Original: Here lies a wretched corse, of wretched soul bereft:
Modern: Here lies a miserable corpse, stripped of its miserable soul:

Original: Seek not my name: a plague consume you wicked caitiffs left!
Modern: Don’t look for my name: may disease destroy you evil cowards who remain alive!

Original: Here lie I, Timon; who, alive, all living men did hate:
Modern: Here I lie, Timon; who, when alive, hated all living people:

Original: Pass by and curse thy fill, but pass and stay not here thy gait.
Modern: Walk by and curse as much as you want, but keep walking and don’t stop here.

Original: These well express in thee thy latter spirits:
Modern: These words perfectly show your final state of mind:

Original: Though thou abhorr’dst in us our human griefs,
Modern: Even though you despised our human sorrows,

Original: Scorn’dst our brain’s flow and those our droplets which From niggard nature fall,
Modern: You mocked our thoughts and tears that stingy nature makes us shed,

Original: yet rich conceit Taught thee to make vast Neptune weep for aye On thy low grave, on faults forgiven.
Modern: yet your brilliant imagination knew how to make the mighty ocean cry forever over your humble grave, washing away your sins.

Original: Dead Is noble Timon: of whose memory Hereafter more.
Modern: Noble Timon is dead: we’ll remember more about him later.

Original: Bring me into your city,
Modern: Take me into your city,

Original: And I will use the olive with my sword,
Modern: And I will combine peace with war,

Original: Make war breed peace, make peace stint war, make each Prescribe to other as each other’s leech.
Modern: Make war create peace, make peace end war, make each one heal the other like a doctor.

Original: Let our drums strike.
Modern: Let our drums beat.

In Act V, Scene 4 of “Timon of Athens,” two senators discuss the dire military situation facing Athens as Alcibiades and his army approach the city walls. They acknowledge that Timon has rejected their previous appeals for help, and they fear the consequences of Alcibiades’ justified anger against the city. A soldier arrives bringing a wax impression of an inscription he discovered on Timon’s tomb near the seashore. The senators read two epitaphs from the impression, both bitter and misanthropic in tone, confirming Timon’s death and his enduring hatred of mankind. They recognize that Timon’s despair has ended in death, even as their city faces its own potential destruction.

Alcibiades then enters with his military forces and confronts the senators at Athens’ walls. The senators plead for mercy, arguing that not all Athenians were responsible for the wrongs done to both Alcibiades and Timon, and that many innocent citizens would suffer if he attacks. Alcibiades agrees to temper his revenge, declaring he will punish only those who wronged him and his friends, while sparing the rest of the city. He vows to restore peace and proper order to Athens, using both war and peace as instruments of justice. The senators welcome his terms, and Alcibiades prepares to enter the city, promising to right wrongs through measured justice rather than wholesale destruction.

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.