What man didst thou ever know
unthrift
that was beloved after his means?
TIMON. Who, without those means thou talk'st of, didst thou
ever
know belov'd?
APEMANTUS. Myself.
TIMON. I understand thee: thou hadst some means to keep a dog.
APEMANTUS. What things in the world canst thou nearest compare
to
thy flatterers?
TIMON. Women nearest; but men, men are the things themselves.
What
wouldst thou do with the world, Apemantus, if it lay in thy
power?
APEMANTUS. Give it the beasts, to be rid of the men.
TIMON. Wouldst thou have thyself fall in the confusion of men,
and
remain a beast with the beasts?
APEMANTUS. Ay, Timon.
TIMON. A beastly ambition, which the gods grant thee t' attain
to!
If thou wert the lion, the fox would beguile thee; if thou
wert
the lamb, the fox would eat thee; if thou wert the fox, the
lion
would suspect thee, when, peradventure, thou wert accus'd by
the
ass. If thou wert the ass, thy dulness would torment thee;
and
still thou liv'dst but as a breakfast to the wolf. If thou
wert
the wolf, thy greediness would afflict thee, and oft thou
shouldst hazard thy life for thy dinner. Wert thou the
unicorn,
pride and wrath would confound thee, and make thine own self
the
conquest of thy fury.
Pages:
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89