Part 5

Monsieur Loyal, Madame Pernelle, Orgon, Damis, Mariane, Dorine, Elmire, Cleante

Monsieur Loyal [to Dorine]. Hello, my dear sister. Could you please see If your master is in? Dorine. He has company, And I doubt he'll be able to see you now. Monsieur Loyal. I have not come here to cause a row. I don't think that my presence will displease Him; I come, in fact, to put him at ease. Dorine. Your name? Monsieur Loyal. Tell him only that I've come here For Monsieur Tartuffe, and to give him cheer. Dorine [to Orgon]. It's a man who has come quite civilly, On behalf of Monsieur Tartuffe, to see, He says, to your pleasure. Cleante [to Orgon]. You'd best find out Who he is and what he has come here about. Orgon [to Cleante]. Perhaps he has come here to reconcile us. How should I act and what should we discuss? Cleante. Don't let any of your anger appear, And if he speaks of a deal, make him be clear. Monsieur Loyal [to Orgon]. Greetings, sir. May God destroy all your foes And favor you as much as I propose! Orgon [aside to Cleante]. This civil start meets my approbation And foreshadows some accommodation. Monsieur Loyal. At one time I was your father's employee, And this whole house is very dear to me. Orgon. I ask your pardon, sir, but to my shame I'm totally ignorant of your name. Monsieur Loyal. My name is Loyal. I come from Normandy. I'm the bailiff here, in spite of envy. For the last forty years, thanks be to God, I've done my duty and retained by job. And I've come to you, with your permission, To serve this notice of your eviction. Orgon. What! You're here . . . Monsieur Loyal. Let's have no irritation. This is nothing more than notification, An order to evict both you and yours, Put your furniture out and lock the doors, Without pardon or delay to fulfill . . . Orgon. Me! Leave this place? Monsieur Loyal. Yes, monsieur, if you will. This house now belongs, I have ample proof, To your very good friend, Monsieur Tartuffe. He is master and lord of all your wealth By virtue of a deed he showed me himself. It is in due form and cannot be doubted. Damis [to Monsieur Loyal]. What impudence! I'm amazed about it. Monsieur Loyal [to Damis]. You and I, sir, have no business and you'd Best leave things to this man [pointing to Orgon], who's civil and shrewd, And knows too well the duties of my office To wish to oppose himself to justice. Orgon. But . . . Monsieur Loyal [to Orgon]. I know that not even a million Dollars would make you cause a rebellion, And that you will be an honest citizen And let me fulfill the orders I'm given. Damis. You may soon feel upon your black soutane, Monsieur Bailiff, the heavy weight of this cane. Monsieur Loyal [to Orgon]. Command your son to be quiet or depart, Monsieur; I would regret to have to report All this and make these matters more official. Damis [aside]. This Monsieur Loyal seems quite disloyal! Monsieur Loyal. For all worthy men there's a place in my heart, And I would not have wished, sir, to take part In this, except to lift some of your burden, By preventing the chore from falling to one Who might not share my opinion of you And who wouldn't proceed as gently as I do. Orgon. And what could be worse than the evil crime Of evicting me? Monsieur Loyal. I'm giving you time, And until morning I'll hold in abeyance The execution of this conveyance. I shall only come here with ten of my boys To spend the night, without scandal or noise. For the sake of form please bring to me, before You go up to bed, the keys to your door. I'll take care not to disrupt your repose And not to do anything you would oppose. But tomorrow morning you must get set To empty the house, down to the last brochette. My boys will assist you. Each one's a strong lout And will do all he can to help move you out. I'm doing my best to use common sense, And, since I'm treating you with such indulgence, I beg you, sir, to act the same way to me. Let no one bar me from doing my duty. Orgon [aside]. With a happy heart I would at once pay The last hundred francs that are mine today For the power and pleasure of hitting his snout With one absolutely sensational clout. Cleante [quietly, to Orgon]. Go easy, don't make things worse. Damis. My hand itches To get in a fight with these sons of bitches. Dorine. Monsieur Loyal, I think it might become you To have your broad back beaten black and blue. Monsieur Loyal. These wicked words deserve condemnation, And women, too, may earn incarceration. Cleante [to Monsieur Loyal]. Let's end it now; that's enough for today. Hand over the paper, and be on your way. Monsieur Loyal. Until later, then. Heaven keep you in joy! Orgon. May it confound you, and your employer!

## SCENE V

Orgon, Cleante, Mariane, Elmire, Madame Pernelle, Dorine, Damis

Orgon. There! You now see, mother, that I was right, And you can judge of the rest by this writ. Do you admit at last that he can lie? Madame Pernelle. It's as if a bolt has struck from the sky. Dorine [to Orgon]. You're wrong to complain, and wrong to blame him. These things show the grand plans of your seraphim. His neighborly love finds consummation In proving that wealth causes degradation, And from pure charity he wants to remove Every obstacle between you and God's love. Orgon. Shut up. . . . I'm always saying that to you. Cleante [to Orgon]. Let us consider what we ought to do. Elmire. We must expose this man's insolent acts. His deeds invalidate all the contracts. And his disloyalty will seem too plain If he tries to use them for personal gain.

## SCENE VI

Valere, Orgon, Cleante, Elmire, Mariane, Madame Pernelle, Damis, Dorine

Valere. I'm sorry, sir, that I've come to distress you; But certain dangers may soon oppress you. A friend, whose love for me is deep and true And who knows how much I care about you, Has had enough courage to violate The secrecy of affairs of state And has just now sent me word that you might Be well-advised to take sudden flight. The villain who has been imposing on you Has gone to the Prince to accuse you too, And put into his hands, like a blade of hate, The vital papers of a traitor of State, Which he says that you've kept in secrecy Despite the duties of aristocracy. I don't know the details of the alleged crime, But a warrant against you has been signed, And he himself is assigned to assist Those who will soon come to make the arrest. Cleante. Now his claims are well-armed; and the ingrate Seeks to become master of your estate. Orgon. I swear, that man is a vile animal! Valere. The slightest trifling could well be fatal. My coach is right here to take you away With a thousand louis that I've pledged to pay. Don't lose any time; the arrow has sped, And this is one blow that ought to be fled. I myself will guide you to a safe place And will stay with you to be sure there's no chase. Orgon. I owe you much for your solicitude! But there isn't time for my gratitude, And I pray to God to grant what I need So that one day I may repay this good deed. Farewell. The rest of you take care . . . Cleante. Go on. We'll look after everything when you're gone.

Final Scene Police Officer, Tartuffe, Valere, Orgon, Elmire, Mariane, Madame Pernelle, Cleante, Damis, Dorine

Tartuffe [stopping Orgon]. Slowly, slowly, sir. You needn't run there. You won't have to go far to hide in your lair. In the Prince's name we will shackle you fast. Orgon. Traitor, you've kept this final shaft for last. This is the blow with which you dispatch me, And this is what crowns all your perfidy. Tartuffe. Your scorn causes me scant irritation; I bear it as a holy obligation. Cleante. This is scant sign of your moderation. Damis. How impudently the wretch mocks veneration! Tartuffe. None of your outbursts mean a thing to me, For I think of nothing but doing my duty. Mariane. Your pretense to honor is all a fake, And this is just the right job for you to take. Tartuffe. The task can only shower me with grace Since our Prince's command has sent me to this place. Orgon. But don't you recall how my charity Raised you, you ingrate, from your misery? Tartuffe. Yes, I know that I once received assistance, But my duty to the Prince demands this persistence: 'Tis a sacred duty of such fortitude That it has suppressed all my gratitude, And I would sacrifice to this powerful force Friends, wife, parents, and myself, of course. Elmire. The hypocrite! Dorine. How well he can create A treacherous cloak from all we venerate! Cleante. But if this zeal which drives you and with which You plume yourself lifts you to a holy niche, Why is it that it didn't come to life Until after he caught you with his wife, And why did you only denounce him today After honor made him chase you away? I don't claim that the gift of all his estates Ought to distract you from duty's dictates, But if you planned to reveal his treason here, Why were you willing to take his wealth back there? Tartuffe [to the Officer]. From all this noise, sir, please deliver me, And be so kind as to enforce your decree. Police Officer. Yes, I've been rather slow to issue it. Your own mouth aptly invites me to do it; And so it will be done if you will come Straight to the jail that will be your new home. Tartuffe. Who? Me, sir? Police Officer. Yes, you. Tartuffe. But why to prison? Police Office. I need not explain to you my reason. [To Orgon.] Calm yourself, sir, after passions of such heat. We're ruled by a Prince who's a foe to deceit, A Prince whose eyes can read what the soul has writ, And who can't be fooled by a hypocrite. Blessed with a fine discernment, his great heart Always sees the whole picture, not just each part. Nothing can drive him to exaggeration; His firm reason clings to moderation. He confers on men of worth immortal glory; But that zeal is not blind or peremptory, And his love for what's true does not turn his eye From the power of falseness to horrify. This man here was unable to entrap him; His defenses are sound when such snares enwrap him. From the start, he pierced with his perceptive sight Through the veils that hid this evil from light. Tartuffe betrayed himself by accusing you, And, in divine justice, revealed his true Colors to the Prince as an infamous cad Whose deeds under another name were so bad That the record they made was wholly black And Satan might use them as his almanac. In short, this king was revolted to see His ingratitude to you and disloyalty; To his other crimes, he has joined this one And has only allowed it so everyone Could see his audacity's evil ends And then see him required to make amends. All your papers, which the wretch has pawed through, Are here taken away and returned to you. With his sovereign power he will abrogate The contract by which you gave away your estate, And finally he pardons that secret offense Which you once committed through benevolence. This is the reward for the courage you showed In support of his rights in the late episode, And to demonstrate that, when least expected, One's past deeds may be recollected, That he will never forget a good deed, And that good outweighs evil in time of need. Dorine. Heaven be praised! Madame Pernelle. We're no longer distressed. Elmire. What a happy ending! Mariane. Who could have guessed? Orgon [to Tartuffe, who the Officer is leading away]. Good. There you go, traitor . . . Cleante. Ah! Brother, cease, And don't degenerate to indignities. Leave to himself this miserable clown, And don't add to the remorse that weighs him down. Hope instead that his heart may one day Make a happy return to the virtuous way, That he'll reform his life and lament his past, And cause our great Prince to temper justice at last. You should throw yourself on your knees in praise Of the kindness and lenience shown these days. Orgon. Yes, that's well said. Let us kneel down with joy And praise the kind deeds of his envoy. Then, having acquitted part of our duty, Let's turn to address the claims of beauty, And by a fine wedding crown in Valere A lover who's both generous and sincere.

THE END