(To his son)
Off with you! Leave my house this instant, sirrah,
And never dare set foot in it again.
DAMIS
Yes, I will leave your house, but . . .
ORGON
Leave it quickly.
You reprobate, I disinherit you,
And give you, too, my curse into the bargain.
SCENE VII
ORGON, TARTUFFE
ORGON
What! So insult a saintly man of God!
TARTUFFE
Heaven, forgive him all the pain he gives me! [4]
[Footnote 4: Some modern editions have adopted the reading, preserved
by tradition as that of the earliest stage version: Heaven, forgive
him even as I forgive him! Voltaire gives still another reading:
Heaven, forgive me even as I forgive him! Whichever was the original
version, it appears in none of the early editions, and Moliere
probably felt forced to change it on account of its too close
resemblance to the Biblical phrase.]
(To Orgon)
Could you but know with what distress I see
Them try to vilify me to my brother!
ORGON
Ah!
TARTUFFE
The mere thought of such ingratitude
Makes my soul suffer torture, bitterly . . .
My horror at it . . . Ah! my heart's so full
I 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.
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