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Moliere: The Misanthrope (Tartuffe)

	       tr. Richard Wilbur

.... No self-respecting heart would dream
Of prizing so promiscuous an esteem;
However high the praise there's nothing worse
Than sharing honors with the universe.
Esteem is founded on comparison:
To honor all is to honor none.  [I.I]

Some men I hate for being rogues; the others
I hate because they treat the rogues like brothers

Oronte:
...
In short, I am your servant. And now, dear friend,
Since you have such fine judgement, I intend
To please you, if I can, with a small sonnet
I wrote not long ago. Please comment on it,
And tell me whether I ought to publish it.
...

Alceste:
...
Sir, these are delicate matters; we all desire
To be told that we've the true poetic fire.
But once, to one whose name I shall not mention,
I said, regarding some verse of his invention,
That gentlemen should rigorously control
That itch to write which often afflicts the soul;
That one should curb the heady inclination
To publicize one's little avocation;
And that in showing off one's works of art
One often plays a very clownish part.
...
You're under no necessity to compose;
Why you should wish to publish, heaven knows.
There's no excuse for printing tedious rot
Unless one writes for bread, as you do not.
Resist temptation, then, I beg of you;
Conceal your pastimes from the public view; [I.II]

Oh, he's a wondrous talker, and has the power
To tell you nothing hour after hour
If, by mistake, he ever came to the point,
The shock would put his jawbone out of joint. [II.V]

.... Oh, that conceited elf
Has a gigantic passion for himself;
He rails against the court, and cannot bear it
That none will recognize his hidden merit;
All honors given to others give offense
To his imaginary excellence.

He scolds at all the latest books and plays,
Thinking that wit must never stoop to praise,
That finding fault's a sign of intellect,
That all appreciation is abject
And that by damning everything in sight
One shows oneself in a distinguished light.

[The text never mentions that the translation is by Richard Wilbur.  For a
brief critique of the translations of la Tartuffe, see
editoreric.