Timon, or the Misanthrope (47-49)

TIMON Who is this coming up, with the bald pate? Philiades, the most nauseous toady of them all. He received from me a whole farm and a dower of two talents for his daughter in payment for praising me once, when I had sung a song and everybody else kept still, but he lauded me to the skies, vowing on his word of honour that I was a better singer than a swan. Yet when he saw me ill the other day and I went up to him and begged for alms, the generous fellow bestowed a thrashing on me.

PHILIADES Oh, what effrontery! So you all recognize Timon now? So Gnathonides is his friend and booncompanion now? Then he has had just what he deserved for being so thankless. But we, who are old acquaintances and schoolmates and neighbours,

TIMON No doubt, Philiades. But come here, so that I may give you a friendly greeting with my pick!

PHILIADES Help! The ingrate has broken my head because I gave him good advice.

TIMON Lo and behold! here comes a third, the orator Demeas, holding a resolution in his hand and saying that he is a relative of mine. That fellow paid the city treasury sixteen talents within a single day, getting his money from me, for he had been condemned to a fine and put in jail while it was unpaid. And yet when it became his duty recently to distribute the show-money to the Erechtheis tribe,[*] and I went up and asked for my share, he said he did not recognize me as a citizen!