I have retired me to a wafteful cock, Tim. Pr'ythee, no more. Flav. Heavens! have I faid, the bounty of this lord! How many prodigal bits have slaves and peasants What heart, head, fword, force, means, but is lord Great Timon's, noble, worthy, royal Timon's? Ah! when the means are gone that buy this praise, The breath is gone whereof this praise is made: Feaft-won, faft-loft; one cloud of winter fhowers, These flies are couch'd. Tim. Come, fermon me no further: No villainous bounty yet hath past my heart;3 Why doft thou weep? Can'ft thou the confcience lack, * And try the arguments of hearts by borrowing, 2 Men, a wafteful cock,] i. e. a cockleft, a garret. And a wasteful cock, fignifies a garret lying in wafte, neglected, put to no use. HANMER. Hanmer's explanation is received by Dr.Warburton, yet I think them both apparently mistaken. A wasteful cock is a cock or pipe with a turning ftopple running to waste. In this fenfe, both the terms have their ufual meaning; but I know not that cock is ever ufed for cockloft, or waft ful for lying in wafle, or that lying in wafte is at all a phrafe. JOHNSON, 3 No villainous bounty yet hath past my heart; Every reader muft rejoice in this circumftance of comfort which prefents itfelf to Timon, who, tho' beggar'd thro' want of prudence, confoles himself with reflection that his ruin was not brought on by the pursuit of guilty pleasures. STEEVENS. 4 And try the arguments-] Arguments for natures. WARE. How arguments fhould fland for natures I do not fee. But the licentioufnefs of our author forces us often upon far fetched expo fitions. Men, and men's fortunes, could I frankly use, As I can bid thee speak. Flav. Affurance blefs your thoughts! Tim. And, in fome fort, thefe wants of mine are crown'd, That I account them bleffings; for by thefe, Enter Flaminius, Servilius, and other Servants. Serv. My lord, my lord, Tim. I will difpatch you feverally. You to lord To lord Lucullus you; I hunted with his Commend me to their loves; and, I am proud, fay Be fifty talents. Flam. As you have faid, my lord. Flav. Lord Lucius and Lucullus? hum ! Tim. Go you, fir, to the fenators, [To Flavius (Of whom, even to the state's best health, I have Deferv'd this hearing) bid 'em fend o' the inftant A thousand talents to me. Flav. I've been boid, (For that I knew it the moft general way) fitions. Arguments may mean contents, as the arguments of a book; or for evidences and proofs. JOHNSON. "I knew it the most gen'ral way] General is not speedy, but compendious, the way to try many at a time. JOHNSON. Tim. Is't true? can't be? Flav. They answer in a joint and corporate voice, That now they are at fall, want treafure, cannot Do what they would; are forry-You are honourable, But yet they could have wifh'd,They know not,Something hath been amiss,—a noble nature May catch a wrench,-'Would all were well,-'Tis pity, And fo, intending other serious matters, 8 9 After diftasteful looks, and these hard fractions, Tim. You Gods reward them! I pr'ythee man look cheerly. These old fellws Intending is regarding, turning their notice to other things. So in the Spanish Curate of Beaumont and Fletcher, "Good fir, intend this business." STEEVENS. 7-and thefe hard fractions,] An equivocal allufion to fractions in decimal arithmetic. So Flavius had, like Littlewit, in Bartholomew-Fair, a conceit left in his mifery. WARBURTON. This is, I think, no conceit in the head of Flavius, who, by fractions, means broken hints, interrupted sentences, abrupt remarks. 8 put off. 9 JOHNSON. -half caps,—] A half cap is a cap flightly moved, not JOHNSON. cold-moving nods,] All the editions exhibit these as two diftinct adjectives, to the prejudice of the author's meaning; but they must be joined by an hyphen, and make a compound adjec tive out of a fubftantive and a particle, and then we have the true fenfe of the place; cold-moving, cold-provoking; nods so discou raging, that they chilled the very ardor of our petition, and froze us into filence. THEOBALD. Have their ingratude in them hereditary] Hereditary, for by natural conftitution. But fome diftempers of natural conftitution being called bereditary, he calls their ingratitude fo. WARB. And And nature as it grows again toward earth, Thou art true, and honeft; ingenuously I speak, I clear'd him with five talents. Greet him from me; Touches his friend, which craves to be remember'd With those five talents. That had, give it these fellows To whom 'tis inftant due. Ne'er speak, or think, That Timon's fortune's 'mong his friends can fink. Stew. I would, I could not think it. That thought is bounty's foe; 4 Being free itself, it thinks all other fo. And nature, as it grows again toward earth, [Exeunt. The fame thought occurs in The Wife for a Month of Beaumont and Fletcher: "Bfide, the fair foul's old too, it grows covetous, Which fhews all honour is departed from us, "And we are earth again." 3 'Would I could not :-] The original edition has, STEEVENS. I would, I could not think it, that thought, &c. It has been changed, to mend the numbers, without authority. Free, is liberal, not parfimonious. JOHNSON. JOHNSON. ACT I' Lucullus's house in Athens. Flaminius waiting. Enter a Servant to him. SERVAN T. Have told my lord of you; he is coming down to you. Flam. I thank you, fir. Enter Lucullus. Serv. Here's my lord. Lucul. [Afide.] One of lord Timon's men? a gift, I warrant. Why, this hits right: I dreamt of a filver bafon and ewer to-night. Flaminius, honeft Flaminius, you are very refpectively welcome, fir.-Fill me fome wine.-And how does that honourable, complete, free-hearted gentleman of Athens, thy very bountiful good lord and master ? Flam. His health is well, fir. Lucul. I am right glad that his health is well, fir: and what haft thou there under thy cloak, pretty Flaminius? Flam. 'Faith, nothing but an empty box, fir; which, in my lord's behalf, I come to entreat your honour to fupply: who having great and inftant occafion to ufe fifty talents, hath fent to your lordship to furnish him; nothing doubting your prefent affiftance therein. Lucul. La, la, la, la,-Nothing doubting fays he? alas, good lord! A noble gentleman 'tis, if he would not keep fo good a house. Many a time and often I ha' din'd with him, and told him on't; and come again to fupper to him, of purpose to have him fpend lefs and yet he would embrace no counsel, very refpectively welcome, &c.] i. e. respectfully. Soin K. John, "Befides, 'tis too refpective, &c." STEEVENS. |