Comedy plays; French drama -- 17th century -- Translations into English
(To Cleante)
Just wait a bit, please, brother-in-law.
Let me allay my first anxiety
By asking news about the family.
(To Dorine)
Has everything gone well these last two days?
What's happening? And how is everybody?
DORINE
Madam had fever, and a splitting headache
Day before yesterday, all day and evening.
ORGON
And how about Tartuffe?
DORINE
Tartuffe? He's well;
He's mighty well; stout, fat, fair, rosy-lipped.
ORGON
Poor man!
DORINE
At evening she had nausea
And couldn't touch a single thing for supper,
Her headache still was so severe.
ORGON
And how
About Tartuffe?
DORINE
He supped alone, before her,
And unctuously ate up two partridges,
As well as half a leg o' mutton, deviled.
ORGON
Poor man!
DORINE
All night she couldn't get a wink
Of sleep, the fever racked her so; and we
Had to sit up with her till daylight.
ORGON
How
About Tartuffe?
DORINE
Gently inclined to slumber,
He left the table, went into his room,
Got himself straight into a good warm bed,
And slept quite undisturbed until next morning.
ORGON
Poor man!
DORINE
At last she let us all persuade her,
And got up courage to be bled; and then
She was relieved at once.
ORGON
And how about
Tartuffe?
DORINE
He plucked up courage properly,
Bravely entrenched his soul against all evils,
And to replace the blood that she had lost,
He drank at breakfast four huge draughts of wine.
ORGON
Poor man!
DORINE
So now they both are doing well;
And I'll go straightway and inform my mistress
How pleased you are at her recovery.
SCENE VI
ORGON, CLEANTE
CLEANTE
Brother, she ridicules you to your face;
And I, though I don't want to make you angry,
Must tell you candidly that she's quite right.
Was such infatuation ever heard of?
And can a man to-day have charms to make you
Forget all else, relieve his poverty,
Give him a home, and then ... ?
ORGON
Stop there, good brother,
You do not know the man you're speaking of.
CLEANTE
Since you will have it so, I do not know him;
But after all, to tell what sort of man
He is ...
ORGON
Dear brother, you'd be charmed to know him;
Your raptures over him would have no end.
He is a man ... who ... ah! ... in fact ...a man
Whoever does his will, knows perfect peace,
And counts the whole world else, as so much dung.
His converse has transformed me quite; he weans
My heart from every friendship, teaches me
To have no love for anything on earth;
And I could see my brother, children, mother,
And wife, all die, and never care--a snap.
CLEANTE
Your feelings are humane, I must say, brother!
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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