payment page
Summary
A Poet, a Painter, a Jeweler, and a Merchant enter Timon’s house in Athens. The Jeweler shows off an impressive jewel he hopes to sell to Timon, and the Painter and Poet discuss commissioned works they have completed for Timon. The Poet comments about the senators entering Timon’s house, but no one can understand his elevated prose, so he clarifies. He observes that Timon’s large fortune and his generous nature draw all kinds of people to his house, from the lowliest flatterers to Apemantus, a cynic who criticizes everyone. The Poet says that his latest work concerns Timon, a man enthroned by Fortune, sitting atop a hill where all gaze up at him adoringly. But he says that Fortune is fickle, and those who adore the man now blessed by Fortune will abandon him if his fortunes change. The Painter is impressed, but he says he is better able to depict the swift changes of Fortune in images than the Poet can in words.
Timon and his attendants enter. A messenger tells him that his friend Ventidius has been imprisoned by creditors, and Timon decides to free him by paying his debt. Then an old Athenian enters and tells Timon about how his servant Lucilius hangs around his house charming his daughter. Timon negotiates with the old man for Lucilius to wed his daughter, and he offers to provide cash to Lucilius to make the deal sweeter. Lucilius is thankful, and he says he owes Timon everything.
Then Timon accepts the Poet’s poem and the Painter’s painting, and he admires the Jeweler’s gem. Apemantus enters, and Timon greets him. But Apemantus says Timon shouldn’t expect a polite greeting from him until Timon has changed into his own dog, an event as unlikely as Timon’s hangers-on becoming honest. Timon asks Apemantus’s opinion about the painting and the jewel, and Apemantus scorns both. He then criticizes the Poet, calling him a flatterer.
The arrival of Alcibiades is announced, and Timon welcomes him. On the sidelines, Apemantus scorns the fake courtesy of Timon’s flatterers. Timon and Alcibiades exit, leaving Apemantus with several lords. They ask if Apemantus plans to attend Timon’s feast, which he plans to do, if only to watch the flatterers at work. Apemantus exits, and the lords discuss Timon’s seemingly inexhaustible bounty, which is so great that his very possessions seem magically to multiply.
Analysis
The first scene gives the audience a sense of Timon’s status in Athens. Attended by merchants and artists anxious to sell him goods or artworks, Timon is a patron with a bottomless purse. This bounty draws the lords and senators of Athens, who are anxious to benefit from his generosity. Timon seems glad to give gifts to any and all who arrive. He’ll buy a painting, a poem, a jewel, merely because it is presented to him, and he’ll offer cash to any who seem to need it—or not. Timon’s extravagant displays of generosity convince those around him that his reserves are inexhaustible—that, somehow, the more wealth he spends, the more he accumulates. Yet the Poet’s words about the fickle nature of Fortune also foreshadow the change in Timon’s fortunes that waits just around the corner, when, as has happened to his friend Ventidius, Timon’s creditors will come for repayment. For now, everyone admires Timon, and some, like Lucilius, freely admit they owe him everything. But as the Poet indicates, everything can change, and the fickleness of Fortune will be matched by the fickleness of Timon’s so-called friends.
In addition to the play’s title character, we also meet two other significant figures: Alcibiades and Apemantus. We only briefly meet the Alcibiades, who will be more fleshed out later in the play. As for Apemantus, he has the grouchy attitude of a cynic who distrusts the intentions of everyone he meets. He criticizes Timon for the way he’s assembled a court of flatterers, and he is quick to make barbed observations about each person he interacts with. He possesses a quick wit, but his lack of generosity with others stands in sharp contrast to Timon’s willingness to hear anyone out. Even so, Timon welcomes him to his house, apparently trying to get him to break down and be friendly. Apemantus, for his part, seems to enjoy being a cynic, and the gathering at Timon’s house presents a rich environment for him to exercise his critical faculty. At this point, though, it remains unclear what his real opinion of Timon is. Is his cynical perspective just performative? If he really thinks Timon is a despicable breeder of flatterers, why does he consent to attend his feasts? Is he merely a different breed of Timon’s flatterers?
