How we cite our quotes: (Act.Scene.Line)
Quote #7
TIMON:
The sun's a thief, and with his great attraction
Robs the vast sea: the moon's an arrant thief,
And her pale fire she snatches from the sun:
The sea's a thief, whose liquid surge resolves
The moon into salt tears: the earth's a thief,
That feeds and breeds by a composture stolen
From general excrement: each thing's a thief:
The laws, your curb and whip, in their rough power
Have unchecked theft. (4.3.438-446)
One thing's for sure: Timon shouldn't be a motivational speaker. Here he explains how the sun, moon, sea, and earth are all thieves. We'll admit he's got a point. But then again, if everything in nature is robbing something, why is it so bad that the people in the city do it? Why does Timon keep thinking solely in terms of money and robbery?
Quote #8
TIMON:
Be men like blasted woods. (4.3.534)
We've had a lot of comparing men to the city of Athens, so why not compare men to the woods? In his final advice to Flavius, Timon tells his old steward to be as malevolent as the woods are. Are the woods actually that bad? They seem kind of nice from over here.
Quote #9
TIMON:
Come not to me again: but say to Athens,
Timon hath made his everlasting mansion
Upon the beached verge of the salt flood, […]
Sun, hide thy beams. Timon hath done his reign. (5.1.212-214, 221)
The final time we see Timon, he says this to the Senators. The fact that he wants Athens to fall and crumble tells us what he thinks of the whole city—but we're also interested in the fact that he pictures his home in nature. Why is nature a better home for him than the city? Why are there fewer vices in the country? Is this an accurate assessment?