TIMON Come, pick, be strong for me now and don’t flag in the task of calling Treasure out of the depths to the light of day. O Zeus, god of miracles! O gracious Corybants! O Hermes, god of gain! Where did all this gold come from? « Is this a dream? I am afraid I may wake up and find nothing but ashes. No, verily it is coined gold, red and heavy and mighty good to look upon. O gold, thou fairest gift that comes to man!Euripides, Danae, fr. 326 Nauck. In very truth you stand out like blazing fire, not only by night but by day.The allusion is to Pindar, Olymp. i. 1 ff. Come to me, my precious, my pretty! Now I am convinced that Zeus once turned into gold, for what maid would not open her bosom and receive so beautiful a lover coming down through the roof in a shower?

O Midas! O Croesus! O treasures of Delphi! How little worth you are beside Timon and the wealth of Timon! Yes, even the king of Persia is not a match for me.

Pick and darling coat of skin, it is best that I should hang you up here as an offering to Pan. For myself, I purpose now to buy the whole farm, build a tower over the treasure just large enough for me to live in, and have it for my tomb when I am dead.

“Be it resolved and enacted into law, to be binding for the rest of my life, that I shall associate with no one, recognize no one and scorn everyone. Friends, guests, comrades and Altars of MercyThere was such an altar in Athens; cf. Demonax 57. shall be matter for boundless mockery. To pity one who weeps, to help one who is in need shall be a misdemeanour and an infringement of the constitution. My life shall be solitary, like that of wolves; Timon shall be my only friend,