Act V: Scene VII
TARTUFFE (stopping Orgon)Softly, sir, softly; do not run so fast;You haven't far to go to find your lodging;By order of the prince, we here arrest you.
ORGON.Traitor! You saved this worst stroke for the last;This crowns your perfidies, and ruins me.
TARTUFFE.I shall not be embittered by your insults,For Heaven has taught me to endure all things.
CLEANTE.Your moderation, I must own, is great.
DAMIS.How shamelessly the wretch makes bold with Heaven!
TARTUFFE.Your ravings cannot move me; all my thoughtIs but to do my duty.
MARIANE.You must claimGreat glory from this honourable act.
TARTUFFE.The act cannot be aught but honourable,Coming from that high power which sends me here.
ORGON.Ungrateful wretch, do you forget 'twas IThat rescued you from utter misery?
TARTUFFE.I've not forgot some help you may have given;But my first duty now is toward my prince.The higher power of that most sacred claimMust stifle in my heart all gratitude;And to such puissant ties I'd sacrificeMy friend, my wife, my kindred, and myself.
ELMIRE.The hypocrite!
DORINE.How well he knows the trickOf cloaking him with what we most revere!
CLEANTE.But if the motive that you make parade ofIs perfect as you say, why should it waitTo show itself, until the day he caught youSoliciting his wife? How happens itYou have not thought to go inform against himUntil his honour forces him to drive youOut of his house? And though I need not mentionThat he'd just given you his whole estate,Still, if you meant to treat him now as guilty,How could you then consent to take his gift?
TARTUFFE (to the Officer)Pray, sir, deliver me from all this clamour;Be good enough to carry out your order.
THE OFFICER.Yes, I've too long delayed its execution;'Tis very fitting you should urge me to it;So therefore, you must follow me at onceTo prison, where you'll find your lodging ready.
TARTUFFE.Who? I, sir?
THE OFFICER.You.
TARTUFFE.By why to prison?
THE OFFICER.YouAre not the one to whom I owe account.You, sir (to Orgon), recover from your hot alarm.Our prince is not a friend to double dealing,His eyes can read men's inmost hearts, and allThe art of hypocrites cannot deceive him.His sharp discernment sees things clear and true;His mind cannot too easily be swayed,For reason always holds the balance even.He honours and exalts true piety,But knows the false, and views it with disgust.This fellow was by no means apt to fool him,Far subtler snares have failed against his wisdom,And his quick insight pierced immediatelyThe hidden baseness of this tortuous heart.Accusing you, the knave betrayed himself,And by true recompense of Heaven's justiceHe stood revealed before our monarch's eyesA scoundrel known before by other names,Whose horrid crimes, detailed at length, might fillA long-drawn history of many volumes.Our monarch--to resolve you in a word--Detesting his ingratitude and baseness,Added this horror to his other crimes,And sent me hither under his directionTo see his insolence out-top itself,And force him then to give you satisfaction.Your papers, which the traitor says are his,I am to take from him, and give you back;The deed of gift transferring your estateOur monarch's sovereign will makes null and void;And for the secret personal offenceYour friend involved you in, he pardons you:Thus he rewards your recent zeal, displayedIn helping to maintain his rights, and showsHow well his heart, when it is least expected,Knows how to recompense a noble deed,And will not let true merit miss its due,Remembering always rather good than evil.
DORINE.Now Heaven be praised!
MADAME PERNELLE.At last I breathe again.
ELMIRE.A happy outcome!
MARIANE.Who'd have dared to hope it?
ORGON (to Tartuffe, who is being led by the officer)There traitor! Now you're ...
Words in this poem 19
- tartuffe n.
- A hypocritical devotee. See the Dictionary of Noted Names in Fiction. [F. tartufe.]
- 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,]
- aught n.
- Property; possession. [AS. , fr. agan to own, p. p. ahte.]
- ungrateful a.
- Not grateful; not thankful for favors; making no returns, or making ill return for kindness, attention, etc.; ingrateful. South.
- puissant a.
- Powerful; strong; mighty; forcible; as, a puissant prince or empire. [F., originally, a p. pr. formed fr. L. posse to be able: cf. L. potens powerful. See Potent.]
- cloaking n.
- The act of covering with a cloak; the act of concealing anything.
- revere v. t.
- To regard with reverence, or profound respect and affection, mingled with awe or fear; to venerate; to reverence; to honor in estimation. [L. revereri; pref. re- re- + vereri to fear, perh. akin to E. wary: cf. F. révérer.]
- 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.]
- clamour n.
- A great outcry or vociferation; loud and continued shouting or exclamation. [OF. clamour, clamur, F. clameur, fr. L. clamor, fr. clamare to cry out. See Claim.]
- inmost a.
- Deepest within; farthest from the surface or external part; innermost. [OE. innemest, AS. innemest, a double superlative form fr. inne within, fr. in in. The modern form is due to confusion with most. See In, and cf. Aftermost, Fore]
- swayed a.
- Bent down, and hollow in the back; sway-backed; -- said of a horse.
- insight n.
- A sight or view of the interior of anything; a deep inspection or view; introspection; -- frequently used with into.
- knave n.
- A boy; especially, a boy servant. Wyclif. [OE., boy, servant, knave, AS. cnafa boy, youth; cf. AS. cnapa boy, youth, D. kna, G. knabe boy, knappe esquire, Icel. knapi, Sw. knape esquire, knäfvel knave.]
- horrid a.
- Rough; rugged; bristling. [L. horridus. See Horror, and cf. Ordure.]
- 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.]
- insolence n.
- The quality of being unusual or novel. [F. insolence, L. insolentia. See Insolent.]
- offence n.
- The act of offending in any sense; esp., a crime or a sin, an affront or an injury. [F., fr. L. offensa. See Offend.]
- madame n.
- My lady; -- a French title formerly given to ladies of quality; now, in France, given to all married women. [F., fr. ma my (L. mea) + dame dame. See Dame, and cf. Madonna.]
- outcome n.
- That which comes out of, or follows from, something else; issue; result; consequence; upshot.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act V: 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 V: Scene VII, in Tartuffe; Or, The Hypocrite (1908), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #2027, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/moliere-tartuffe/act-v-scene-vii.html, id L26952.
Form and metre
Act V: Scene VII is 113 lines in 24 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%).
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.
- 13 --AB--B-A-- cleante · of · waitA · youB · it · him · youB · mention · estateA · guilty · gift
- 19 ------------AA-----B-B--B---------C-CC-- officer · you · account · alarm · dealing · all · him · true · swayed · even · piety · disgust · himA · wisdomA · immediately · heart · himself · justice · eyes · namesB · fill · volumesB · word · baseness · crimesB · direction · itself · satisfaction · his · back · estate · void · offence · you · displayedC · shows · expectedC · deedC · due · evil
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 |
|---|---|---|
| TARTUFFE (stopping Orgon) | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| Softly, sir, softly; do not run so fast; | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| You haven't far to go to find your lodging; | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| By order of the prince, we here arrest you. | 11 | ·/˘·····˘/· |
| ORGON. | 2 | ·· |
| Traitor! You saved this worst stroke for the last; | 10 | /˘········ |
| This crowns your perfidies, and ruins me. | 10 | ···/˘˘·/˘· |
| TARTUFFE. | 2 | ·· |
| I shall not be embittered by your insults, | 11 | ····˘/˘··/· |
| For Heaven has taught me to endure all things. | 10 | ·/····˘/·· |
| CLEANTE. | 1 | · |
| Your moderation, I must own, is great. | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| DAMIS. | 2 | ·· |
| How shamelessly the wretch makes bold with Heaven! | 11 | ·/˘˘·····/˘ |
| TARTUFFE. | 2 | ·· |
| Your ravings cannot move me; all my thought | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Is but to do my duty. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| MARIANE. | 2 | ·· |
| You must claim | 3 | ··· |
| Great glory from this honourable act. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| TARTUFFE. | 2 | ·· |
| The act cannot be aught but honourable, | 11 | ··/˘······· |
| Coming from that high power which sends me here. | 10 | /˘···/···· |
| ORGON. | 2 | ·· |
| Ungrateful wretch, do you forget 'twas I | 10 | ˘/˘···˘/·· |
| That rescued you from utter misery? | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘˘ |
| TARTUFFE. | 2 | ·· |
| I've not forgot some help you may have given; | 11 | ··˘/·····/˘ |
| But my first duty now is toward my prince. | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| The higher power of that most sacred claim | 10 | ·//˘···/˘· |
| Must stifle in my heart all gratitude; | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| And to such puissant ties I'd sacrifice | 11 | ···/˘˘··/˘· |
| My friend, my wife, my kindred, and myself. | 10 | ·····/˘··/ |
| ELMIRE. | 2 | ·· |
| The hypocrite! | 4 | ·/˘· |
| DORINE. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| How well he knows the trick | 6 | ······ |
| Of cloaking him with what we most revere! | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| CLEANTE. | 1 | · |
| But if the motive that you make parade of | 11 | ···/˘···˘/· |
| Is perfect as you say, why should it wait | 10 | ·˘/······· |
| To show itself, until the day he caught you | 11 | ··˘/······· |
| Soliciting his wife? How happens it | 10 | ˘/˘˘···/˘· |
| You have not thought to go inform against him | 11 | ······˘/··· |
| Until his honour forces him to drive you | 11 | ···/˘/˘···· |
| Out of his house? And though I need not mention | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| That he'd just given you his whole estate, | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Still, if you meant to treat him now as guilty, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| How could you then consent to take his gift? | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| TARTUFFE (to the Officer) | 7 | ····/˘˘ |
| Pray, sir, deliver me from all this clamour; | 11 | ··˘/˘····/˘ |
| Be good enough to carry out your order. | 11 | ··˘/·/˘··/˘ |
| THE OFFICER. | 4 | ·/˘˘ |
| Yes, I've too long delayed its execution; | 11 | ····˘/··˘/˘ |
| 'Tis very fitting you should urge me to it; | 11 | ·/˘/˘······ |
| So therefore, you must follow me at once | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| To prison, where you'll find your lodging ready. | 11 | ·/˘····/˘/˘ |
| TARTUFFE. | 2 | ·· |
| Who? I, sir? | 3 | ··· |
| THE OFFICER. | 4 | ·/˘˘ |
| You. | 1 | · |
| TARTUFFE. | 2 | ·· |
| By why to prison? | 5 | ···/˘ |
| THE OFFICER. | 4 | ·/˘˘ |
| You | 1 | · |
| Are not the one to whom I owe account. | 10 | ········˘/ |
| You, sir (to Orgon), recover from your hot alarm. | 13 | ·····˘/˘···˘/ |
| Our prince is not a friend to double dealing, | 11 | /······/˘/˘ |
| His eyes can read men's inmost hearts, and all | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| The art of hypocrites cannot deceive him. | 11 | ···/˘·˘/˘/· |
| His sharp discernment sees things clear and true; | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| His mind cannot too easily be swayed, | 10 | ··˘/·/˘˘·· |
| For reason always holds the balance even. | 11 | ·/˘/···/˘/˘ |
| He honours and exalts true piety, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/·/˘˘ |
| But knows the false, and views it with disgust. | 10 | ········˘/ |
| This fellow was by no means apt to fool him, | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| Far subtler snares have failed against his wisdom, | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| And his quick insight pierced immediately | 11 | ···/··˘/˘˘˘ |
| The hidden baseness of this tortuous heart. | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Accusing you, the knave betrayed himself, | 10 | ˘/˘···˘/˘/ |
| And by true recompense of Heaven's justice | 11 | ···/˘··/˘/˘ |
| He stood revealed before our monarch's eyes | 10 | ··˘/··//·· |
| A scoundrel known before by other names, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Whose horrid crimes, detailed at length, might fill | 10 | ·/˘·˘/···· |
| A long-drawn history of many volumes. | 11 | ···/˘˘·/˘/˘ |
| Our monarch--to resolve you in a word-- | 10 | //··˘/···· |
| Detesting his ingratitude and baseness, | 11 | ˘/˘·˘/˘˘·/˘ |
| Added this horror to his other crimes, | 10 | /˘·/˘··/˘· |
| And sent me hither under his direction | 11 | ···/˘···˘/˘ |
| To see his insolence out-top itself, | 10 | ···/˘˘··˘/ |
| And force him then to give you satisfaction. | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| Your papers, which the traitor says are his, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| I am to take from him, and give you back; | 10 | ·········· |
| The deed of gift transferring your estate | 10 | ····˘/˘·˘/ |
| Our monarch's sovereign will makes null and void; | 10 | //·/˘····· |
| And for the secret personal offence | 10 | ···/˘/˘˘˘/ |
| Your friend involved you in, he pardons you: | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| Thus he rewards your recent zeal, displayed | 10 | ··˘/·/˘·˘/ |
| In helping to maintain his rights, and shows | 10 | ·/˘·˘/···· |
| How well his heart, when it is least expected, | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| Knows how to recompense a noble deed, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| And will not let true merit miss its due, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Remembering always rather good than evil. | 10 | ˘/˘/·/˘··/ |
| DORINE. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| Now Heaven be praised! | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| MADAME PERNELLE. | 5 | /˘··· |
| At last I breathe again. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| ELMIRE. | 2 | ·· |
| A happy outcome! | 5 | ·/˘/· |
| MARIANE. | 2 | ·· |
| Who'd have dared to hope it? | 6 | ······ |
| ORGON (to Tartuffe, who is being led by the officer) | 13 | ·······/···/˘ |
| There traitor! Now you're ... | 5 | ·/˘·· |
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