To fhew him what a beggar his heart is, That what he fpeaks is all in debt; he owes for ev'ry word: His land's put to their books. Well, would I were [Exit. Tim. You do yourfelves much wrong, you bate too much of your own merits. Here, my Lord, a trifle of our love. I Lord. With more than common thanks I will receive it. 3 Lord. He has the very foul of bounty. Tim. And now I remember, my Lord, you gave good words the other day of a bay courfer I rode on. 'Tis yours, becaufe you lik'd it. 2 Lord. Oh, I befeech you, pardon me, my Lord, in that. Tim. You may take my word, my Lord: I know no man can juftly praife, but what he does affect. I weigh my friends affection with my own; I'll tell you true, I'll call on you. All Lords. O, none fo welcome. Tim. I take all, and your feveral vifitations Methinks, I could deal kingdoms to my friends, Thou art a foldier, therefore feldom rich, It comes in charity to thee; thy living Is 'mongst the dead; and all the lands thou haft Alc. I defy land, my Lord. 1 Lord. We are fo virtuou fly bound Tim. And fo am I to you. 2 Lord. So infinitely endear'd. Tim. All to you. Lights! more lights, more lights. 3 Lord. The beft of happiness, honour and fortunes, Keep with you, Lord Timon· Tim. Ready for his friends. [Exeunt Lords. Serving of becks and jutting out of bums! (9) 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 a very flight alteration. Mr. Warburton acutely propos'd to me, Serring of becks, from the French word ferrer, to join clofe together, to lock one within another; by a metat bor 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 guets in taking their leave. Both conjectures are fubmitted to judgment, (10) I fear me, thou wilt give away thyself in paper jhortly.] i. e. be ruin'd by his fecurities entered into. But this fenfe, as Mr. Warburton obferves, is cold; and relishes very little of that falt which is in Apemantus's other reflections. He proposes, -give away thyfelf in proper fhortly. i. e. in perfon; thy proper feif. This latter is an expreffion of our author's in the Tempest; And ev'n with fuch like valour men hang and drown And of B. Jonfon in the induction to his Cynthia's Revels; -If you please to confer with our author by attorney, you may, Sir: our proper felf here ftands for him. And the other phrase, thyself in proper---without the substantive subjoin'd, I believe, may be juftified by fimular ufage. B. Jonfon in his Sejanus; My Lords, this ftrikes at ev'ry Roman's private. i. c. private property, or intereft. And again, in the fame play; Macro, thou art engag'd; and what before Was publick, now must be thy private. 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. Apem. So-(11) thou wilt not fhalt not then. [Exit. hear me now, thou AND late, five thousand, to far, and to Tidore 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 spoken of the stars. I'll lock thy beaven from thee.] So, in Cymbeline, Imogen says; As offer'd mercy is. i. e. not to be retriev'd, 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 affistance 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 call'd the lofs of offer'd mercy: and when it is for a length of time rejected, or difregarded, the offender's cafe is look'd upon to be the more defperate. Mr. Warburton. of Of raging wafte? It cannot hold, it will not. Enter Caphis.. Cap. Here, Sir, what is you pleasure ? Has fmit my credit. I love and honour him; A vifage of demand: for I do fear, (12) Ask nothing, give it him, it foals me ftraight An able borfe,] The ftupidity of this corruption will be very obvi ous, 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 inftead of him; why, I need but give my horse to Timon, to gain this point; and it prefently fetches me an borje." But is that gaining the point propos'd? fenfe and reafon warrant the reading, that I have reftor'd to the text. The first folio reads, less corruptly than the modern impreifions, -And able horfes. Which reading, join'd to the reafoning of the passage, gave me the hint for this emendation. When When every feather fticks in his own wing, 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. Flav. [Exeunt, SCENE changes to Timon's hall. Enter Flavius, with many bills in his hand. O care, no ftop? fo fenfelefs of expence, That he will neither know how to maintain it, 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 fo kind. What fhall be done?-he will not hear, 'till feel: Enter Caphis, Ifidore, and Varro. Cap. Good evening, Varro; what, you come for money? Cap. It is; and yours too, Ifidore? 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 these 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 laft impreffion. Enter |