The Magnificent Lovers by Moliere (Poquelin)
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THE MAGNIFICENT LOVERS (LES AMANTS MAGNIFIQUES)
BY
MOLIÈRE
TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH PROSE.
_WITH SHORT INTRODUCTIONS AND EXPLANATORY NOTES_.
BY
CHARLES HERON WALL
The subject of this play was given by Louis XIV. It was acted before
him at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, on February 4, 1670, but was never
represented in Paris, and was only printed after Molière's death. It
is one of the weakest plays of Molière, upon whom unfortunately now
rested the whole responsibility of the court entertainments. His
attack upon astrology is the most interesting part.
Molière acted the part of Clitidas.
PREFACE BY THE AUTHOR.
The King, who will have nothing but what is magnificent in all he
undertakes, wished to give his court an entertainment which should
comprise all that the stage can furnish. To facilitate the execution
of so vast an idea, and to link together so many different things, his
Majesty chose for the subject two rival princes, who, in the lovely
vale of Tempe, where the Pythian Games were to be celebrated, vie with
each other in fêting a young princess and her mother with all
imaginable gallantries.
PERSONS REPRESENTED.
IPHICRATES & TIMOCLES, _princes in love with_ ERIPHYLE.
SOSTRATUS, _a general, also in love with_ ERIPHYLE.
ANAXARCHUS, _an astrologer_.
CLEON, _his son_.
CHOROEBUS, _in the suit of_ ARISTIONE.
CLITIDAS, _a court jester, one of the attendants of_ ERIPHYLE.
ARISTIONE, _a princess, mother to_ ERIPHYLE.
ERIPHYLE, _a princess, daughter to_ ARISTIONE.
CLEONICE, _confidante to_ ERIPHYLE.
_A sham_ VENUS, _acting in concert with_ ANAXARCHUS.
THE MAGNIFICENT LOVERS.
FIRST INTERLUDE.
_The scene opens with the pleasant sound of a great many
instruments, and represents a vast sea, bordered on each side by four
large rocks. On the summit of each is a river god, leaning on the
insignia usual to those deities. At the foot of these rocks are twelve
Tritons on each side, and in the middle of the sea four Cupids on
dolphins; behind them the god AEOLUS floating on a small cloud above
the waves. AEOLUS commands the winds to withdraw; and whilst four
Cupids, twelve Tritons, and eight river gods answer him, the sea
becomes calm, and an island rises from the waves. Eight fishermen come
out of the sea with mother-of-pearl and branches of coral in their
hands, and after a charming dance seat themselves each on a rock above
one of the river gods. The music announces the advent of NEPTUNE, and
while this god is dancing with his suite, the fishermen, Tritons, and
river gods accompany his steps with various movements and the
clattering of the pearl shells. The spectacle is a magnificent
compliment paid by one of the princes to the princesses during their
maritime excursion._
AEOLUS.
Ye winds that cloud the fairest skies,
Retire within your darkest caves,
And leave the realm of waves
To Zephyr, Love, and sighs.
A TRITON.
What lovely eyes these moist abodes have pierced?
Ye mighty Tritons, come; ye Nereids, hide.
ALL THE TRITONS.
Then rise we all these deities fair to meet;
With softest strains and homage let us greet
Their beauty rare.
A CUPID.
How dazzling are these ladies' charms!
ANOTHER CUPID.
What heart but seeing them must yield?
ANOTHER CUPID.
The fairest of th' Immortals--arms
So keen hath none to wield.
CHORUS.
Then rise we all these deities fair to meet;
With softest strains and homage let us greet
Their beauty rare.
A TRITON.
What would this noble train that meets our view?
'Tis Neptune! He and all his mighty crew!
He comes to honour, with his presence fair,
These lovely scenes, and charm the silent air.
CHORUS.
Then strike again,
And raise your strain,
And let your homes around
With joyous songs resound!
NEPTUNE.
I rank among the gods of greatest might;
'Tis Jove himself hath placed me on this height!
Alone, as king, I sway the azure wave;
In all this world there's none my power to brave.
There are no lands on earth my might that know
But trembling dread that o'er their meads I flow;
No states, o'er which the boisterous waves I tread
In one short moment's space I cannot spread.
There's nought the raging billows' force can stay,
No triple dike, but e'en it easily
My waves can crush,
When rolls along their mass with wildest rush.
And yet these billows fierce I force to yield,
Beneath the wisdom of the power I wield;
And everywhere I let the sailors bold
Where'er they list their trading courses hold.
Yet rocks sometimes are found within my states,
Where ships do perish, so doomed by fates;
Yet 'gainst my power none murmurs aye,
For Virtue knows no wreck where'er I sway.
A SEA GOD.
Within this realm are many treasures bright;
All mortals crowd its pleasant shores to view.
And would you climb of fame the dazzling height,
Then seek nought else, but Neptune's countenance sue.
SECOND SEA GOD.
Then trust the god of this vast billowy realm,
And shielded from all storms, you'll guide the helm;
The waves would fain inconstant often be,
But ever constant Neptune you will see.
THIRD SEA GOD.
Launch then with dauntless zeal, and plough the deep;
Thus shall you Neptune's kindly favour reap.
ACT I.
SCENE I.--SOSTRATUS, CLITIDAS.
CLI. (_aside_). He is buried in thought.
SOS. (_believing himself alone_). No, Sostratus, I do not see
where you can look for help, and your troubles are of a kind to leave
you no hope.
CLI. (_aside_). He is talking to himself.
SOS. (_believing himself alone_). Alas!
CLI. These sighs must mean something, and my surmise will prove
correct.
SOS. (_believing himself alone_). Upon what fancies can you build
any hope? And what else can you expect but the protracted length of a
miserable existence, and sorrow to end only with life itself.
CLI. (_aside_). His head is more perplexed than mine.
SOS. (_believing himself alone_). My heart! my heart! to what
have you brought me?
CLI. Your servant, my Lord Sostratus!
SOS. Where are you going, Clitidas?
CLI. Rather tell me what you are doing here? And what secret
melancholy, what gloomy sorrow, can keep you in these woods when all
are gone in crowds to the magnificent festival which the Prince
Iphicrates has just given upon the sea to the princesses. There they
are treated to wonderful music and dancing, and even the rocks and the
waves deck themselves with divinities to do homage to their beauty.
SOS. I can fancy all this magnificence, and as there are generally so
many people to cause confusion at these festivals, I did not care to
increase the number of unwelcome guests.
CLI. You know that your presence never spoils anything, and that you
are never in the way wherever you go. Your face is welcome everywhere,
and is not one of those ill-favoured countenances which are never well
received by sovereigns. You are equally in favour with both
princesses, and the mother and the daughter show plainly enough the
regard they have for you; so that you need not fear to be accounted
troublesome. In short, it was not this fear that kept you away.
SOS. I acknowledge that I have no inclination for such things.
CLI. Oh indeed! Yet, although we may not care to see things, we like
to go where we find everybody else; and whatever you may say, people
do not, during a festival, stop all alone among the trees to dream
moodily as you do, unless they have something to disturb their minds.
SOS. Why? What do you think could disturb my mind?
CLI. Well, I can't say; but there is a strong scent of love about
here, and I am sure it does not come from me, and it must come from
you.
SOS. How absurd you are, Clitidas!
CLI. Not so absurd as you would make out. You are in love; I have a
delicate nose, and I smelt it directly.
SOS. What can possibly make you think so?
CLI. What? I daresay you would be very much surprised if I were to
tell you besides with whom you are in love.
SOS. I?
CLI. Yes; I wager that I will guess presently whom you love. I have
some secrets, as well as our astrologer with whom the Princess
Aristione is so infatuated; and if his science makes him read in the
stars the fate of men, I have the science of reading in the eyes of
people the names of those they love. Hold up your head a little, and
open your eyes wide. _E_, by itself, _E; r, i, ri, Eri; p, h,
y, phy, Eriphy; l, e, le, Eriphyle_. You are in love with the
Princess Eriphyle.
SOS. Ah! Clitidas, I cannot conceal my trouble from you, and you crush
me with this blow.
CLI. You see how clever I am!
SOS. Alas! if anything has revealed to you the secret of my heart, I
beseech you to tell it to no one; and, above all things, to keep it
secret from the fair princess whose name you have just mentioned.
CLI. But, to speak seriously, if for awhile I have read in your
actions the love you wish to keep secret, do you think that the
Princess Eriphyle has been blind enough not to see it? Believe me,
ladies are always very quick to discover the love they inspire, and
the language of the eyes and of sighs is understood by those to whom
it is addressed sooner than by anybody else.
SOS. Leave her, Clitidas, leave her to read, if she can, in my sighs
and looks the love with which her beauty has inspired me; but let us
be careful not to let her find it out in any other way.
CLI. And what is it you dread? Is it possible that this same
Sostratus, who feared neither Brennus nor all the Gauls, and whose arm
has been so gloriously successful in ridding us of that swarm of
barbarians which ravaged Greece; is it possible, I say, that a man so
dauntless in war should be so fearful as to tremble at the very
mention of his being in love?
SOS. Ah! Clitidas, I do not tremble without a cause; and all the Gauls
in the world would seem to me less to be feared than those two
beautiful eyes full of charms.
CLI. I am not of the same opinion, and I know, as far as I am
concerned, that one single Gaul, sword in hand, would frighten me much
more than fifty of the most beautiful eyes in the world put together.
But, tell me, what do you intend to do?
SOS. To die without telling my love.
CLI. A fine prospect! Nonsense, you are joking; you know that a
little boldness always succeeds with lovers; it is only the bashful
and timid who are losers; and were I to fall in love with a goddess, I
would tell her of my passion at once.
SOS. Alas! too many things condemn my love to an eternal silence.
CLI. But what?
SOS. The lowness of my birth, by which it pleased heaven to humble the
ambition of my love; the princess's rank, which puts between her and
my desires such an impassable barrier. The rivalry of two princes who
can back the offer of their heart by the highest titles; two princes
who offer the most magnificent entertainments by turn to her whose
heart they strive to win, and between whom it is expected every moment
that she will make a choice. Besides all this, Clitidas, there is the
inviolable respect to which she subjugates the violence of my love.
CLI. Respect is not always as welcome as love; and if I am not greatly
mistaken, the young princess knows of your affection, and is not
insensible to it.
SOS. Ah! pray do not, out of pity, flatter the heart of a miserable
lover.
CLI. I do not say it without good reasons. She is a long time
postponing the choice of a husband, and I must try and discover a
little more about all this. You know that I enjoy a kind of favour
with her, that I have free access to her, and that, by dint of trying
all kinds of ways, I have gained the privilege of saying a word now
and then, and of speaking at random on any subject. Sometimes I do not
succeed as I should like, but at others I succeed very well. Leave it
to me, then; I am your friend, I love men of merit, and I will choose
my time to speak to the princess of....
SOS. Oh! for heaven's sake, however much you may pity my misfortune,
Clitidas, he careful not to tell her anything of my love. I had
rather die than to be accused by her of the least temerity, and this
deep respect in which her divine charms....
CLI. Hush! they are all Coming.
SCENE II.--ARISTIONE, IPHICRATES, TIMOCLES, SOSTRATUS
ANAXARCHUS, CLEON, CLITIDAS.
ARI. (_to_ IPHICRATES). Prince, I cannot say too much, there is
no spectacle in the world which can vie in magnificence with this one
you have just given us. This entertainment had wonderful attractions,
which will make it surpass all that can ever be seen. We have
witnessed something so noble, so grand and glorious that heaven itself
could do no more; and I feel sure there is nothing in the world that
could be compared to it.
TIM. This is a display that cannot he expected in all entertainments,
and I greatly fear, Madam, for the simplicity of the little festival
which I am preparing to give you in the wood of Diana.
ARI. I feel sure that we shall see nothing there but what is
delightful; and we must acknowledge that the country ought to appear
very beautiful to us, and that we have no time left for dulness in
this charming place, which all poets have celebrated under the name of
Tempe. For, not to mention the pleasures of hunting, which we can
enjoy at any hour, and the solemnity of the Pythian Games which are
about to be celebrated, you both take care to supply us with pleasures
that would charm away the sorrows of the most melancholy. How is it,
Sostratus, that we did not meet you in our walks?
SOS. A slight indisposition, Madam, prevented me from going there.
IPH. Sostratus is one of those men who think it unbecoming to be
curious like others, and who esteem it better to affect not to go
where everybody is anxious to be.
SOS. My Lord, affectation has little share in anything I do, and,
without paying you a compliment, there were things to be seen in this
festival which would have attracted me if some other motive had not
hindered me.
ARI. And has Clitidas seen it all?
CLI. Yes, Madam, but from the shore.
ARI. And why from the shore?
CLI. Well, Madam, I feared one of those accidents which generally
happen in such large crowds. Last night I dreamt of dead fish and
broken eggs, and I have learnt from Anaxarchus that broken eggs and
dead fish forebode ill luck.
ANA. I observe one thing, that Clitidas would have nothing to say if
he did not speak of me.
CLI. It is because there are so many things that can be said of you
that one can never say too much.
ANA. You might choose some other subject of conversation,
particularly since I have asked you to do so.
CLI. How can I? Do you not say that destiny is stronger than
everything? And if it is written in the stars that I shall speak of
you, how can I resist my fate?
ANA. With all the respect due to you, Madam, allow me to say that
there is one thing in your court which it is sad to find there. It is
that everybody takes the liberty of talking, and that the most
honourable man is exposed to the scoffing of the first buffoon he
meets.
CLI. I thank you for the honour you do me.
ARI. (_to_ ANAXARCHUS). Why be put out by what he says?
CLI. With all due respect to you, Madam, there is one thing which
amazes me in astrology; it is that people who know the secrets of the
gods, and who have such knowledge as to place themselves above all
other men, should have need of paying court and of asking for
anything.
ANA. This is a paltry joke, and you should earn your money by giving
your mistress wittier and better ones.
CLI. Upon my word, I give what I have. You speak most comfortably
about it; the trade of a buffoon is not like that of an astrologer. To
tell lies well and to joke well are things altogether different, and
it is far easier to deceive people than to make them laugh.
ARI. Ha! what is the meaning of that?
CLI. (_speaking to himself_). Peace, fool that you are! Do you
not know that astrology is an affair of state, and that you must not
play upon that string? I have often told you that you are getting a
great deal too bold, and that you take certain liberties which will
bring trouble upon you. You will see that some day you will be kicked
out like a knave. Hold your peace if you be wise.
ARI. Where is my daughter?
TIM. She is gone away, Madam. I offered her my arm, which she refused
to accept.
ARI. Princes, since in your love for Eriphyle you have consented to
submit to the laws I had imposed upon you, since it has been possible
for me to obtain that you should be rivals without being enemies, and
that, with a full submission to my daughter's feelings, you are
waiting for her choice, speak to me openly and tell me what progress
you each think you have made on her heart.
TIM. Madam, I do not mean to flatter myself; but I have done all that
I possibly could to touch the heart of the Princess Eriphyle. I have
neglected none of the tender means that a lover should adopt. I have
offered her the humble homage of my great love, I have been assiduous
near her, I have attended on her daily. I have had my love sung by the
most touching voices, and expressed in verse by the most skilful pens.
I have complained in passionate terms of my sufferings. My eyes, as
well as my words, have told her of my despair and my love. I have laid
my love at her feet; I have even had recourse to tears, but all in
vain, and I have failed to see that in her soul she was in any way
touched by my love.
ARI. And you, Prince?
IPH. For my part, Madam, knowing her indifference and the little value
she sets upon the homage that is paid to her, I did not mean to waste
either sighs or tears upon her. I know that she is entirely submissive
to your wishes, and that it is from you alone that she will accept a
husband; therefore it is to you alone that I can address my wishes for
her hand, to you rather than to her that I offer my homage and my
attentions. Would to heaven, Madam, that you could bring yourself to
take her place, enjoy the conquests which you make for her, and
receive for yourself the affections which you refer to her!
ARI. Prince, the compliment comes from a cunning lover. You have heard
that the mothers must be flattered in order to obtain the daughters
from them; but here however, this will be useless, for I have
determined to, leave my daughter entirely free in her choice, and in
no way to thwart her inclination.
IPH. However free you leave her in her choice, what I tell you is no
flattery, Madam. I court the Princess Eriphyle only because she is
your daughter, and I think her charming in that which she inherits
from you; and it is you whom I adore in her.
ARI. That is very pretty.
IPH. Yes, Madam, all the earth beholds in you charms and
attractions....
ARI. Ah! Prince, pray, let us leave those charms and attractions; you
know that these are words I banish from the compliments that are paid
to me. I can endure to be praised for my sincerity, to be called a
good princess, for it is true that I have a kind word for everybody,
love for my friends and esteem for merit and virtue; yes, I can enjoy
all that; but as for your charms and attractions, I had rather have
nothing to do with them, and whatever truth there may be in them, one
should make a scruple of wishing to be praised when one is mother to a
daughter like mine.
IPH. Ah! Madam. It is you only who will remind everyone that you are a
mother; everybody's feelings are against it, and it depends entirely
on yourself to pass for the sister of the Princess Eriphyle.
ARI. Believe me, Prince, I have no relish for all this idle nonsense,
so welcome to too many women, I wish to be a mother, because I am one,
and it would be in vain to wish to be otherwise. This title has
nothing that wounds me, since I received it by my own consent. It is a
weakness in our sex, from which, thank heaven! I am free, and I do not
trouble myself about those grand discussions concerning ages about
which there is so much folly. Let us resume what we were saying. Is it
possible that until now you have been unable to discover my daughter's
feelings?
IPH. They are a secret to me.
TIM. And to me an impenetrable mystery.
ARI. She may be prevented by modesty from explaining herself either to
you or to me. Let us make use of another to try and discover what she
feels. Sostratus, take this message upon yourself for me, and oblige
these princes by skilfully trying to discover towards which of the two
my daughter's feeling are inclined.
SOS. Madam, you have a great many people in your court who are better
qualified than I for such a delicate mission, and I feel little fit to
do what you ask of me.
ARI. Your merit, Sostratus, is not confined to the business of war
only. You have brain, tact, and skill, and my daughter greatly esteems
you.
SOS. Another better than I, Madam....
ARI. No, no, in vain you excuse yourself.
SOS. Since it is your wish, Madam, I must obey; but I assure you that
there is not one person in the whole of your court who would be less
qualified for such a commission than myself.
ARI. You are too modest, and you will always acquit yourself well in
whatever is entrusted to you. Sound my daughter gently on her
feelings, and remind her that she must be early at the wood of Diana.
SCENE III.--IPHICRATES, TIMOCLES, SOSTRATUS, CLITIDAS.
IPH. (_to_ SOSTRATUS). I assure you that I rejoice to see you
held in such esteem by the princess.
TIM. (_to_ SOSTRATUS). I assure you that I am delighted that the
choice should have fallen on you.
IPH. You have it now in your power to serve your friends.
TIM. You will be able to do good service to those you esteem.
IPH. I do not commend my interests to you.
TIM. I do not ask you to speak for me.
SOS. My Lords, all this is useless. I should be wrong to exceed my
orders, and you will excuse me if I speak for neither.
IPH. I leave it to you to do as you please.
TIM. Do exactly as you think best.
SCENE IV.--IPHICRATES, TIMOCLES, CLITIDAS.
IPH. (_aside to_ CLITIDAS). Well, Clitidas, remember that he is
one of my friends. I hope he will still forward my interests with the
princess against those of my rival.
CLI. (_aside to_ IPHICRATES). You may trust me. There is a great
difference between you and him. He is a fine prince, indeed, to
dispute it with you.
IPH. (_aside to_ CLITIDAS). I will not forget such a service.
SCENE V.--TIMOCLES, CLITIDAS.
TIM. My rival pays his court to Clitidas; but Clitidas knows that he
has promised to help me in my love against him.
CLI. Certainly. How very absurd to think of carrying the day against
you. A fine gentleman, indeed, to be compared with you!
TIM. There is nothing I could not do for Clitidas.
CLI. (_alone_). Plenty of fine words on all sides! But here is
the princess; we will take our opportunity to speak to her.
SCENE VI.--ERIPHYLE, CLEONICE.
CLEON. It will be thought strange, Madam, that you should keep away
from everybody.
ERI. Ah! to persons like us, always surrounded by so many indifferent
people, how pleasant is solitude! How sweet to be left alone to
commune with one's thoughts when one has had to bear with so much
trifling conversation. Leave me alone to walk a few moments by myself.
CLEON. Would you not like for a moment to see what those wonderful
people, who are desirous of serving you, can do? It seems by their
steps and gestures they can express everything to the eye. They are
called pantomimists. I feared to pronounce that word before you, and
there are some in your court who would not forgive me for using it.
ERI. You seem to me to propose some strange entertainment; for you
never fail to introduce indifferently all that presents itself to you,
and you have a kind welcome for everything. Therefore to you alone do
we see all necessitous Muses have recourse. You are the great
patroness of all merit in distress, and all virtuous indigents knock
at your door.
CLEON. If you do not care to see them, Madam, you have only to say so.
ERI. No, no; let us see them. Bring them here.
CLEON. But, Madam, their dancing may be bad.
ERI. Bad or not, let us see it. It would only be putting off the thing
with you. It is just as well to have it over.
CLEON. To-day it will only be an ordinary dance, Madam. Another
time....
ERI. No more about it, Cleonice. Let them dance.
SECOND INTERLUDE.
_The confidante of the young_ PRINCESS _calls forth three
dancers under the name of pantomimists; that is, men who express all
sorts of things by their movements. The_ PRINCESS _sees them
dance, and receives them into her service._
ACT II.
SCENE I.--ERIPHYLE, CLEONICE.
ERI. This is admirable! I do not think any dancing could ever be
better; and I am glad to have them belonging to me.
CLEON. And I am very glad, Madam, for you to see that my taste is not
so bad as you thought.
ERI. Do not be so triumphant. You won't be long before giving me my
revenge. Leave me alone here.
SCENE II.--ERIPHYLE, CLEONICE, CLITIDAS.
CLEON. (_going to meet_ CLITIDAS). I warn you, Clitidas, that the
princess wishes to be alone.
CLI. Leave that to me. I understand court etiquette.
SCENE III.--ERIPHYLE, CLITIDAS.
CLI. (_singing_). La, la, la, la. (_Affecting surprise on
seeing_ ERIPHYLE.) Ah!