And ought you not to think a little of
propriety, and prevent the consequences of such a union?
propriety, and prevent the consequences of such a union?
Warner - World's Best Literature - v17 - Mai to Mom
And in order
to convince you of my feelings, allow me in this place to em-
brace you with all my heart, and to solicit a place in your affec-
tions. Come, your hand if you please. Will you promise me
your friendship?
Alceste - Sir -
Oronte What! you refuse me?
## p. 10173 (#601) ##########################################
MOLIÈRE
10173
Alceste Sir, it is too great an honor you wish to pay me;
but friendship requires a little more caution, and we surely pro-
fane its name when we lightly make use of it. Such a compact
ought to spring from judgment and choice, and before we bind
ourselves we ought to be better acquainted. Our dispositions
might differ so greatly as to make us both heartily repent of the
bargain.
Oronte — Upon my word, you speak like a sensible man, and
I esteem you all the more for it. Let us then leave the form-
ing of such pleasant ties to time; but meanwhile believe that I
am entirely at your service. If some overture is to be made for
you at court, every one knows that I am in favor with the King,
that I have his private ear, and that really he behaves in all
things most kindly to me. In short, believe that I am in every-
thing and at all times at your disposal. As you are a man of
great judgment, I come, by way of beginning this happy bond
of friendship, to read you a sonnet which I have lately com-
posed, and to ask you if I should do well to publish it.
Alceste - Sir, I am ill qualified to decide on such a matter;
pray excuse me.
Oronte - Why?
Alceste--I have the weakness of being a little too sincere
about those things.
Oronte — Sincerity is what I ask of you; and I should have
reason to complain, if when I come to you in order to hear the
plain truth, you frustrate my purpose by concealing anything
from me.
Alceste - If it is thus you look upon it, sir, I consent.
Oronte - Sonnet. It is a sonnet on Hope. It is to a lady
who had given some encouragement to my love. Hope. These
are not those long, pompous verses; but soft, tender, languishing
little lines. [At every one of these interruptions he looks at
Alceste. ]
Alceste - We shall see.
Oronte — Hope. I do not know whether the style will seem
clear and easy to you, and whether you will be satisfied with my
choice of words.
Alceste — We shall see, sir.
Oronte -- Besides, you must know that I was only a quarter
of an hour composing it.
## p. 10174 (#602) ##########################################
MOLIÈRE
10174
Alceste — Come, sir, time has nothing to do with the matter.
Oronte [reads] -
Hope, it is true, can ease our pain
And rock awhile our hapless mind;
But, Phyllis, what a sorry gain
When nothing pleasant walks behind.
Philinte - I think this beginning charming!
Alceste [aside to Philinte] - What! you dare to find that charm-
ing?
Oronte
Your complaisance was great indeed,
But better 'twere to clip its scope,
And not to such expense proceed,
If you could give me — only hope.
Philinte -- Ah! in what charming terms those things are said !
Alceste [aside to Philinte]— Shame on you, you vile flatterer!
you praise that rubbish!
Oronte -
If age - long expectation's pest-
The ardor of my zeal must test,
To death at last l'll fly.
My purpose braves your every care;
Fair Phyllis, men will soon despair
When doomed to hope for aye.
Philinte — The fall is pretty, lovable, admirable.
Alceste [aside to Philinte]— Plague take your fall, wretched
sycophant! Deuce take you! I wish it had broken your neck.
Philinte I have never heard verses so skillfully turned.
Alceste [aside] - Zounds!
Oronte [to Philinte]- You are flattering me, and you think
perhaps —
Philinte - No indeed, I am not flattering you at all.
Alceste [aside]— Ha! what else are you doing, impostor ?
Oronte [to Alceste]— But you, you remember the agreement
we made, and I beg of you to speak to me in all sincerity.
Alceste — Sir, this is at all times a delicate matter, and we
always like people to praise us for our genius. But one day I
was saying to some one, whose name I will not mention, on see-
ing verses of his composition, that a gentleman should carefully
## p. 10175 (#603) ##########################################
MOLIÈRE
10175
guard against the hankering after authorship which is apt to seize
us; that he should check the great propensity we have of making
a display of such pastimes; and that by too great an eagerness
to show our productions we run the risk of making ourselves
ridiculous.
Oronte — Do you mean me to understand by this that I am
wrong in wishing-
Alceste —I do not say that. But I said to him that a life-
less composition is very wearisome to those who read it; that
such a weakness is sufficient to make a man the object of unkind
remarks; that although in other respects he may have the most
sterling qualities, we generally judge of men by their weakest
side.
Oronte — Do you find fault with my sonnet ?
Alceste - I do not say that. But to keep him from writing, I I
pointed out to him how in our days that thirst had spoilt many
a worthy man.
Oronte — Do I write badly, and do I resemble in any way -
Alceste — I do not say that. But in short, I said to him, What
pressing necessity is there for you to rhyme, and what the deuce
urges you to put your name in print ? If we can forgive the
publication of a wretched book, it is only to those unfortunate
men who scribble for a living. Believe me; resist the tempta-
tion, keep such effusions from public notice, and do not throw
away, however you may be tempted, the name of a man of sense
and a gentleman which you bear at court, to take from the
hands of a grasping printer, that of a ridiculous and wretched
author. This is what I tried to make him understand.
Oronte — And I think I understand you. But this is all very
well. May I know what in my sonnet can —
Alceste — Truly, you had better shut it up in your cabinet:
you have followed bad models, and your expressions are in no
way natural.
Pray what is — "And rock awhile our hapless
mind”? and Nothing pleasant walks behind ” ? also "And not
to such expense proceed, If you could give me only hope »? or
“Fair Phyllis, men will soon despair, When doomed to hope for
aye”? This figurative style that people are so vain of, falls far
short of good taste and truth. It is a paltry play on words, and
mere affectation. Nature never speaks thus. I hate the wretched
taste of the age in these matters. Our forefathers, unpolished as
(
## p. 10176 (#604) ##########################################
10176
MOLIÈRE
they were, understood these things better; and I value less all
that is now admired than an old song which I will repeat to
you:
« If the King had given me
Paris town, so great and gay,
And for it I had to flee
From my lady-love away,
To King Henry I should say,
Take your Paris back, I pray:
I had liefer love my love, O,
I had liefer love my love. "
The versification is not rich, and the style is old. But do you
not see how much better it is than all that trumpery which good
sense must abhor, and that here simple nature speaks ? —
« If the King had given me
Paris town, so great and gay,
And for it I had to flee
From my lady-love away,
To King Henry I should say,
Take your Paris back, I pray:
I had liefer love my love, O,
I had liefer love my love. "
This is what a heart truly in love would say. —[To Philinte, who
laughs. ] Yes, you may laugh as much as you please; but what-
ever you men of wit may say, I prefer this to the showy glitter
of those false trinkets which every one admires.
Oronte — And yet I maintain that my verses are good.
Alceste — You have your own reasons for thinking them so;
but you will allow me to be of a different opinion, and my rea-
sons to be independent of yours.
Oronte — I think it sufficient that others prize them.
Alceste — No doubt they have the gift of dissimulation, which
I have not.
Oronte — Do you really think that you have such a large
share of intelligence ?
Alceste - If I praised your verses, I should have more.
Oronte -- I can easily do without your approbation.
Alceste – You must certainly, if you please, do without it.
Oronte I should like to see how you would set about com.
posing some on the same subject.
## p. 10177 (#605) ##########################################
MOLIÈRE
10177
Alceste - I might have the misfortune of making some as bad
as yours, but I should take great care not to show them to any
one.
Oronte - You speak to me very haughtily, and this conceit -
Alceste Pray find others to flatter you, and do not ask me to
do so.
Oronte - But, my little sir, lower somewhat your lofty tone, if
you please.
Alceste --I shall certainly, my big sir, do as I choose.
Philinte (stepping between them] - Nay, gentlemen, this is
carrying the matter too far. I beg of you to cease.
Oronte - Ah! I am wrong, I acknowledge it, and I leave the
I am, sir, in all sincerity, your humble servant.
Alceste — And I, sir, your most obedient.
,
field to you.
>
[Oronte goes out. ]
Philinte -- There! you see that with your love of sincerity,
you have drawn a troublesome affair upon yourself. It was clear
to me that Oronte, in order to be flattered-
Alceste — Do not speak to me.
Philinte — But-
Alceste — No more society for me.
Philinte — It is too much -
Alceste - Leave me alone.
Philinte - If I-
Alceste - Not another word.
Philinte – But how-
Alceste - I will hear no more.
Philinte – But yet —
Alceste - Again? what, again?
Philinte You insult
Alceste - 'Sdeath! this is too much. Do not follow me.
Philinte — You are joking; I shall not leave you. [Exeunt.
-
Translated by Charles Heron Wall.
XVII–637
## p. 10178 (#606) ##########################################
10178
MOLIÈRE
ORGON PROPOSES MARIANNE'S MARRIAGE WITH TARTUFFE
From (Tartuffe )
Enter to Orgon, in the drawing-room of his house, his young daughter
Marianne
O
RGON
Marianne!
Marianne --Father!
Orgon — Come here: I have something to say to you pri-
vately.
Marianne [to Orgon, who peers into a little side-room] - What
are you looking for?
Orgon — I want to see if there is any one there who could
overhear us: this is a most likely place for such a purpose. Now
we are all right. Marianne, I have always found you of a sweet
disposition, and you have always been very dear to me.
Marianne - I thank you very much for this fatherly love.
Orgon -- Rightly spoken, my daughter; and to deserve it, you
should think of nothing but of pleasing me.
Marianne I have no dearer wish at heart.
Orgon — Very well: then tell me, what do you say of our
guest, Tartuffe ?
Marianne - Who, I?
Orgon — You.
Be careful how you answer.
Marianne - Alas! I will say anything you please of him.
Dorine, the maid, comes in softly, and stands behind Orgon without being
noticed by him
Orgon – You speak wisely. Then say, daughter, that he pos-
.
sesses the greatest merit; that he has touched your heart; and
that it would be happiness to you to see him, with my approba-
tion, become your husband.
Marianne [drawing back with surprise] - Eh!
Orgon- What is the matter?
Marianne — What did you say?
?
Orgon — What?
Marianne - Did I make a mistake ?
Orgon - Make a mistake?
Marianne -— Who is it, father, that you would have me say has
touched my heart, and whom, with your approbation, it would be
happiness to have for a husband ?
## p. 10179 (#607) ##########################################
MOLIERE
10179
.
Orgon- Tartuffe.
Marianne - But I feel nothing of the kind, I assure you,
father. Why would you have me tell such a falsehood ?
Orgon - But I wish it to be the truth; and it is sufficient for
you that I have decided it should be so.
Marianne — What! you wish me, father -
Orgon — Yes, daughter, I intend to unite Tartuffe to my family
by marrying him to you. I am resolved that he shall be your
husband; and as I can [Seeing Dorine. ]— What are you doing
here? Your curiosity must be very strong, young damsel, for you
to come and listen to us after that fashion.
Dorine — Really, sir, I don't know whether the report arose
from conjecture or by chance; but I have just been told of this
match, and I treated the whole story as a sorry joke.
Orgon - Why! is the thing so incredible ?
Dorine — So incredible, sir, that I do not believe it, even when
I hear you speak of it.
Orgon — I shall find the means of making you believe it, you
may be sure.
Dorine — Pooh! pooh! you are telling us a fine story indeed!
Orgon - I am telling you what will very soon prove true.
Dorine - Nonsense!
Orgon [to Marianne - I assure you, daughter, that I am not
jesting
Dorine [to Marianne] - Ah! ah! Don't you go and believe
—
your father: he is only laughing.
Orgon [to Dorine] - I tell you —
Dorine - It'll all be lost time: nobody will believe you.
Orgon - My anger at last -
–
Dorine — Very well! very well! We believe you, and so much
the worse for you. What! is it possible, sir, that with your wise
looks, and that large beard in the very midst of your face, you
should be foolish enough to wish -
Orgon — Now listen. You have of late taken certain liberties
here which do not please me at all. Do you hear ?
Dorine — Let us speak calmly, sir, I beseech you.
laughing at us with this scheme? Your daughter will never do
for a bigot: she has something else to think about. And then,
what does such an alliance bring to you? Why should you, with
all your wealth, go and choose a beggar for your son-in-law ?
Orgon -- Hold your tongue! If he has no money, remember
that that is the very reason why we should esteem him. His:
Are you
## p. 10180 (#608) ##########################################
10180
MOLIÈRE
poverty is a noble poverty, and one which ought to place him
above all greatness; for he lost his fortune through the little
care he had for the things of this world, and through his anxiety
for the next. However, with my help, he will have the means
of settling his affairs and of recovering his own. For poor as he
is, he is a gentleman; and the estate which he has a right to is
considerable.
Dorine — Yes; at least he says so.
But this vanity, sir, does
not agree well with piety. Whoever gives himself to the priva-
tions of a holy life should not make such a boast of title and
lineage: the humble ways of piety suffer from the publicity of
such ambition. Why such pride ? — But what I say vexes you.
Let us leave his nobility aside and speak of his person. Would
you really, without sorrow, give a girl like your daughter to
a man of his stamp?
And ought you not to think a little of
propriety, and prevent the consequences of such a union? You
ought to know that you endanger a woman's virtue when you
marry her against her will or taste. Her living virtuously in
the bonds of matrimony depends much on the husband who is
given to her; and those who are everywhere pointed at, have
often made their wives what they are. It is, in fact, very diffi-
cult to remain faithful to husbands of a certain kind; and who-
ever gives his daughter to a man she hates is responsible to
Heaven for all the sins she commits. Think to what danger you
are exposed by such a scheme.
Orgon [to no one] - I see that I shall have to learn from her
what to do!
Dorine — It would be all the better for you if you followed
my advice.
you want.
Orgon [to Marianne) — Daughter, let us no longer waste our
time with such nonsense: I am your father, and I know what
I had promised you to Valère; but from what I am
told, not only is he rather given to gambling, but I also suspect
him of being a free-thinker. I never see him come to church.
Dorine — Would you have him run there at your fixed hours,
like those who go there only to be seen ?
Orgon [to Dorine]—I don't ask your opinion in the matter.
[To Marianne. ] In short, Tartuffe is on the best terms with
Heaven, and this is a treasure to which nothing else can be com-
pared. You will find all your wishes satisfied by such a union:
it will prove a continual source of delight and pleasure. You
will live together in your faithful love like two young children-
## p. 10181 (#609) ##########################################
MOLIÈRE
1018
-
like two turtle doves. Never will any unhappy discussion arise
between you, and you will make anything you like of him.
Dorine — She will make naught but a fool of him, I know.
Orgon-Gracious me, what language!
Dorine — I tell you that he has the look of one, and that
his destiny will overrule, sir, all the virtue your daughter may
have.
Orgon - Leave off interrupting me. Mind you keep silent,
and not poke your word in where you have no business.
Dorine [interrupting him each time he turns round to speak to
his daughter] - What I say is only for your own good, sir.
Orgon – You take too much upon you. Be quiet, if you please.
Dorine - If I did not love you —
Orgon — I don't wish to be loved.
Dorine - And I shall love you in spite of yourself, sir.
Orgon - How now?
Dorine — I have your honor at heart, and I cannot bear to
see you bring a thousand ill-natured remarks upon yourself.
Orgon — Will you be silent ?
Dorine — It is a shame to allow you to think of such a mar-
riage.
Orgon — Will you hold your peace, you serpent, whose inso-
lence -
Dorine - What! you're a pious man, and you give way to
a
anger?
Orgon — Yes: my patience must give way before all this. I
insist upon your holding your tongue.
Dorine - Very well; but although I don't speak, I think none
the less.
Translation of Charles Heron Wall.
## p. 10182 (#610) ##########################################
10182
MOLIÈRE
THE FAMILY CENSOR
From (Tartuffe)
[Madame Pernelle, a venerable, sharp-tongued, and easily prejudiced lady:
her daughter-in-law Elmire; her granddaughter Marianne; M. Cléante, and
others of the family connection, including Damis, Dorine, and the maid Fli-
pote, are all in the drawing-room of M. Orgon as the curtain rises. ]
M
ADAME PERNELLE [about to quit the room in anger]— Come
along, Flipote, come along; let me get away from them all.
Elmire— You go so fast that one can hardly keep up with you.
Madame Pernelle [to Elmire] - Never mind, daughter, never
mind; come no farther: I can well dispense with these ceremonies.
Elmire-- We acquit ourselves of our duty towards you. But,
mother, may I ask why you are in such a hurry to leave us?
Madame Pernelle For the simple reason that I cannot bear
to see what goes on in your house, and that no effort is made to
comply with my wishes. Yes, I leave your house very ill edified.
Things are done against all my admonitions; there is no respect
paid to anything; every one speaks out as he likes, and it is
exactly like the court of King Petaud.
Dorine - If
Madame Pernelle [to Dorine] - You, a servant, are a great
deal too strong in the jaw, most rude, and must have your say
about everything.
Damis — But —
Madame Pernelle [to Damis] – You are, in good round Eng-
lish, a fool, my child! I, your grandmother, tell you so; and I
always forewarned your father that you would turn out a worth-
less fellow, and would never bring him anything but vexation.
Marianne - I think-
Madame Pernelle [to Marianne] - And you, his sister, are all
demureness, and look as if butter would not melt in your mouth!
But it is truly said that still waters run deep, and on the sly you
lead a life which I thoroughly dislike.
Elmire — But, mother-
Madame Pernelle - I should be sorry to vex you, my daugh-
ter, but your conduct is altogether unbecoming: you ought to set
them a good example, and their late mother did much better.
You spend money too freely; and I am shocked to see you go
about dressed like a princess. She who wishes to please her hus-
band only, has no need of such finery.
Cléante — But, madame, after all -
## p. 10183 (#611) ##########################################
MOLIÈRE
10183
-
a
-
Madame Pernelle [to Cléante] — As for you, her brother, I
esteem you greatly, I love and respect you, sir; but all the same,
if I were in my son's her husband's place, I would beg of you
most earnestly never to enter the house! You always advocate
rules of life that honest folks ought not to follow. I am a little
outspoken; but such is my disposition, and I never mince matters
when I have something on my mind.
Dorine — Your Tartuffe is very fortunate, no doubt, in -
Madame Pernelle — He is a very worthy man, to whom you
would do well to listen - and I can't bear (without getting into
a passion) to see him molested by a scapegrace like you!
Damis What! can I allow a strait-laced bigot to assume
tyrannical authority in this house ? — and that we should never
think of any pleasure unless we are assured of that fine gentle-
man's consent ?
Dorine -- According to him and his maxims, we can do noth-
ing without committing a sin; for — the zealous critic that he
is-he superintends everything.
Madame Pernelle - And whatever he superintends is well
superintended. It is the way to heaven he wants to show you,
and my son Orgon should make you all love him.
Damis — No, mother, there is no father nor anything in the
world which can induce me to wish him well; and I should be
false to my own heart if I spoke otherwise. Everything he does
excites my wrath; and I foresee that some day or other some-
thing will happen, and that I shall be forced to come to an open
quarrel with the sneaking scoundrel.
Dorine — Indeed it is most scandalous to see a stranger come
and make himself at home here; most scandalous that a beggar
who had no shoes to his feet when he first came, and whose coat
was not worth three halfpence, should so far forget himself as to
interfere with everything and play the master!
Madame Pernelle — Ah, mercy on us! It would be much
better if everything were managed according to his pious direc-
tions.
Dorine — Yes, he is a saint in your opinion; but depend upon
it, he is really nothing but a downright hypocrite.
Madame Pernelle - What backbiting!
Dorine — I should trust neither him nor his Laurent without
good security, I can tell you.
Madame Pernelle. I don't know what the servant may really
be; but I'll answer for the master being a holy man. You hate
## p. 10184 (#612) ##########################################
10184
MOLIÈRE
him and reject him because he tells you of your faults. It is
against sin that he is incensed, and there is nothing he has so
much at heart as the interest of heaven.
Dorine — Has he ? Why, then, and particularly of late, is he
angry when any one comes near us? In what does a polite
visit offend heaven, that he should make a disturbance enough
to drive us mad? Shall I tell you here privately what I think?
?
[Pointing to Elmire. ] I really believe that he is, in good faith,
jealous of madame!
Madame Pernelle — Hold your tongue, and mind what you
are saying. He is not the only one who blames these visits. All
the confusion which accompanies the people you receive, those
carriages always waiting at the gate, the noisy crowd of lackeys,
disturb the whole neighborhood. I am most willing to believe
that there is really no harm done; but in short, it gives people
occasion to talk, and that is not right.
Cléante — Ah, madame, would you hinder people from talking ?
It would be a sad thing if in this world we had to give up our
best friends because of some stupid story in which we may play
a part. But even if we could bring ourselves to do such a thing,
do you think it would force people to be silent? There is no
safeguard against calumny. Let us therefore not mind all that
foolish gossip, but only endeavor to lead a virtuous life, and
leave full license to the scandal-mongers.
Translation of Charles Heron Wall.
THE HYPOCRITE
From (Tartuffe)
[The scene, from the third act of the play, is the house of M. Orgon.
His wife, the virtuous and shrewd Elmire, has long doubted the rectitude of
Tartuffe's attentions to her, but cannot induce her foolish husband to believe
the man a cheat and a libertine at heart, so excessive is his assumption of
piety an abstraction from the world. With the aid of Dorine the maid,
Damis has been concealed in the next room. ]
ARTUFFE [as soon as he secs Dorine, speaks loudly and in a
T
lock up my hair-shirt and my scourge; and
pray
Heaven
ever to enlighten you with grace. If anybody comes to see me,
say that I am gone to the prisons — to distribute my alms.
Dorine [asıde] – What boasting and affectation!
## p. 10185 (#613) ##########################################
MOLIÈRE
10185
- To tell you
Tartuffe - What is it you want ?
Dorine
Tartuffe — Put more modesty into your speech, or I will leave
you at once.
Dorine - You need not, for I shall soon leave you in peace;
and all I have to say is, that my lady is coming into this room,
and would be glad to have a moment's talk with you.
Tartuffe -- Alas! with all my heart.
Dorine [aside]— How sweet we are! In good troth, I still
abide by what I said.
Tartuffe — Will she soon be here?
·
Dorine — Directly. I hear her, I believe; yes, here she is. I
leave you together.
[Exit.
Enter Elmire
Tartuffe — May Heaven, in its great goodness, ever bestow on
you health of body and of mind, and shower blessings on your
days, according to the prayer of the lowest of its servants.
Elmire-I am much obliged to you for this pious wish; but
let us sit down a moment to talk more comfortably.
Tartuffe [seated] - Have you quite recovered from your in-
disposition ?
Elmire (seated] - Quite. That feverishness soon left me.
.
Tartuffe — My prayers have not merit sufficient to have ob-
tained this favor from Heaven; but I have not offered up one
petition in which you were not concerned.
Elmire— Your anxious zeal is really too great.
Tartuffe — We cannot have too great anxiety for your dear
health; and to give you back the full enjoyment of it I would
have sacrificed my own.
Elmire --- You carry Christian charity very far, and I am
under much obligation to you for all this kindness.
Tartuffe - I do only what you deserve.
Elmire — I wished to speak to you in private on a certain
matter, and I am glad that nobody is here to hear us.
Tartuffe — And I also am delighted. It is very sweet for
me, madame, to find myself alone with you. I have often prayed
Heaven to bestow this favor upon me; but till now it has been
in vain.
Elmire — For my part, all I want is, that you should speak
frankly, and hide nothing from me.
## p. 10186 (#614) ##########################################
10186
MOLIÈRE
[Damis, without being seen, half opens the door of the room to hear the
conversation.
Tartuffe — And my wish is also that you will allow me the
cherished favor of speaking openly to you, and of giving you
my word of honor, that if I have said anything against the visits
which are paid here to your charms, it has never been done out
of hatred to you; but rather out of an ardent zeal which carries
me away, and from a sincere feeling of
Elmire - I quite understand it to be so, and I feel sure that
it all proceeds from your anxiety for my good.
Tartuffe [taking her hands and pressing them]— It is really
so, madame; and my fervor is such
Elmire-- Ah! you press my hand too much.
Tartuffe — It is through an excess of zeal. I never intended
to hurt you. [Handling Elmire's collar. ] Heaven! how marvel-
ous this point-lace is! The work done in our days is perfectly
wonderful; and never has such perfection been attained in every-
thing.
Elmire - It is true. But let us speak of what brings me here.
I have been told that my husband intends to break his word,
and to give you his daughter in marriage. Is that true? Pray
tell me.
Tartuffe — He has merely alluded to it. But, madame, to teli
you the truth, that is not the happiness for which my soul sighs;
I find elsewhere the unspeakable attractions of the bliss which is
the end of all my hopes.
Elmire - That is because you care not for earthly things.
Tartuffe — My breast, madame, does not inclose a heart of
fint.
Elmire-- I know, for my part, that all your sighs tend to-
wards Heaven, and that you have no desire for anything here
below.
Tartuffe — Our love for the beauty which is eternal stifles not
in us love for that which is fleeting and temporal; and we can
easily be charmed with the perfect works Heaven has created.
Its reflected attractions shine forth in such as you; but it is in
you alone that its choicest wonders are centred. It has lar-
ished upon you charms which dazzle the eye and which touch the
heart; and I have never gazed on you, perfect creature, without
admiring the Creator of the universe, and without feeling my
2
## p. 10187 (#615) ##########################################
MOLIÈRE
10187
heart seized with an ardent love for the most beautiful picture
in which he has reproduced himself. At first I feared that this
secret tenderness might be a skillful assault of the Evil One; I
even thought I would avoid your presence, fearing you might
prove a stumbling-block to my salvation. But I have learnt, O
adorable beauty, that my passion need not be a guilty one; that
I can reconcile it with modesty; and I have given up my whole
soul to it. I know that I am very presumptuous in making you
the offer of such a heart as mine; but in my love I hope every-
thing from you, nothing from the vain efforts of my unworthy
self. In you is my hope, my happiness, my peace; on you de-
pends my misery or bliss: and by your verdict I shall be forever
happy, if you wish it: unhappy, if it pleases you.
Elmire — Quite a gallant declaration. But you must acknowl-
edge that it is rather surprising. It seems to me that you might
have fortified your heart a little more carefully against tempta-
tion, and have paused before such a design. A devotee like you,
who is everywhere spoken of as-
Tartuffe - Ah! Although a devotee, I am no less a man.
When your celestial attractions burst upon the sight, the heart
surrenders, and reasons no more.
I know that such language
from me seems somewhat strange: but after all, madame, I am
not an angel; and if you condemn the confession I make, you
have only your own attractions to blame for it.
As soon
I beheld their more than human beauty, my whole being was
surrendered to you. The unspeakable sweetness of your divine
charms forced the obstinate resistance of my heart; it overcame
everything — fasting, prayers, and tears — and fixed all my hopes
in you. A thousand times my eyes and my sighs have told you
this; to-day I explain myself with words. Ah! if you consider
with some kindness the tribulations and trials of your unworthy
slave, if your goodness has compassion on me and deigns to
stoop so low as my nothingness, I shall ever have for you, O
marvelous beauty, a devotion never to be equaled. With me
your reputation runs no risk, and has no disgrace to fear. Men
like me burn with a hidden flame, and secrecy is forever assured.
The care which we take of our own reputation is a warrant to
the woman who accepts our heart, that she will find love without
scandal, and pleasure without fear.
Elmire - I have listened to you, and your rhetoric expresses
itself in terms strong enough. Are you not afraid that I might
as
## p. 10188 (#616) ##########################################
10188
MOLIÈRE
be disposed to tell my husband of this passionate declaration, and
that its sudden disclosure might influence the friendship which
he has toward you ?
Tartuffe — I know that your tender-heartedness is too great,
and that you will excuse, because of human frailty, the violent
transports of a love which offends you, and will consider, when
you look at yourself, that people are not blind, and that flesh is
weak.
Elmire — Others might take all this differently; but I will
endeavor to show my discretion. I will tell nothing to my hus-
band of what has taken place; but in return I must require one
thing of you, -- which is to forward honestly and sincerely the
marriage which has been decided between Valère and Marianne,
and to renounce the unjust power which would enrich you with
what belongs to another,
Damis [coming out of a side room where he was hidden] - No,
madame, no! All this must be made public! I was in that place
and overheard everything. Heaven in its goodness seems to have
directed my steps hither, to confound the pride of a wretch who
wrongs me, and to guide me to a sure revenge for his hypocrisy
and insolence. I will undeceive my father, and will show him in
a clear, strong light the heart of the miscreant who dares to
speak to you of love.
Elmire-- No, Damis: it is sufficient if he promises to amend,
and endeavors to deserve the forgiveness I have spoken of.
Since I have promised it, let me abide by my word. I have
no wish for scandal. A woman should despise these follies, and
never trouble her husband's ears with them.
Damis - You have your reasons for dealing thus with him,
and I have mine for acting otherwise. It is a mockery to try to
In the insolent pride of his canting bigotry he has
already triumphed too much over my just wrath, and has caused
too many troubles in our house. The impostor has governed my
father but too long, and too long opposed my love and Valère's.
It is right that my father's eyes should be opened to the perfidy
of this villain. Heaven offers me an easy opportunity, and I am
thankful for it. Were I not to seize it, I should deserve never to
have another.
Elmire — Damis-
Damis — No, I will, with your permission, follow my own coun-
sel. My heart is overjoyed; and it is in vain for you to try and
spare him.
to convince you of my feelings, allow me in this place to em-
brace you with all my heart, and to solicit a place in your affec-
tions. Come, your hand if you please. Will you promise me
your friendship?
Alceste - Sir -
Oronte What! you refuse me?
## p. 10173 (#601) ##########################################
MOLIÈRE
10173
Alceste Sir, it is too great an honor you wish to pay me;
but friendship requires a little more caution, and we surely pro-
fane its name when we lightly make use of it. Such a compact
ought to spring from judgment and choice, and before we bind
ourselves we ought to be better acquainted. Our dispositions
might differ so greatly as to make us both heartily repent of the
bargain.
Oronte — Upon my word, you speak like a sensible man, and
I esteem you all the more for it. Let us then leave the form-
ing of such pleasant ties to time; but meanwhile believe that I
am entirely at your service. If some overture is to be made for
you at court, every one knows that I am in favor with the King,
that I have his private ear, and that really he behaves in all
things most kindly to me. In short, believe that I am in every-
thing and at all times at your disposal. As you are a man of
great judgment, I come, by way of beginning this happy bond
of friendship, to read you a sonnet which I have lately com-
posed, and to ask you if I should do well to publish it.
Alceste - Sir, I am ill qualified to decide on such a matter;
pray excuse me.
Oronte - Why?
Alceste--I have the weakness of being a little too sincere
about those things.
Oronte — Sincerity is what I ask of you; and I should have
reason to complain, if when I come to you in order to hear the
plain truth, you frustrate my purpose by concealing anything
from me.
Alceste - If it is thus you look upon it, sir, I consent.
Oronte - Sonnet. It is a sonnet on Hope. It is to a lady
who had given some encouragement to my love. Hope. These
are not those long, pompous verses; but soft, tender, languishing
little lines. [At every one of these interruptions he looks at
Alceste. ]
Alceste - We shall see.
Oronte — Hope. I do not know whether the style will seem
clear and easy to you, and whether you will be satisfied with my
choice of words.
Alceste — We shall see, sir.
Oronte -- Besides, you must know that I was only a quarter
of an hour composing it.
## p. 10174 (#602) ##########################################
MOLIÈRE
10174
Alceste — Come, sir, time has nothing to do with the matter.
Oronte [reads] -
Hope, it is true, can ease our pain
And rock awhile our hapless mind;
But, Phyllis, what a sorry gain
When nothing pleasant walks behind.
Philinte - I think this beginning charming!
Alceste [aside to Philinte] - What! you dare to find that charm-
ing?
Oronte
Your complaisance was great indeed,
But better 'twere to clip its scope,
And not to such expense proceed,
If you could give me — only hope.
Philinte -- Ah! in what charming terms those things are said !
Alceste [aside to Philinte]— Shame on you, you vile flatterer!
you praise that rubbish!
Oronte -
If age - long expectation's pest-
The ardor of my zeal must test,
To death at last l'll fly.
My purpose braves your every care;
Fair Phyllis, men will soon despair
When doomed to hope for aye.
Philinte — The fall is pretty, lovable, admirable.
Alceste [aside to Philinte]— Plague take your fall, wretched
sycophant! Deuce take you! I wish it had broken your neck.
Philinte I have never heard verses so skillfully turned.
Alceste [aside] - Zounds!
Oronte [to Philinte]- You are flattering me, and you think
perhaps —
Philinte - No indeed, I am not flattering you at all.
Alceste [aside]— Ha! what else are you doing, impostor ?
Oronte [to Alceste]— But you, you remember the agreement
we made, and I beg of you to speak to me in all sincerity.
Alceste — Sir, this is at all times a delicate matter, and we
always like people to praise us for our genius. But one day I
was saying to some one, whose name I will not mention, on see-
ing verses of his composition, that a gentleman should carefully
## p. 10175 (#603) ##########################################
MOLIÈRE
10175
guard against the hankering after authorship which is apt to seize
us; that he should check the great propensity we have of making
a display of such pastimes; and that by too great an eagerness
to show our productions we run the risk of making ourselves
ridiculous.
Oronte — Do you mean me to understand by this that I am
wrong in wishing-
Alceste —I do not say that. But I said to him that a life-
less composition is very wearisome to those who read it; that
such a weakness is sufficient to make a man the object of unkind
remarks; that although in other respects he may have the most
sterling qualities, we generally judge of men by their weakest
side.
Oronte — Do you find fault with my sonnet ?
Alceste - I do not say that. But to keep him from writing, I I
pointed out to him how in our days that thirst had spoilt many
a worthy man.
Oronte — Do I write badly, and do I resemble in any way -
Alceste — I do not say that. But in short, I said to him, What
pressing necessity is there for you to rhyme, and what the deuce
urges you to put your name in print ? If we can forgive the
publication of a wretched book, it is only to those unfortunate
men who scribble for a living. Believe me; resist the tempta-
tion, keep such effusions from public notice, and do not throw
away, however you may be tempted, the name of a man of sense
and a gentleman which you bear at court, to take from the
hands of a grasping printer, that of a ridiculous and wretched
author. This is what I tried to make him understand.
Oronte — And I think I understand you. But this is all very
well. May I know what in my sonnet can —
Alceste — Truly, you had better shut it up in your cabinet:
you have followed bad models, and your expressions are in no
way natural.
Pray what is — "And rock awhile our hapless
mind”? and Nothing pleasant walks behind ” ? also "And not
to such expense proceed, If you could give me only hope »? or
“Fair Phyllis, men will soon despair, When doomed to hope for
aye”? This figurative style that people are so vain of, falls far
short of good taste and truth. It is a paltry play on words, and
mere affectation. Nature never speaks thus. I hate the wretched
taste of the age in these matters. Our forefathers, unpolished as
(
## p. 10176 (#604) ##########################################
10176
MOLIÈRE
they were, understood these things better; and I value less all
that is now admired than an old song which I will repeat to
you:
« If the King had given me
Paris town, so great and gay,
And for it I had to flee
From my lady-love away,
To King Henry I should say,
Take your Paris back, I pray:
I had liefer love my love, O,
I had liefer love my love. "
The versification is not rich, and the style is old. But do you
not see how much better it is than all that trumpery which good
sense must abhor, and that here simple nature speaks ? —
« If the King had given me
Paris town, so great and gay,
And for it I had to flee
From my lady-love away,
To King Henry I should say,
Take your Paris back, I pray:
I had liefer love my love, O,
I had liefer love my love. "
This is what a heart truly in love would say. —[To Philinte, who
laughs. ] Yes, you may laugh as much as you please; but what-
ever you men of wit may say, I prefer this to the showy glitter
of those false trinkets which every one admires.
Oronte — And yet I maintain that my verses are good.
Alceste — You have your own reasons for thinking them so;
but you will allow me to be of a different opinion, and my rea-
sons to be independent of yours.
Oronte — I think it sufficient that others prize them.
Alceste — No doubt they have the gift of dissimulation, which
I have not.
Oronte — Do you really think that you have such a large
share of intelligence ?
Alceste - If I praised your verses, I should have more.
Oronte -- I can easily do without your approbation.
Alceste – You must certainly, if you please, do without it.
Oronte I should like to see how you would set about com.
posing some on the same subject.
## p. 10177 (#605) ##########################################
MOLIÈRE
10177
Alceste - I might have the misfortune of making some as bad
as yours, but I should take great care not to show them to any
one.
Oronte - You speak to me very haughtily, and this conceit -
Alceste Pray find others to flatter you, and do not ask me to
do so.
Oronte - But, my little sir, lower somewhat your lofty tone, if
you please.
Alceste --I shall certainly, my big sir, do as I choose.
Philinte (stepping between them] - Nay, gentlemen, this is
carrying the matter too far. I beg of you to cease.
Oronte - Ah! I am wrong, I acknowledge it, and I leave the
I am, sir, in all sincerity, your humble servant.
Alceste — And I, sir, your most obedient.
,
field to you.
>
[Oronte goes out. ]
Philinte -- There! you see that with your love of sincerity,
you have drawn a troublesome affair upon yourself. It was clear
to me that Oronte, in order to be flattered-
Alceste — Do not speak to me.
Philinte — But-
Alceste — No more society for me.
Philinte — It is too much -
Alceste - Leave me alone.
Philinte - If I-
Alceste - Not another word.
Philinte – But how-
Alceste - I will hear no more.
Philinte – But yet —
Alceste - Again? what, again?
Philinte You insult
Alceste - 'Sdeath! this is too much. Do not follow me.
Philinte — You are joking; I shall not leave you. [Exeunt.
-
Translated by Charles Heron Wall.
XVII–637
## p. 10178 (#606) ##########################################
10178
MOLIÈRE
ORGON PROPOSES MARIANNE'S MARRIAGE WITH TARTUFFE
From (Tartuffe )
Enter to Orgon, in the drawing-room of his house, his young daughter
Marianne
O
RGON
Marianne!
Marianne --Father!
Orgon — Come here: I have something to say to you pri-
vately.
Marianne [to Orgon, who peers into a little side-room] - What
are you looking for?
Orgon — I want to see if there is any one there who could
overhear us: this is a most likely place for such a purpose. Now
we are all right. Marianne, I have always found you of a sweet
disposition, and you have always been very dear to me.
Marianne - I thank you very much for this fatherly love.
Orgon -- Rightly spoken, my daughter; and to deserve it, you
should think of nothing but of pleasing me.
Marianne I have no dearer wish at heart.
Orgon — Very well: then tell me, what do you say of our
guest, Tartuffe ?
Marianne - Who, I?
Orgon — You.
Be careful how you answer.
Marianne - Alas! I will say anything you please of him.
Dorine, the maid, comes in softly, and stands behind Orgon without being
noticed by him
Orgon – You speak wisely. Then say, daughter, that he pos-
.
sesses the greatest merit; that he has touched your heart; and
that it would be happiness to you to see him, with my approba-
tion, become your husband.
Marianne [drawing back with surprise] - Eh!
Orgon- What is the matter?
Marianne — What did you say?
?
Orgon — What?
Marianne - Did I make a mistake ?
Orgon - Make a mistake?
Marianne -— Who is it, father, that you would have me say has
touched my heart, and whom, with your approbation, it would be
happiness to have for a husband ?
## p. 10179 (#607) ##########################################
MOLIERE
10179
.
Orgon- Tartuffe.
Marianne - But I feel nothing of the kind, I assure you,
father. Why would you have me tell such a falsehood ?
Orgon - But I wish it to be the truth; and it is sufficient for
you that I have decided it should be so.
Marianne — What! you wish me, father -
Orgon — Yes, daughter, I intend to unite Tartuffe to my family
by marrying him to you. I am resolved that he shall be your
husband; and as I can [Seeing Dorine. ]— What are you doing
here? Your curiosity must be very strong, young damsel, for you
to come and listen to us after that fashion.
Dorine — Really, sir, I don't know whether the report arose
from conjecture or by chance; but I have just been told of this
match, and I treated the whole story as a sorry joke.
Orgon - Why! is the thing so incredible ?
Dorine — So incredible, sir, that I do not believe it, even when
I hear you speak of it.
Orgon — I shall find the means of making you believe it, you
may be sure.
Dorine — Pooh! pooh! you are telling us a fine story indeed!
Orgon - I am telling you what will very soon prove true.
Dorine - Nonsense!
Orgon [to Marianne - I assure you, daughter, that I am not
jesting
Dorine [to Marianne] - Ah! ah! Don't you go and believe
—
your father: he is only laughing.
Orgon [to Dorine] - I tell you —
Dorine - It'll all be lost time: nobody will believe you.
Orgon - My anger at last -
–
Dorine — Very well! very well! We believe you, and so much
the worse for you. What! is it possible, sir, that with your wise
looks, and that large beard in the very midst of your face, you
should be foolish enough to wish -
Orgon — Now listen. You have of late taken certain liberties
here which do not please me at all. Do you hear ?
Dorine — Let us speak calmly, sir, I beseech you.
laughing at us with this scheme? Your daughter will never do
for a bigot: she has something else to think about. And then,
what does such an alliance bring to you? Why should you, with
all your wealth, go and choose a beggar for your son-in-law ?
Orgon -- Hold your tongue! If he has no money, remember
that that is the very reason why we should esteem him. His:
Are you
## p. 10180 (#608) ##########################################
10180
MOLIÈRE
poverty is a noble poverty, and one which ought to place him
above all greatness; for he lost his fortune through the little
care he had for the things of this world, and through his anxiety
for the next. However, with my help, he will have the means
of settling his affairs and of recovering his own. For poor as he
is, he is a gentleman; and the estate which he has a right to is
considerable.
Dorine — Yes; at least he says so.
But this vanity, sir, does
not agree well with piety. Whoever gives himself to the priva-
tions of a holy life should not make such a boast of title and
lineage: the humble ways of piety suffer from the publicity of
such ambition. Why such pride ? — But what I say vexes you.
Let us leave his nobility aside and speak of his person. Would
you really, without sorrow, give a girl like your daughter to
a man of his stamp?
And ought you not to think a little of
propriety, and prevent the consequences of such a union? You
ought to know that you endanger a woman's virtue when you
marry her against her will or taste. Her living virtuously in
the bonds of matrimony depends much on the husband who is
given to her; and those who are everywhere pointed at, have
often made their wives what they are. It is, in fact, very diffi-
cult to remain faithful to husbands of a certain kind; and who-
ever gives his daughter to a man she hates is responsible to
Heaven for all the sins she commits. Think to what danger you
are exposed by such a scheme.
Orgon [to no one] - I see that I shall have to learn from her
what to do!
Dorine — It would be all the better for you if you followed
my advice.
you want.
Orgon [to Marianne) — Daughter, let us no longer waste our
time with such nonsense: I am your father, and I know what
I had promised you to Valère; but from what I am
told, not only is he rather given to gambling, but I also suspect
him of being a free-thinker. I never see him come to church.
Dorine — Would you have him run there at your fixed hours,
like those who go there only to be seen ?
Orgon [to Dorine]—I don't ask your opinion in the matter.
[To Marianne. ] In short, Tartuffe is on the best terms with
Heaven, and this is a treasure to which nothing else can be com-
pared. You will find all your wishes satisfied by such a union:
it will prove a continual source of delight and pleasure. You
will live together in your faithful love like two young children-
## p. 10181 (#609) ##########################################
MOLIÈRE
1018
-
like two turtle doves. Never will any unhappy discussion arise
between you, and you will make anything you like of him.
Dorine — She will make naught but a fool of him, I know.
Orgon-Gracious me, what language!
Dorine — I tell you that he has the look of one, and that
his destiny will overrule, sir, all the virtue your daughter may
have.
Orgon - Leave off interrupting me. Mind you keep silent,
and not poke your word in where you have no business.
Dorine [interrupting him each time he turns round to speak to
his daughter] - What I say is only for your own good, sir.
Orgon – You take too much upon you. Be quiet, if you please.
Dorine - If I did not love you —
Orgon — I don't wish to be loved.
Dorine - And I shall love you in spite of yourself, sir.
Orgon - How now?
Dorine — I have your honor at heart, and I cannot bear to
see you bring a thousand ill-natured remarks upon yourself.
Orgon — Will you be silent ?
Dorine — It is a shame to allow you to think of such a mar-
riage.
Orgon — Will you hold your peace, you serpent, whose inso-
lence -
Dorine - What! you're a pious man, and you give way to
a
anger?
Orgon — Yes: my patience must give way before all this. I
insist upon your holding your tongue.
Dorine - Very well; but although I don't speak, I think none
the less.
Translation of Charles Heron Wall.
## p. 10182 (#610) ##########################################
10182
MOLIÈRE
THE FAMILY CENSOR
From (Tartuffe)
[Madame Pernelle, a venerable, sharp-tongued, and easily prejudiced lady:
her daughter-in-law Elmire; her granddaughter Marianne; M. Cléante, and
others of the family connection, including Damis, Dorine, and the maid Fli-
pote, are all in the drawing-room of M. Orgon as the curtain rises. ]
M
ADAME PERNELLE [about to quit the room in anger]— Come
along, Flipote, come along; let me get away from them all.
Elmire— You go so fast that one can hardly keep up with you.
Madame Pernelle [to Elmire] - Never mind, daughter, never
mind; come no farther: I can well dispense with these ceremonies.
Elmire-- We acquit ourselves of our duty towards you. But,
mother, may I ask why you are in such a hurry to leave us?
Madame Pernelle For the simple reason that I cannot bear
to see what goes on in your house, and that no effort is made to
comply with my wishes. Yes, I leave your house very ill edified.
Things are done against all my admonitions; there is no respect
paid to anything; every one speaks out as he likes, and it is
exactly like the court of King Petaud.
Dorine - If
Madame Pernelle [to Dorine] - You, a servant, are a great
deal too strong in the jaw, most rude, and must have your say
about everything.
Damis — But —
Madame Pernelle [to Damis] – You are, in good round Eng-
lish, a fool, my child! I, your grandmother, tell you so; and I
always forewarned your father that you would turn out a worth-
less fellow, and would never bring him anything but vexation.
Marianne - I think-
Madame Pernelle [to Marianne] - And you, his sister, are all
demureness, and look as if butter would not melt in your mouth!
But it is truly said that still waters run deep, and on the sly you
lead a life which I thoroughly dislike.
Elmire — But, mother-
Madame Pernelle - I should be sorry to vex you, my daugh-
ter, but your conduct is altogether unbecoming: you ought to set
them a good example, and their late mother did much better.
You spend money too freely; and I am shocked to see you go
about dressed like a princess. She who wishes to please her hus-
band only, has no need of such finery.
Cléante — But, madame, after all -
## p. 10183 (#611) ##########################################
MOLIÈRE
10183
-
a
-
Madame Pernelle [to Cléante] — As for you, her brother, I
esteem you greatly, I love and respect you, sir; but all the same,
if I were in my son's her husband's place, I would beg of you
most earnestly never to enter the house! You always advocate
rules of life that honest folks ought not to follow. I am a little
outspoken; but such is my disposition, and I never mince matters
when I have something on my mind.
Dorine — Your Tartuffe is very fortunate, no doubt, in -
Madame Pernelle — He is a very worthy man, to whom you
would do well to listen - and I can't bear (without getting into
a passion) to see him molested by a scapegrace like you!
Damis What! can I allow a strait-laced bigot to assume
tyrannical authority in this house ? — and that we should never
think of any pleasure unless we are assured of that fine gentle-
man's consent ?
Dorine -- According to him and his maxims, we can do noth-
ing without committing a sin; for — the zealous critic that he
is-he superintends everything.
Madame Pernelle - And whatever he superintends is well
superintended. It is the way to heaven he wants to show you,
and my son Orgon should make you all love him.
Damis — No, mother, there is no father nor anything in the
world which can induce me to wish him well; and I should be
false to my own heart if I spoke otherwise. Everything he does
excites my wrath; and I foresee that some day or other some-
thing will happen, and that I shall be forced to come to an open
quarrel with the sneaking scoundrel.
Dorine — Indeed it is most scandalous to see a stranger come
and make himself at home here; most scandalous that a beggar
who had no shoes to his feet when he first came, and whose coat
was not worth three halfpence, should so far forget himself as to
interfere with everything and play the master!
Madame Pernelle — Ah, mercy on us! It would be much
better if everything were managed according to his pious direc-
tions.
Dorine — Yes, he is a saint in your opinion; but depend upon
it, he is really nothing but a downright hypocrite.
Madame Pernelle - What backbiting!
Dorine — I should trust neither him nor his Laurent without
good security, I can tell you.
Madame Pernelle. I don't know what the servant may really
be; but I'll answer for the master being a holy man. You hate
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him and reject him because he tells you of your faults. It is
against sin that he is incensed, and there is nothing he has so
much at heart as the interest of heaven.
Dorine — Has he ? Why, then, and particularly of late, is he
angry when any one comes near us? In what does a polite
visit offend heaven, that he should make a disturbance enough
to drive us mad? Shall I tell you here privately what I think?
?
[Pointing to Elmire. ] I really believe that he is, in good faith,
jealous of madame!
Madame Pernelle — Hold your tongue, and mind what you
are saying. He is not the only one who blames these visits. All
the confusion which accompanies the people you receive, those
carriages always waiting at the gate, the noisy crowd of lackeys,
disturb the whole neighborhood. I am most willing to believe
that there is really no harm done; but in short, it gives people
occasion to talk, and that is not right.
Cléante — Ah, madame, would you hinder people from talking ?
It would be a sad thing if in this world we had to give up our
best friends because of some stupid story in which we may play
a part. But even if we could bring ourselves to do such a thing,
do you think it would force people to be silent? There is no
safeguard against calumny. Let us therefore not mind all that
foolish gossip, but only endeavor to lead a virtuous life, and
leave full license to the scandal-mongers.
Translation of Charles Heron Wall.
THE HYPOCRITE
From (Tartuffe)
[The scene, from the third act of the play, is the house of M. Orgon.
His wife, the virtuous and shrewd Elmire, has long doubted the rectitude of
Tartuffe's attentions to her, but cannot induce her foolish husband to believe
the man a cheat and a libertine at heart, so excessive is his assumption of
piety an abstraction from the world. With the aid of Dorine the maid,
Damis has been concealed in the next room. ]
ARTUFFE [as soon as he secs Dorine, speaks loudly and in a
T
lock up my hair-shirt and my scourge; and
pray
Heaven
ever to enlighten you with grace. If anybody comes to see me,
say that I am gone to the prisons — to distribute my alms.
Dorine [asıde] – What boasting and affectation!
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- To tell you
Tartuffe - What is it you want ?
Dorine
Tartuffe — Put more modesty into your speech, or I will leave
you at once.
Dorine - You need not, for I shall soon leave you in peace;
and all I have to say is, that my lady is coming into this room,
and would be glad to have a moment's talk with you.
Tartuffe -- Alas! with all my heart.
Dorine [aside]— How sweet we are! In good troth, I still
abide by what I said.
Tartuffe — Will she soon be here?
·
Dorine — Directly. I hear her, I believe; yes, here she is. I
leave you together.
[Exit.
Enter Elmire
Tartuffe — May Heaven, in its great goodness, ever bestow on
you health of body and of mind, and shower blessings on your
days, according to the prayer of the lowest of its servants.
Elmire-I am much obliged to you for this pious wish; but
let us sit down a moment to talk more comfortably.
Tartuffe [seated] - Have you quite recovered from your in-
disposition ?
Elmire (seated] - Quite. That feverishness soon left me.
.
Tartuffe — My prayers have not merit sufficient to have ob-
tained this favor from Heaven; but I have not offered up one
petition in which you were not concerned.
Elmire— Your anxious zeal is really too great.
Tartuffe — We cannot have too great anxiety for your dear
health; and to give you back the full enjoyment of it I would
have sacrificed my own.
Elmire --- You carry Christian charity very far, and I am
under much obligation to you for all this kindness.
Tartuffe - I do only what you deserve.
Elmire — I wished to speak to you in private on a certain
matter, and I am glad that nobody is here to hear us.
Tartuffe — And I also am delighted. It is very sweet for
me, madame, to find myself alone with you. I have often prayed
Heaven to bestow this favor upon me; but till now it has been
in vain.
Elmire — For my part, all I want is, that you should speak
frankly, and hide nothing from me.
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[Damis, without being seen, half opens the door of the room to hear the
conversation.
Tartuffe — And my wish is also that you will allow me the
cherished favor of speaking openly to you, and of giving you
my word of honor, that if I have said anything against the visits
which are paid here to your charms, it has never been done out
of hatred to you; but rather out of an ardent zeal which carries
me away, and from a sincere feeling of
Elmire - I quite understand it to be so, and I feel sure that
it all proceeds from your anxiety for my good.
Tartuffe [taking her hands and pressing them]— It is really
so, madame; and my fervor is such
Elmire-- Ah! you press my hand too much.
Tartuffe — It is through an excess of zeal. I never intended
to hurt you. [Handling Elmire's collar. ] Heaven! how marvel-
ous this point-lace is! The work done in our days is perfectly
wonderful; and never has such perfection been attained in every-
thing.
Elmire - It is true. But let us speak of what brings me here.
I have been told that my husband intends to break his word,
and to give you his daughter in marriage. Is that true? Pray
tell me.
Tartuffe — He has merely alluded to it. But, madame, to teli
you the truth, that is not the happiness for which my soul sighs;
I find elsewhere the unspeakable attractions of the bliss which is
the end of all my hopes.
Elmire - That is because you care not for earthly things.
Tartuffe — My breast, madame, does not inclose a heart of
fint.
Elmire-- I know, for my part, that all your sighs tend to-
wards Heaven, and that you have no desire for anything here
below.
Tartuffe — Our love for the beauty which is eternal stifles not
in us love for that which is fleeting and temporal; and we can
easily be charmed with the perfect works Heaven has created.
Its reflected attractions shine forth in such as you; but it is in
you alone that its choicest wonders are centred. It has lar-
ished upon you charms which dazzle the eye and which touch the
heart; and I have never gazed on you, perfect creature, without
admiring the Creator of the universe, and without feeling my
2
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10187
heart seized with an ardent love for the most beautiful picture
in which he has reproduced himself. At first I feared that this
secret tenderness might be a skillful assault of the Evil One; I
even thought I would avoid your presence, fearing you might
prove a stumbling-block to my salvation. But I have learnt, O
adorable beauty, that my passion need not be a guilty one; that
I can reconcile it with modesty; and I have given up my whole
soul to it. I know that I am very presumptuous in making you
the offer of such a heart as mine; but in my love I hope every-
thing from you, nothing from the vain efforts of my unworthy
self. In you is my hope, my happiness, my peace; on you de-
pends my misery or bliss: and by your verdict I shall be forever
happy, if you wish it: unhappy, if it pleases you.
Elmire — Quite a gallant declaration. But you must acknowl-
edge that it is rather surprising. It seems to me that you might
have fortified your heart a little more carefully against tempta-
tion, and have paused before such a design. A devotee like you,
who is everywhere spoken of as-
Tartuffe - Ah! Although a devotee, I am no less a man.
When your celestial attractions burst upon the sight, the heart
surrenders, and reasons no more.
I know that such language
from me seems somewhat strange: but after all, madame, I am
not an angel; and if you condemn the confession I make, you
have only your own attractions to blame for it.
As soon
I beheld their more than human beauty, my whole being was
surrendered to you. The unspeakable sweetness of your divine
charms forced the obstinate resistance of my heart; it overcame
everything — fasting, prayers, and tears — and fixed all my hopes
in you. A thousand times my eyes and my sighs have told you
this; to-day I explain myself with words. Ah! if you consider
with some kindness the tribulations and trials of your unworthy
slave, if your goodness has compassion on me and deigns to
stoop so low as my nothingness, I shall ever have for you, O
marvelous beauty, a devotion never to be equaled. With me
your reputation runs no risk, and has no disgrace to fear. Men
like me burn with a hidden flame, and secrecy is forever assured.
The care which we take of our own reputation is a warrant to
the woman who accepts our heart, that she will find love without
scandal, and pleasure without fear.
Elmire - I have listened to you, and your rhetoric expresses
itself in terms strong enough. Are you not afraid that I might
as
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be disposed to tell my husband of this passionate declaration, and
that its sudden disclosure might influence the friendship which
he has toward you ?
Tartuffe — I know that your tender-heartedness is too great,
and that you will excuse, because of human frailty, the violent
transports of a love which offends you, and will consider, when
you look at yourself, that people are not blind, and that flesh is
weak.
Elmire — Others might take all this differently; but I will
endeavor to show my discretion. I will tell nothing to my hus-
band of what has taken place; but in return I must require one
thing of you, -- which is to forward honestly and sincerely the
marriage which has been decided between Valère and Marianne,
and to renounce the unjust power which would enrich you with
what belongs to another,
Damis [coming out of a side room where he was hidden] - No,
madame, no! All this must be made public! I was in that place
and overheard everything. Heaven in its goodness seems to have
directed my steps hither, to confound the pride of a wretch who
wrongs me, and to guide me to a sure revenge for his hypocrisy
and insolence. I will undeceive my father, and will show him in
a clear, strong light the heart of the miscreant who dares to
speak to you of love.
Elmire-- No, Damis: it is sufficient if he promises to amend,
and endeavors to deserve the forgiveness I have spoken of.
Since I have promised it, let me abide by my word. I have
no wish for scandal. A woman should despise these follies, and
never trouble her husband's ears with them.
Damis - You have your reasons for dealing thus with him,
and I have mine for acting otherwise. It is a mockery to try to
In the insolent pride of his canting bigotry he has
already triumphed too much over my just wrath, and has caused
too many troubles in our house. The impostor has governed my
father but too long, and too long opposed my love and Valère's.
It is right that my father's eyes should be opened to the perfidy
of this villain. Heaven offers me an easy opportunity, and I am
thankful for it. Were I not to seize it, I should deserve never to
have another.
Elmire — Damis-
Damis — No, I will, with your permission, follow my own coun-
sel. My heart is overjoyed; and it is in vain for you to try and
spare him.
