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| Jean Baptiste Poquelin Molière (1622–1673). Tartuffe. The Harvard Classics. 1909–14. |
| Act V |
| Scene III |
MADAME PERNELLE, ORGON, ELMIRE, CLÉANTE, MARIANE, DAMIS, DORINE Madame Pernelle What’s this? I hear of fearful mysteries! | |
Orgon Strange things indeed, for my own eyes to witness; | |
| You see how I’m requited for my kindness, | |
| I zealously receive a wretched beggar, | |
| I lodge him, entertain him like my brother, | 5 |
| Load him with benefactions every day, | |
| Give him my daughter, give him all my fortune: | |
| And he meanwhile, the villain, rascal, wretch, | |
| Tries with black treason to suborn my wife, | |
| And not content with such a foul design, | 10 |
| He dares to menace me with my own favours, | |
| And would make use of those advantages | |
| Which my too foolish kindness armed him with, | |
| To ruin me, to take my fortune from me, | |
| And leave me in the state I saved him from. | 15 |
Dorine Poor man! | |
Madame Pernelle My son, I cannot possibly | |
| Believe he could intend so black a deed. | |
Orgon What? | |
Madame Pernelle Worthy men are still the sport of envy. | 20 |
Orgon Mother, what do you mean by such a speech? | |
Madame Pernelle There are strange goings-on about your house, | |
| And everybody knows your people hate him. | |
Orgon What’s that to do with what I tell you now? | |
Madame Pernelle I always said, my son, when you were little: | 25 |
| That virtue here below is hated ever; | |
| The envious may die, but envy never. | |
Orgon What’s that fine speech to do with present facts? | |
Madame Pernelle Be sure, they’ve forged a hundred silly lies… | |
Orgon I’ve told you once, I saw it all myself. | 30 |
Madame Pernelle For slanderers abound in calumnies… | |
Orgon Mother, you’d make me damn my soul. I tell you | |
| I saw with my own eyes his shamelessness. | |
Madame Pernelle Their tongues for spitting venom never lack, | |
| There’s nothing here below they’ll not attack. | 35 |
Orgon Your speech has not a single grain of sense. | |
| I saw it, harkee, saw it, with these eyes | |
| I saw—d’ye know what saw means?—must I say it | |
| A hundred times, and din it in your ears? | |
Madame Pernelle My dear, appearances are oft deceiving, | 40 |
| And seeing shouldn’t always be believing. | |
Orgon I’ll go mad. | |
Madame Pernelle False suspicions may delude, | |
| And good to evil oft is misconstrued. | |
Orgon Must I construe as Christian charity | 45 |
| The wish to kiss my wife! | |
Madame Pernelle You must, at least, | |
| Have just foundation for accusing people, | |
| And wait until you see a thing for sure. | |
Orgon The devil! How could I see any surer? | 50 |
| Should I have waited till, before my eyes, | |
| He… No, you’ll make me say things quite improper. | |
Madame Pernelle In short, ’tis known too pure a zeal inflames him; | |
| And so, I cannot possibly conceive | |
| That he should try to do what’s charged against him. | 55 |
Orgon If you were not my mother, I should say | |
| Such things!… I know not what, I’m so enraged! | |
Dorine (to ORGON) Fortune has paid you fair, to be so doubted; | |
| You flouted our report, now yours is flouted. | |
Cléante We’re wasting time here in the merest trifling, | 60 |
| Which we should rather use in taking measures | |
| To guard ourselves against the scoundrel’s threats. | |
Damis You think his impudence could go far? | |
Elmire For one, I can’t believe it possible; | |
| Why, his ingratitude would be too patent. | 65 |
Cléante Don’t trust to that; he’ll find abundant warrant | |
| To give good colour to his acts against you; | |
| And for less cause than this, a strong cabal | |
| Can make one’s life a labyrinth of troubles. | |
| I tell you once again: armed as he is | 70 |
| You never should have pushed him quite so far. | |
Orgon True; yet what could I do? The rascal’s pride | |
| Made me lose all control of my resentment. | |
Cléante I wish with all my heart that some pretence | |
| Of peace could be patched up between you two | 75 |
Elmire If I had known what weapons he was armed with, | |
| I never should have raised such an alarm, | |
| And my… | |
Orgon (to DORINE, seeing MR. LOYAL come in) Who’s coming now? Go quick, find out. | |
| I’m in a fine state to receive a visit! | 80 |
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