Original: Let me look back upon thee. O thou wall,
Modern: Let me take one last look at you. Oh, you wall,

Original: That girdlest in those wolves, dive in the earth,
Modern: That surrounds those wolves, sink into the ground,

Original: And fence not Athens! Matrons, turn incontinent!
Modern: And stop protecting Athens! Married women, become sexually unfaithful!

Original: Obedience fail in children! slaves and fools,
Modern: Let children stop obeying their parents! Slaves and fools,

Original: Pluck the grave wrinkled senate from the bench,
Modern: Drag the old, wrinkled senators from their seats of power,

Original: And minister in their steads! to general filths
Modern: And rule in their place! Turn into complete filth,

Original: Convert o’ the instant, green virginity,
Modern: Change immediately, young virgins,

Original: Do ‘t in your parents’ eyes! bankrupts, hold fast;
Modern: Do it right in front of your parents! People in debt, hold on to your money;

Original: Rather than render back, out with your knives,
Modern: Instead of paying people back, pull out your knives,

Original: And cut your trusters’ throats! bound servants, steal!
Modern: And slit the throats of those who trusted you! Indentured servants, become thieves!

Original: Large-handed robbers your grave masters are,
Modern: Your respected masters are just big-time robbers,

Original: And pill by law. Maid, to thy master’s bed;
Modern: Who steal legally through the law. Servant girl, go to your master’s bed;

Original: Thy mistress is o’ the brothel! Son of sixteen,
Modern: Your mistress is nothing but a prostitute! Sixteen-year-old boy,

Original: pluck the lined crutch from thy old limping sire,
Modern: Grab the crutch from your old limping father,

Original: With it beat out his brains! Piety, and fear,
Modern: And beat his brains out with it! Respect for religion and reverence,

Original: Religion to the gods, peace, justice, truth,
Modern: Devotion to the gods, peace, justice, truth,

Original: Domestic awe, night-rest, and neighbourhood,
Modern: Respect for family, peaceful sleep, and community,

Original: Instruction, manners, mysteries, and trades,
Modern: Education, good manners, skilled professions, and crafts,

Original: Degrees, observances, customs, and laws,
Modern: Social ranks, traditions, customs, and laws,

Original: Decline to your confounding contraries,
Modern: Fall apart and turn into their complete opposites,

Original: And let confusion live! Plagues, incident to men,
Modern: And let chaos rule! Diseases that strike mankind,

Original: Your potent and infectious fevers heap
Modern: Pile your powerful and contagious fevers

Original: On Athens, ripe for stroke! Thou cold sciatica,
Modern: On Athens, which is ready for destruction! You painful nerve disease,

Original: Cripple our senators, that their limbs may halt
Modern: Cripple our senators, so their bodies may limp

Original: As lamely as their manners. Lust and liberty
Modern: As badly as their morals do. Sexual desire and recklessness

Original: Creep in the minds and marrows of our youth,
Modern: Seep into the minds and bones of our young people,

Original: That ‘gainst the stream of virtue they may strive,
Modern: So that they may fight against what’s right and good,

Original: And drown themselves in riot! Itches, blains,
Modern: And destroy themselves with wild behavior! Rashes, sores,

Original: Sow all the Athenian bosoms; and their crop
Modern: Infect all the Athenian people; and let the harvest

Original: Be general leprosy! Breath infect breath,
Modern: Be widespread disease! Let breath infect breath,

Original: at their society, as their friendship, may
Modern: So that their social gatherings, just like their friendships, may

Original: merely poison! Nothing I’ll bear from thee,
Modern: Only poison each other! I’ll take nothing from you,

Original: But nakedness, thou detestable town!
Modern: Except the clothes off my back, you hateful city!

Original: Take thou that too, with multiplying bans!
Modern: Take even those, along with my multiplying curses!

Original: Timon will to the woods; where he shall find
Modern: Timon will go to the forest, where he’ll find

Original: The unkindest beast more kinder than mankind.
Modern: That even the cruelest wild animal is kinder than human beings.

Original: The gods confound—hear me, you good gods all—
Modern: May the gods destroy—listen to me, all you gods—

Original: The Athenians both within and out that wall!
Modern: All the Athenians both inside and outside that wall!

Original: And grant, as Timon grows, his hate may grow
Modern: And grant that, as Timon gets older, his hatred may grow

Original: To the whole race of mankind, high and low! Amen.
Modern: To include all of humanity, both rich and poor! Amen.

In Act IV, Scene 1 of “Timon of Athens,” Timon stands alone outside the walls of Athens, having abandoned the city that has abandoned him. He delivers a bitter soliloquy cursing Athens and all its inhabitants, calling down destruction upon the city and its people. His invective is comprehensive and venomous, as he wishes for the breakdown of all social order, morality, and human bonds within the city walls. He curses young and old alike, hoping that sons will betray fathers, servants will steal from masters, and that all forms of vice and chaos will flourish.

Timon’s curses extend to every aspect of Athenian society, from religious devotion to civil obedience to martial discipline. He wishes for disease, discord, and complete moral corruption to overtake the city. Having exhausted his wealth through generosity and been repaid with ingratitude and rejection when he fell into need, Timon now wishes Athens nothing but ruin. He concludes by renouncing the city entirely, declaring that he will seek solitude in the woods where he can live away from mankind. With this final denunciation, he departs to begin his new life as a misanthropic exile.

Timon of Athens tells the story of a wealthy Athenian nobleman whose excessive generosity leads to his downfall. In the first half of the play, Timon lavishes gifts, throws extravagant banquets, and freely lends money to anyone who asks, despite warnings from his loyal steward Flavius about his dwindling finances. Timon dismisses these concerns, believing his generosity will be repaid by the loyalty of his many friends. However, his creditors eventually come calling, and Timon discovers he has no money left to pay his debts.

When Timon’s financial ruin becomes apparent, he sends servants to ask his former friends and beneficiaries for loans to help him through his crisis. One by one, they all refuse him with various excuses - Lucilius claims his money is tied up in investments, Lucullus pretends not to be home, and Sempronius feels insulted that Timon didn’t ask him first. Faced with this universal rejection, Timon invites all his false friends to one final feast, where he serves them warm water and stones, then curses them and banishes himself from Athens.

Timon retreats to a cave in the wilderness outside Athens, where he becomes a misanthropic hermit, railing against humanity and civilization. While digging for roots to eat, he discovers gold in the earth. Various visitors come to see him in his exile, including the loyal Flavius, the philosopher Apemantus (who had always criticized Timon’s generosity), thieves seeking the gold, and the exiled general Alcibiades who is marching against Athens. Timon gives away the gold freely but refuses all attempts at reconciliation or friendship. The play ends with news of Timon’s death reaching Athens, where Alcibiades has successfully taken the city and promises to restore order and justice.