Among French writings there are much more certain likenesses with Regnier's satire Macette,1 the female Tartuffe, the first satire of the inferior writer Dulorens, the Hypocrites of Scarron, and Polyandre by Charles Sorel. The character of Tartuffe is, however, a general type, which authors have been fond of treating. In the Middle Ages in France we find more than one example. Not to lay stress on Rutebeuf's Hypocrisie in le Pharisien, the hypocritical character has a famous embodiment in the allegorical Faux Semblant of the Roman de la Rose. A different aspect of the same character is found in the trickiness or renardie of the Roman de Renart. This trickiness or foxiness, as time goes on, is sometimes linked with a religious aspect under the name of papelardie, a word frequently used by Rabelais. Molière's Tartuffe is but a seventeenth century counterpart of these earlier characters, and in reading the play we are reminded of the saying of La Rochefoucauld: "La plupart des amis dégoûtent de l'amitié et la plupart des dévots dégoûtent de la dévotion.” In more recent times we have examples of the type in Beaumarchais' Don Basile, and in the Jesuit Rodin of Eugène Sue's le Juif errant. It may, perhaps, not be out of place to mention also the clever comedy by Mme de Girardin (Delphine Gay), called Lady Tartuffe In England there are several hypocrites in literature, some of them directly inspired by Molière. In writings before his time Shakspeare's." honest Iago" occurs immediately to one's mind, and Angelo in Measure for Measure exclaims, "We are all frail," as Tartuffe assures Elmire that “Madame, après tout, je ne suis pas un ange." In Ben Jonson's Volpone one sees the foxiness of hypocrisy, and in Bartholomew's Fair the religious bigot appears in Zeal-of-the-Land Busy. Medbourne's 1 Loin du monde elle fait sa demeure et son giste; For a list of works inspired by Molière in France, see Mangold's book on Tartuffe, p. 145 translation of Tartuffe is a fairly close rendering, though with such modifications as the appearance of Tartuffe's servant, Laurence, who makes love to Dorine and marries her at the end. Colley Cibber's Non-Juror is visibly inspired by the French play and introduces some of its important scenes in the doings of Dr. Wolf. The Maskwell of Congreve's Double Dealer reminds us of Tartuffe, and so does Dr. Cantwell of Bickerstaff's Hypocrite, which kept the stage in America until well into the nineteenth century. A hypocrite still well known to theatre goers is Joseph Surface, and the reader of Dickens sees different phases of Tartuffe's character in the "umble" of Uriah Heep, the moral reflections of Mr. Pecksniff, the cant of Mr. Chadband, with his "fat smile, and a general appearance of having a good deal of train oil in his system," and the consuming powers of the deputy-shepherd, the reverend Mr. Stiggins, of the Pickwick Papers. ness V. BIBLIOGRAPHY General criticisms of Molière will be found in any history of French literature.-Editions of his works are also numerous: the standard today is by Despois and Mesnard in the Collection des Grands Ecrivains. The tenth volume contains the biography, the eleventh the bibliography. See also Livet's Lexique de la langue de Molière; Lacroix' Bibliographie Moliéresque, and the bibliography of the Molière collection in the Harvard Library by T. F. Currier and E. L. Gay.-Important separate editions of le Tartuffe are by Livet, and by the actors Régnier (Le Tartuffe des Comédiens), and Silvain (Edition de la Comédie Française). There are school editions by Boully, by Pellisson, by Lavigne, in France; in Germany, see those of Lïon, of Friese. — An important study of all topics connected with the play is Mangold's Molière's Tartuffe, Geschichte und Kritik. For literary criticisms and studies, see: Brunetière, les Epoques du théâtre français; Coquelin, Tartuffe; Lemaître, Impressions de théâtre, Vol. IV, and les Contemporains, Vol. VII; Sainte-Beuve, Port Royal, Book III, Chaps. 16 and 17; Sarcey, Quarante ans de théâtre, Vol. II; Veuillot, Molière et Bourdaloue. The editor of the present edition has not hesitated to make use of all the material at his command, and has drawn freely from the works mentioned above, as well as from older editions like Auger and Taschereau. Livet's notes have, in particular, proved most useful. Philological information has been kept in the background as being superfluous to the schoolboy or the undergraduate, but many differences between seventeenth century and modern French have been pointed out, and modern equivalents have been given, even though the meaning may be obvious. For this same purpose frequent reference has been made to Haase's Syntaxe française du XVIIe siècle. The text is that of the edition by Despois and Mesnard. PRÉFACE Voici une comédie dont on a fait beaucoup de bruit, qui a été longtemps persécutée; et les gens qu'elle joue ont bien fait voir qu'ils étoient plus puissants en France que tous ceux que j'ai joués jusqu'ici. Les Marquis, les Précieuses et les Médecins ont souffert doucement qu'on les ait représentés, et ils ont fait semblant de se divertir, avec tout le monde, des peintures que l'on a faites d'eux; mais les Hypocrites n'ont point entendu raillerie; ils se sont effarouchés d'abord, et ont trouvé étrange que j'eusse la hardiesse de jouer leurs grimaces, et de vouloir décrier un métier dont tant d'honnêtes gens se mêlent. C'est un crime qu'ils ne sauroient me pardonner; et ils se sont tous armés contre ma comédie avec une fureur épouvantable. Ils n'ont eu garde de l'attaquer par le côté qui les a blessés; ils sont trop politiques pour cela, et savent trop bien vivre pour découvrir le fond de leur âme. Suivant leur louable coutume, ils ont couvert leurs intérêts de la cause de Dieu; et le Tartuffe, dans leur bouche, est une pièce qui offense la piété. Elle est, d'un bout à l'autre, pleine d'abominations, et l'on n'y trouve rien qui ne mérite le feu. Toutes les syllabes en sont impies; les gestes mêmes y sont criminels; et le moindre coup d'œil, le moindre branlement de tête, le moindre pas à droite ou à gauche, y |