How we cite our quotes: (Act.Scene.Line)
Quote #7
TIMON: You great benefactors, sprinkle our society with
thankfulness. For your own gifts, make yourselves
praised; but reserve still to give, lest your
deities be despised. Lend to each man enough, that
one need not lend to another; for were your
godheads to borrow of men, men would forsake the
gods. Make the meat be beloved more than the man
that gives it. (3.6.71-77)
If you enjoy some irony, you've come to the right place. Timon knows his fake friends have used him, and he wants to get back at them by offering this mock prayer. His talk of men taking from and not giving to the gods sets the tone for the entire banquet.
Quote #8
TIMON:
Is not thy kindness subtle, covetous,
If not a usuring kindness, and, as rich men deal gifts,
Expecting in return twenty for one? (4.3.511-513)
Suspicious of everyone, Timon questions Flavius's motives when he randomly shows up at his cave in the woods. We're interested in the way he uses gift-giving as a metaphor for friendship. It turns out that some gifts can't be bought or sold; they're given honestly, out of loyalty. Is that how Timon gave gifts? Somehow, we're not really convinced that it was.
Quote #9
PAINTER:
He and myself
Have travail'd in the great shower of your gifts,
And sweetly felt it. (5.1.67-69)
Some people just don't know when to give up. The Painter and the Poet travel to the woods to try to get more money out of Timon once they hear he's found gold. This time, Timon isn't playing: he sees right through their fake allegiance and shoos them away, but not before they can express their true interest in seeing him—gifts. They make it clear to us that the gifts are all they've wanted all along.