Act V. Scene I. Molière, Jean Baptiste Poquelin. 1909-14. Tartuffe. The Harvard Classics

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Jean Baptiste Poquelin Molière (1622–1673). Tartuffe.
The Harvard Classics. 1909–14.

Act V

Scene I


ORGON, CLÉANTE Cléante Whither away so fast?

Orgon How should I know?

Cléante Methinks we should begin by taking counsel
To see what can be done to meet the case.

Orgon I’m all worked up about that wretched box.	5
More than all else it drives me to despair.

Cléante That box must hide some mighty mystery?

Orgon Argas, my friend who is in trouble, brought it
Himself, most secretly, and left it with me.
He chose me, in his exile, for this trust;	10
And on these documents, from what he said,
I judge his life and property depend.

Cléante How could you trust them to another’s hands?

Orgon By reason of a conscientious scruple.
I went straight to my traitor, to confide	15
In him; his sophistry made me believe
That I must give the box to him to keep,
So that, in case of search, I might deny
My having it at all, and still, by favour
Of this evasion, keep my conscience clear	20
Even in taking oath against the truth.

Cléante Your case is bad, so far as I can see;
This deed of gift, this trusting of the secret
To him, were both—to state my frank opinion—
Steps that you took too lightly; he can lead you	25
To any length, with these for hostages;
And since he holds you at such disadvantage,
You’d be still more imprudent, to provoke him;
So you must go some gentler way about.

Orgon What! Can a soul so base, a heart so false,	30
Hide neath the semblance of such touching fervour?
I took him in, a vagabond, a beggar!…
’Tis took much! No more pious folk for me!
I shall abhor them utterly forever,
And henceforth treat them worse than any devil.	35

Cléante So! There you go again, quite off the handle!
In nothing do you keep an even temper.
You never know what reason is, but always
Jump first to one extreme, and then the other.
You see your error, and you recognise	40
That you’ve been cozened by a feigned zeal;
But to make up for’t, in the name of reason,
Why should you plunge into a worse mistake,
And find no difference in character
Between a worthless scamp, and all good people?	45
What! Just because a rascal boldly duped you
With pompous show of false austerity,
Must you needs have it everybody’s like him,
And no one’s truly pious nowadays?
Leave such conclusions to mere infidels;	50
Distinguish virtue from its counterfeit,
Don’t give esteem too quickly, at a venture,
But try to keep, in this, the golden mean.
If you can help it, don’t uphold imposture;
But do not rail at true devoutness, either;	55
And if you must fall into one extreme,
Then rather err again the other way.

CONTENTS · BOOK CONTENTS · BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD · CHARACTERS

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