How we cite our quotes: (Act.Scene.Line)
Quote #1
ALCIBIADES:
Banishment!
It comes not ill; I hate not to be banish'd;
It is a cause worthy my spleen and fury,
That I may strike at Athens. I'll cheer up
My discontented troops, and lay for hearts.
'Tis honour with most lands to be at odds;
Soldiers should brook as little wrongs as gods. (3.5.112-118)
Alcibiades doesn't let a little thing like banishment get him down; he figures he'll just use it to fuel a war against Athens. Check out how quickly he turns on the city that he calls home: something tells us he's been feeling discontent there for some time. Maybe he's more faithful to Athens than the Senators are. Unlike them, he wants what's best for the city, and he's less concerned with lining his own pockets.
Quote #2
TIMON:
O thou wall,
That girdlest in those wolves, dive in the earth,
And fence not Athens! Matrons, turn incontinent!
Obedience fail in children! slaves and fools,
Pluck the grave wrinkled senate from the bench,
And minister in their steads! to general filths
Convert o' the instant, green virginity,
Do 't in your parents' eyes! bankrupts, hold fast. (4.1.1-8)
As Timon takes one look back at Athens, he has a series of curses for the city and its people. We'd like to point out that while he's talking about city-folk, he uses a bunch of wild, beastly imagery to make his point. It's a jungle in there.
Quote #3
TIMON:Timon will to the woods; where he shall find
The unkindest beast more kinder than mankind.
The gods confound—hear me, you good gods all—
The Athenians both within and out that wall. (4.1.35-38)
Just blasting the city wasn't enough for Timon. Now he turns his focus to the people inside and thinks about what his new life will be like in the woods. His contrast here of the two places tells us a lot about his thoughts on men, beasts, and the wild. It seems like the city is the real wilderness in this play.