philofopher? Apem. Thou lieft. Poet. Art not one? Poet. Then I lie not. Apem. Then thou lieft. Look in thy last work, where thou haft feign'd him a worthy fellow. Poet. That's not feign'd, he is fo. Apem. Yes, he is worthy of thee, and to pay thee for thy labour. He that loves to be flatter'd is worthy 'the flatterer. Heavens, that I were a lord! Tim. What would't do then, Apemantus? Apem. Even as Apemantus does now, hate a lord with my heart. Tim. What, thyfelf? Apem. Ay. Tim. Wherefore? Apem. That I had no angry wit to be a lord.Art thou not a merchant? Mer. ? That I had NO ANGRY wit, to be a lord.] This reading is abfurd, and unintelligible. But, as I have restored the text, that I had fo hungry a wit, to be a lord, it is fatirical enough of confcience, viz. I would hate myfelf, for having no more wit than to eovet fo infignificant a title. In the fame fenfe, Shakespeare uses kan-witted in his Richard II. And thou a lunatick, lean-witted, fool. WARBURTON. The 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 Meffenger. Tim. What trumpet's that? Mef. 'Tis Alcibiades, and some twenty horse, All of companionship.' Tim. Pray entertain them; give them guide to us. You must needs dine with me:-Go not you hence, Till I have thank'd you; and when dinner's done, Shew me this piece. I am joyful of your fights. Enter Alcibiades, with the reft. Moft welcome, fir! Apem. So, fo; there! Aches contract and starve your fupple joints !That there fhould be fmall love 'mongft thefe sweet knaves, The meaning may be, I fhould hate myself for patiently enduring to be a lord. This is ill enough expreffed. Perhaps fome happy change may fet it right. I have tried, and can do nothing, yet I cannot heartily concur with Dr. Warburton. JOHNSON. I confefs my inability either to explain or amend this paffage, which must be left for fome more fuccefsful commentator. If I hazard one conjecture, it is with the fmallest degree of confidence. By an angry wit Apemantus may mean the poet, who has been provoking him. The fenfe will then be this: I should hate myself, because I could find no captious wit (like him) to take the title in my flead. STEEVENS. 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 fets on a level with bimfelf. STEEVENS. And He is gone happy, and has left me rich: Tim. O, by no means, Honeft Ventidius. You mistake my love; 5 If our betters play at that game, we must not dare To imitate them. Faults that are rich, are fair. Ven. A noble spirit. [They all ftand ceremoniously looking on Timon. 5 If our betters play at that game, we must not dare, Thefe two lines are abfurdly given to Timon. They should 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 expect the fame obfervance for the trifling good they do. Apemantus, agreeably to his character, perverts this fentiment; Timon had spoke of earthly grandeur and potentates, who expect largest returns for their favours; and therefore, ironically, replies as above. WARBURTON. as if I cannot fee that thefe 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 betters are meant the Gods, is very harfh, because 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 modefty. If I would make any alteration, it fhould be only to reform the numbers thus: Our betters play that game; we must not dare JOHNSON. |