Act III: Scene VII
ORGON.What! So insult a saintly man of God!
TARTUFFE.Heaven, forgive him all the pain he gives me!
(To Orgon)Could you but know with what distress I seeThem try to vilify me to my brother!
ORGON.Ah!
TARTUFFE.The mere thought of such ingratitudeMakes my soul suffer torture, bitterly ...My horror at it ... Ah! my heart's so fullI cannot speak ... I think I'll die of it.
ORGON (in tears, running to the door through which he drove away his son)Scoundrel! I wish I'd never let you go,But slain you on the spot with my own hand.
(To Tartuffe)Brother, compose yourself, and don't be angry.
TARTUFFE.Nay, brother, let us end these painful quarrels.I see what troublous times I bring upon you,And think 'tis needful that I leave this house.
ORGON.What! You can't mean it?
TARTUFFE.Yes, they hate me here,And try, I find, to make you doubt my faith.
ORGON.What of it? Do you find I listen to them?
TARTUFFE.No doubt they won't stop there. These same reportsYou now reject, may some day win a hearing.
ORGON.No, brother, never.
TARTUFFE.Ah! my friend, a womanMay easily mislead her husband's mind.
ORGON.No, no.
TARTUFFE.So let me quickly go awayAnd thus remove all cause for such attacks.
ORGON.No, you shall stay; my life depends upon it.
TARTUFFE.Then I must mortify myself. And yet,If you should wish ...
ORGON.No, never!
TARTUFFE.Very well, then;No more of that. But I shall rule my conductTo fit the case. Honour is delicate,And friendship binds me to forestall suspicion,Prevent all scandal, and avoid your wife.
ORGON.No, you shall haunt her, just to spite them all.'Tis my delight to set them in a rage;You shall be seen together at all hoursAnd what is more, the better to defy them,I'll have no other heir but you; and straightwayI'll go and make a deed of gift to you,Drawn in due form, of all my property.A good true friend, my son-in-law to be,Is more to me than son, and wife, and kindred.You will accept my offer, will you not?
TARTUFFE.Heaven's will be done in everything!
ORGON.Poor man!We'll go make haste to draw the deed aright,And then let envy burst itself with spite!
Words in this poem 17
- saintly a.
- Like a saint; becoming a holy person.
- tartuffe n.
- A hypocritical devotee. See the Dictionary of Noted Names in Fiction. [F. tartufe.]
- vilify v. t.
- To make vile; to debase; to degrade; to disgrace. [L. vilis vile + -fly; cf. L. vilificare to esteem of little value.]
- ingratitude n.
- Want of gratitude; insensibility to, forgetfulness of, or ill return for, kindness or favors received; unthankfulness; ungratefulness. [F. ingratitude, L. ingratitudo. See Ingrate.]
- bitterly adv.
- In a bitter manner.
- drove n.
- A collection of cattle driven, or cattle collected for driving; a number of animals, as oxen, sheep, or swine, driven in a body. [AS. draf, fr. drifan to drive. See Drive.]
- angry a.
- Troublesome; vexatious; rigorous. [See Anger.]
- troublous a.
- Full of trouble; causing trouble.
- needful a.
- Full of need; in need or want; needy; distressing.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- forestall v. t.
- To take beforehand, or in advance; to anticipate. [OE. forstallen to stop, to obstruct; to stop (goods) on the way to the market by buying them beforehand, from forstal obstruction, AS. forsteal, foresteall, pro]
- scandal n.
- Offense caused or experienced; reproach or reprobation called forth by what is regarded as wrong, criminal, heinous, or flagrant: opprobrium or disgrace. [F. scandale, fr. L. scandalum, Gr. scandle, OF. escandle. See Slander.]
- avoid v. t.
- To empty. Wyclif. [OF. esvuidier, es (L. ex) + vuidier, voidier, to empty. See Void, a.]
- defy v. t.
- To renounce or dissolve all bonds of affiance, faith, or obligation with; to reject, refuse, or renounce. [F. défier, OF. deffier, desfier, LL. disfidare to disown faith or fidelity, to dissolve the bond of allegiance, as between the vassal and his lord; hence, to ch]
- straightway adv.
- Immediately; without loss of time; without delay.
- aright adv.
- Rightly; correctly; in a right way or form; without mistake or crime; as, to worship God aright. [Pref. a- + right.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act III: Scene VII is in the public domain. This text is taken from Tartuffe; Or, The Hypocrite, Project Gutenberg ebook #2027, the Curtis Hidden Page translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Molière, Act III: Scene VII, in Tartuffe; Or, The Hypocrite (1908), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #2027, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/moliere-tartuffe/act-iii-scene-vii.html, id L26937.
Form and metre
Act III: Scene VII is 73 lines in 23 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%).
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 20 -A--A- tartuffe · thenA · conduct · delicate · suspicionA · wife
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| ORGON. | 2 | ·· |
| What! So insult a saintly man of God! | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| TARTUFFE. | 2 | ·· |
| Heaven, forgive him all the pain he gives me! | 10 | /˘/······· |
| (To Orgon) | 3 | ··· |
| Could you but know with what distress I see | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| Them try to vilify me to my brother! | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| ORGON. | 2 | ·· |
| Ah! | 1 | · |
| TARTUFFE. | 2 | ·· |
| The mere thought of such ingratitude | 9 | ·····˘/˘˘ |
| Makes my soul suffer torture, bitterly ... | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘˘ |
| My horror at it ... Ah! my heart's so full | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| I cannot speak ... I think I'll die of it. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| ORGON (in tears, running to the door through which he drove away his son) | 17 | ····/˘·······˘/·· |
| Scoundrel! I wish I'd never let you go, | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| But slain you on the spot with my own hand. | 10 | ·········· |
| (To Tartuffe) | 3 | ··· |
| Brother, compose yourself, and don't be angry. | 11 | /˘˘/˘/···/˘ |
| TARTUFFE. | 2 | ·· |
| Nay, brother, let us end these painful quarrels. | 11 | ·/˘····/˘/˘ |
| I see what troublous times I bring upon you, | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| And think 'tis needful that I leave this house. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| ORGON. | 2 | ·· |
| What! You can't mean it? | 5 | ····· |
| TARTUFFE. | 2 | ·· |
| Yes, they hate me here, | 5 | ····· |
| And try, I find, to make you doubt my faith. | 10 | ·········· |
| ORGON. | 2 | ·· |
| What of it? Do you find I listen to them? | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| TARTUFFE. | 2 | ·· |
| No doubt they won't stop there. These same reports | 10 | ········˘/ |
| You now reject, may some day win a hearing. | 11 | ··˘/·····/˘ |
| ORGON. | 2 | ·· |
| No, brother, never. | 5 | ·/˘/˘ |
| TARTUFFE. | 2 | ·· |
| Ah! my friend, a woman | 6 | ····/˘ |
| May easily mislead her husband's mind. | 10 | ·/˘˘˘/·/˘· |
| ORGON. | 2 | ·· |
| No, no. | 2 | ·· |
| TARTUFFE. | 2 | ·· |
| So let me quickly go away | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| And thus remove all cause for such attacks. | 10 | ··˘/····˘/ |
| ORGON. | 2 | ·· |
| No, you shall stay; my life depends upon it. | 11 | ······˘/··· |
| TARTUFFE. | 2 | ·· |
| Then I must mortify myself. And yet, | 10 | ···/˘··/·· |
| If you should wish ... | 4 | ···· |
| ORGON. | 2 | ·· |
| No, never! | 3 | ·/˘ |
| TARTUFFE. | 2 | ·· |
| Very well, then; | 4 | /˘·· |
| No more of that. But I shall rule my conduct | 11 | ·········˘/ |
| To fit the case. Honour is delicate, | 10 | ····/˘·/˘˘ |
| And friendship binds me to forestall suspicion, | 11 | ·/˘···˘/˘/˘ |
| Prevent all scandal, and avoid your wife. | 10 | ˘/·/˘·˘/·· |
| ORGON. | 2 | ·· |
| No, you shall haunt her, just to spite them all. | 10 | ·········· |
| 'Tis my delight to set them in a rage; | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| You shall be seen together at all hours | 11 | ····˘/˘··/˘ |
| And what is more, the better to defy them, | 11 | ·····/˘·˘/· |
| I'll have no other heir but you; and straightway | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| I'll go and make a deed of gift to you, | 10 | ·········· |
| Drawn in due form, of all my property. | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| A good true friend, my son-in-law to be, | 10 | ·········· |
| Is more to me than son, and wife, and kindred. | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| You will accept my offer, will you not? | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| TARTUFFE. | 2 | ·· |
| Heaven's will be done in everything! | 9 | /˘····/˘· |
| ORGON. | 2 | ·· |
| Poor man! | 2 | ·· |
| We'll go make haste to draw the deed aright, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| And then let envy burst itself with spite! | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
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