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Summary
Flaminius, one of Timon’s servants, arrives at Lucullus’s house to ask for a loan, carrying a box under his arm. Lucullus is glad to see him, convinced he carries some gift from Timon. He asks what’s in the box, but Flaminius says it’s empty. He has come on Timon’s behalf to ask that it be filled with cash for a loan, which Timon is sure his friend will provide. Lucullus notes that he has always enjoyed Timon’s hospitality. However, he has often warned him that his holdings would run out, though Timon never listened. Lucullus compliments Flaminius, saying he always thought he was a good man. But now is not the time to make a loan, he says, based merely on friendship without security. He gives Fla minius several coins as a bribe to tell Timon that he didn’t speak to Lucullus, but Flaminius hurls them back at him. Lucullus departs, and Flaminius marvels at how friendship can be so weak as to change overnight. Lucullus was fed at Timon’s table, yet now he won’t pay him back. Flaminius wishes him ill and departs.
Meanwhile, Lucius talks with several strangers at his house. The strangers have heard rumors that Timon’s finances are in bad shape, but Lucius finds it hard to believe. They have also heard that Timon asked Lucullus for money, and Lucullus refused him. Lucius admits that he has received gifts from Timon too, but he would have never denied Timon a loan if he had asked. Just then, Timon’s servant Servilius enters. Lucius thinks Timon’s servant has come to bring him a gift, but Servilius explains that his mission is to ask for a loan. Lucius says it’s bad luck, but he has just spent all his money on a small investment and thus has no ready cash. He sends his best wishes to Timon, but he can’t lend him any money. Servilius and Lucius depart, leaving the strangers to discuss the nature of friendship. They say that Timon has been like a father to Lucius financially, yet Lucius denies Timon a loan of even a small percentage of what Timon has given him. Though they have never met Timon, the strangers agree that what they have heard of him suggests he is a man to whom they’d gladly lend money. It’s too bad his friends are so ungenerous!
Meanwhile, Timon’s third servant arrives at the house of Sempronius to ask for money. Sempronius is annoyed by the request and suggests that Timon had better ask Lucullus or Lucius or even Ventidius. The servant explains that all have already been asked and would give no money. Sempronius is even more annoyed when he hears that he has been asked after the other three; he wonders if he is Timon’s last refuge. He feels disgraced to be so low on his list of friends when he prided himself on being the first man to receive a gift from Timon. Irritated, Sempronius refuses Timon’s servant and leaves. The servant calls Sempronius a villain. Now Timon’s friends have all betrayed and abandoned him.
Analysis
The prevailing theme of the first half of act 3 is that of hypocrisy. We watch as three of Timon’s supposed friends express their admiration for him and their desire to help him out, even as they come up with different excuses to deny him money. Lucullus says he can’t lend money when “bare friendship” (3.1.40) is the only security offered. For his part, Lucius insists that he’s just spent his money on another investment and has nothing to spare. The most absurd excuse comes from Sempronius, whose response to Timon’s request represents the height of hypocrisy. At first, he’s irritated by the simple fact of the request, indicating that he’s already predisposed to the idea of lending Timon money. He insists that Timon should ask others. However, when he finds out that Timon has already done just that, he’s offended that he wasn’t first on the list. It’s clear that either way, Sempronius wouldn’t have heeded Timon’s request. But what’s especially notable here is the way he maneuvers to preserve the optics of loyalty. Through a manipulative twist, Sempronius paints himself as a true friend who’s been hurt by Timon’s thoughtlessness.
Yet even as Shakespeare reveals the selfish nature of these so-called “friends,” it’s also worth considering their perspectives on Timon. There can be no doubt that these men are greedy and unfair, at once gladly accepting Timon’s gifts and refusing him help when he needs it. However, it’s also worth highlighting Lucullus’s point about how he has repeatedly warned Timon against overspending. In a way that parallels Flavius’s failed attempts to make his master see financial reason, Lucullus explains: “Many a time and often I ha’ dined with him and told him on’t, and come again to supper to him of purpose to have him spend less; and yet he would embrace no counsel” (3.1.22–25). As he concludes with a discernable tone of lament: “Every man has his fault, and honesty is his. I ha’ told him on’t, but I could ne’er get him from’t” (3.1.26–27). Given what we have already seen of Flavius’s frustration, it’s not difficult to believe the truth of Lucullus’s account. And if we believe his words, then his decision not to lend Timon money also seems reasonable, reminding the audience that Timon is not a blameless victim.
