{"id":90,"date":"2020-05-12T20:17:06","date_gmt":"2020-05-13T00:17:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.ryerson.ca\/tartuffe\/?post_type=chapter&p=90"},"modified":"2020-05-12T20:17:06","modified_gmt":"2020-05-13T00:17:06","slug":"scene-i-4","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/tartuffe\/chapter\/scene-i-4\/","title":{"raw":"Scene I","rendered":"Scene I"},"content":{"raw":"
\r\n

ORGON, CLEANTE<\/p>\r\nCLEANTE<\/span>\r\nWhither away so fast?<\/span>\r\n\r\nORGON<\/span>\r\nHow should I know?<\/span>\r\n\r\nCLEANTE<\/span>\r\nMethinks we should begin by taking counsel<\/span>\r\nTo see what can be done to meet the case.<\/span>\r\n\r\nORGON<\/span>\r\nI'm all worked up about that wretched box.<\/span>\r\nMore than all else it drives me to despair.<\/span>\r\n\r\nCLEANTE<\/span>\r\nThat box must hide some mighty mystery?<\/span>\r\n\r\nORGON<\/span>\r\nArgas, my friend who is in trouble, brought it<\/span>\r\nHimself, most secretly, and left it with me.<\/span>\r\nHe chose me, in his exile, for this trust;<\/span>\r\nAnd on these documents, from what he said,<\/span>\r\nI judge his life and property depend.<\/span>\r\n\r\nCLEANTE<\/span>\r\nHow could you trust them to another's hands?<\/span>\r\n\r\nORGON<\/span>\r\nBy reason of a conscientious scruple.<\/span>\r\nI went straight to my traitor, to confide<\/span>\r\nIn him; his sophistry made me believe<\/span>\r\nThat I must give the box to him to keep,<\/span>\r\nSo that, in case of search, I might deny<\/span>\r\nMy having it at all, and still, by favour<\/span>\r\nOf this evasion, keep my conscience clear<\/span>\r\nEven in taking oath against the truth.<\/span>\r\n\r\nCLEANTE<\/span>\r\nYour case is bad, so far as I can see;<\/span>\r\nThis deed of gift, this trusting of the secret<\/span>\r\nTo him, were both\u2014to state my frank opinion\u2014<\/span>\r\nSteps that you took too lightly; he can lead you<\/span>\r\nTo any length, with these for hostages;<\/span>\r\nAnd since he holds you at such disadvantage,<\/span>\r\nYou'd be still more imprudent, to provoke him;<\/span>\r\nSo you must go some gentler way about.<\/span>\r\n\r\nORGON<\/span>\r\nWhat! Can a soul so base, a heart so false,<\/span>\r\nHide neath the semblance of such touching fervour?<\/span>\r\nI took him in, a vagabond, a beggar! . . .<\/span>\r\n'Tis too much! No more pious folk for me!<\/span>\r\nI shall abhor them utterly forever,<\/span>\r\nAnd henceforth treat them worse than any devil.<\/span>\r\n\r\nCLEANTE<\/span>\r\nSo! There you go again, quite off the handle!<\/span>\r\nIn nothing do you keep an even temper.<\/span>\r\nYou never know what reason is, but always<\/span>\r\nJump first to one extreme, and then the other.<\/span>\r\nYou see your error, and you recognise<\/span>\r\nThat you've been cozened by a feigned zeal;<\/span>\r\nBut to make up for't, in the name of reason,<\/span>\r\nWhy should you plunge into a worse mistake,<\/span>\r\nAnd find no difference in character<\/span>\r\nBetween a worthless scamp, and all good people?<\/span>\r\nWhat! Just because a rascal boldly duped you<\/span>\r\nWith pompous show of false austerity,<\/span>\r\nMust you needs have it everybody's like him,<\/span>\r\nAnd no one's truly pious nowadays?<\/span>\r\nLeave such conclusions to mere infidels;<\/span>\r\nDistinguish virtue from its counterfeit,<\/span>\r\nDon't give esteem too quickly, at a venture,<\/span>\r\nBut try to keep, in this, the golden mean.<\/span>\r\nIf you can help it, don't uphold imposture;<\/span>\r\nBut do not rail at true devoutness, either;<\/span>\r\nAnd if you must fall into one extreme,<\/span>\r\nThen rather err again the other way.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"

\n

ORGON, CLEANTE<\/p>\n

CLEANTE<\/span>
\nWhither away so fast?<\/span><\/p>\n

ORGON<\/span>
\nHow should I know?<\/span><\/p>\n

CLEANTE<\/span>
\nMethinks we should begin by taking counsel<\/span>
\nTo see what can be done to meet the case.<\/span><\/p>\n

ORGON<\/span>
\nI’m all worked up about that wretched box.<\/span>
\nMore than all else it drives me to despair.<\/span><\/p>\n

CLEANTE<\/span>
\nThat box must hide some mighty mystery?<\/span><\/p>\n

ORGON<\/span>
\nArgas, my friend who is in trouble, brought it<\/span>
\nHimself, most secretly, and left it with me.<\/span>
\nHe chose me, in his exile, for this trust;<\/span>
\nAnd on these documents, from what he said,<\/span>
\nI judge his life and property depend.<\/span><\/p>\n

CLEANTE<\/span>
\nHow could you trust them to another’s hands?<\/span><\/p>\n

ORGON<\/span>
\nBy reason of a conscientious scruple.<\/span>
\nI went straight to my traitor, to confide<\/span>
\nIn him; his sophistry made me believe<\/span>
\nThat I must give the box to him to keep,<\/span>
\nSo that, in case of search, I might deny<\/span>
\nMy having it at all, and still, by favour<\/span>
\nOf this evasion, keep my conscience clear<\/span>
\nEven in taking oath against the truth.<\/span><\/p>\n

CLEANTE<\/span>
\nYour case is bad, so far as I can see;<\/span>
\nThis deed of gift, this trusting of the secret<\/span>
\nTo him, were both\u2014to state my frank opinion\u2014<\/span>
\nSteps that you took too lightly; he can lead you<\/span>
\nTo any length, with these for hostages;<\/span>
\nAnd since he holds you at such disadvantage,<\/span>
\nYou’d be still more imprudent, to provoke him;<\/span>
\nSo you must go some gentler way about.<\/span><\/p>\n

ORGON<\/span>
\nWhat! Can a soul so base, a heart so false,<\/span>
\nHide neath the semblance of such touching fervour?<\/span>
\nI took him in, a vagabond, a beggar! . . .<\/span>
\n‘Tis too much! No more pious folk for me!<\/span>
\nI shall abhor them utterly forever,<\/span>
\nAnd henceforth treat them worse than any devil.<\/span><\/p>\n

CLEANTE<\/span>
\nSo! There you go again, quite off the handle!<\/span>
\nIn nothing do you keep an even temper.<\/span>
\nYou never know what reason is, but always<\/span>
\nJump first to one extreme, and then the other.<\/span>
\nYou see your error, and you recognise<\/span>
\nThat you’ve been cozened by a feigned zeal;<\/span>
\nBut to make up for’t, in the name of reason,<\/span>
\nWhy should you plunge into a worse mistake,<\/span>
\nAnd find no difference in character<\/span>
\nBetween a worthless scamp, and all good people?<\/span>
\nWhat! Just because a rascal boldly duped you<\/span>
\nWith pompous show of false austerity,<\/span>
\nMust you needs have it everybody’s like him,<\/span>
\nAnd no one’s truly pious nowadays?<\/span>
\nLeave such conclusions to mere infidels;<\/span>
\nDistinguish virtue from its counterfeit,<\/span>
\nDon’t give esteem too quickly, at a venture,<\/span>
\nBut try to keep, in this, the golden mean.<\/span>
\nIf you can help it, don’t uphold imposture;<\/span>
\nBut do not rail at true devoutness, either;<\/span>
\nAnd if you must fall into one extreme,<\/span>
\nThen rather err again the other way.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"menu_order":1,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-90","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":88,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/tartuffe\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/90","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/tartuffe\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/tartuffe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/tartuffe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/tartuffe\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/90\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":91,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/tartuffe\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/90\/revisions\/91"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/tartuffe\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/88"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/tartuffe\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/90\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/tartuffe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/tartuffe\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=90"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/tartuffe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=90"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/tartuffe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=90"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}