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SOCRATES
BY
VOLTAIRE
Translated and adapted by
Frank J. Morlock
C 2000
CHARACTERS:
SOCRATES
ANITUS, High Priest
MELITUS, Athenian Judge
XANTIPPE, Wife of Socrates
AGLAEA, a young Athenian girl raised by Socrates
SOPHRONINE, a young Athenian boy raised by Socrates
DRIXA, a merchant woman attached to Anitus
TERPANDRE, attached to Anitus
ACROS, attached to Anitus
JUDGES
DISCIPLES OF SOCRATES
NONOTI, a pedant protected by Anitus
BERTIOS, another
CHOMOS, another
ACT I
ANITUS:
My dear confidants, my dear agents, you know how much money I made you
during the last festival of Ceres. I'm getting married and I hope you
will do your duty on this grand occasion.
DRIXA:
Yes, without doubt, Milord, since you are going to make us earn yet
more.
ANITUS:
Madame Drixa, I must have two beautiful Persian rugs. You, Terpandre,
of you I only ask two large silver candelabra. And of you, Acros, a
half dozen dresses of silk embroidered with gold.
TERPANDRE:
That's a bit much; but Milord there's nothing I won't do to deserve
your holy protection.
ANITUS:
You will regain all that a hundred fold. It's the best way to deserve
the favors of the gods and goddesses. Give much and you will receive
much; and especially don't fail to arouse the people against all the
people of quality who do not vow enough, and who do not present
offerings.
ACROS:
We will never fail in that; it's too sacred a duty not to be faithful
to it.
ANITUS:
Go, my dear friends. May the gods keep you in these sentiments, so
pious and just! And count on prospering, yourselves, your children and
your grandchildren.
TERPANDRE:
We are sure of that because you said it.
(Exit Terpandre and Acros)
ANITUS:
Well, my dear Madame Drixa, I think you don't find it ill that I am
espousing Aglaea; but I don't love you any less. We will live together
as usual.
DRIXA:
Oh! Milord, I am not jealous; and since business is going so well I am
very satisfied. Since I have the honor of being one of your
mistresses, I have enjoyed great consideration in Athens. If you love
Aglaea, I love the young Sophronine. And Xantippe, the wife of
Socrates has promised to give him to me in marriage. You will still
have the same rights over me. I am only annoyed that this young man
may be raised by that villainous Socrates, and that Aglaea may yet be
in his clutches. They must be gotten out of them as quickly as
possible. Xantippe will be enchanted to be rid of them. The handsome
Sophronine and the beautiful Aglaea are very ill in Socrates hands.
ANITUS:
I really flatter myself, my dear Madame Drixa, that Melitus and I will
ruin that dangerous man, who preaches nothing but virtue and divinity
and who has dared to mock certain intrigues that happened at the
Mysteries of Ceres. But Socrates is the tutor of Aglaea. Agathon,
Aglaea's father, they say has left her great wealth. Aglaea is
adorable. I idolize Aglaea. I must marry Aglaea and I must deal
tactfully with Socrates while waiting to hang him.
DRIXA:
Deal tactfully with Socrates in order that I may have my young man.
But why did Agathon allow his daughter into the clutches of that old,
flat nosed Socrates, that insufferable fault-finder who corrupts the
young and prevents them from frequenting courtesans and the holy
mysteries?
ANITUS:
Agathon was infatuated with the same principles. He was one of those
sober and serious types who have different morals from ours; who are
from another country, and who are our sworn enemies, who think they've
fulfilled all their duties when they've adored divinity, helped
humanity, cultivated friendship and studied philosophy; one of those
folks who insolently pretend that the gods have not inscribed the
future in the liver of an ox; one of those pitiless dialecticians who
find fault with priests for sacrificing their daughters or spending
the night with them, as needs be. You feel they are monsters fit only
to be choked. If there were only five or six sages in Athens who had
as much credit as he, that would be enough to deprive me of most of my
income and honors.
DRIXA:
The Devil! Now that's really serious.
ANITUS:
While waiting to strangle him, I am going to speak with him under the
porticoes and conclude this business with him about my marriage.
DRIXA:
Here he is: you do him too much honor. I am going to leave you and I
am going to speak about my young man to Xantippe.
ANITUS:
The gods accompany you, my darling Drixa. Serve them always and beware
of believing in only one God, and don't forget my two beautiful
Persian rugs.
(Enter Socrates)
Eh! Hello, my dear Socrates, the favorite of the gods and the wisest
of mortals. I feel I am raised above myself every time I see you and
in you, I respect Human Nature.
SOCRATES:
I am a simple man destitute of sciences and full of weakness like the
rest. It's much if you support me.
ANITUS:
Support you! I admire you; I would like to resemble you if it were
possible. And it is in order to be a more frequent witness to your
virtues, to hear your lessons more often, that I wish to marry your
beautiful pupil Aglaea whose destiny depends on you.
SOCRATES:
It's true that her father, Agathon, who was my friend, that is to say
much more than just a relative, confided to me by his will this
amiable and virtuous orphan.
ANITUS:
With considerable riches? For they say it's the best part of Athens.
SOCRATES:
On that subject, I can give you no enlightenment; her father, that
kind friend whose wishes are sacred to me, forbade me by that same
will, to divulge the condition of his daughter's fortune.
ANITUS:
That respect for the last wishes of a friend, and that discretion are
worthy of your beautiful soul. But people know well enough that
Agathon was a rich man.
SOCRATES:
He deserved to be, if riches are a favor of the Supreme Being.
ANITUS:
They say that a little hare-brain named Sophronine, is paying court to
her on account of her fortune. But I am persuaded that you will show
the door to such a character, and that a man like me won't have a
rival.
SOCRATES:
I know what I must think of a man like you: but it's not for me to
obstruct Aglaea's feelings. I serve her as her father; I am not her
master. She must dispose of her heart. I regard constraint as a crime.
Speak to her: If she listens to your propositions, I will consent to
her will.
ANITUS:
I've already got the consent of Xantippe, your wife; without doubt she
is informed of Aglaea's feelings; so I regard the thing as done.
SOCRATES:
I cannot regard things as done until they are.
(Aglaea enters)
Come beautiful Aglaea, come decide your fate. Here's a gentleman,
priest of high rank, the leading priest in Athens, who offers himself
to be your spouse. I leave you complete liberty to explain things with
him. That liberty will not be constrained by my presence. Whatever
choice you make I will approve. Xantippe will prepare everything for
your wedding.
(Socrates leaves)
AGLAEA:
Ah, generous Socrates it's with great regret I see you leave.
ANITUS:
It seems, amiable Aglaea, that you have great confidence in the good
Socrates.
AGLAEA:
I owe it to him; he's serving as my father and he forms my soul.
ANITUS:
Well! If he directs your feelings, could you tell me what you think of
Ceres, of Cybele, of Venus?
AGLAEA:
Alas! I will; whatever you wish.
ANITUS:
That's well said: you will also do what I wish.
AGLAEA:
No. That's much different from the other.
ANITUS:
You see that the wise Socrates consents to our union. Xantippe, his
wife, presses for this marriage. You know what feelings you have
inspired in me. You know my rank and my reputation. You see that my
happiness and perhaps yours depends on a word from your mouth.
AGLAEA:
I am going to respond to you with the truth which that great man who
just left here instructed me never to dissemble, and with the liberty
that he left me. I respect your dignity; I know little of your person
and I cannot give myself to you.
ANITUS:
You cannot! You who are free! Ah, Aglaea, you don't wish it then?
AGLAEA:
It's true that I don't wish it.
ANITUS:
Are you really aware of the affront you are giving me? I see very
clearly that Socrates has betrayed me. It's he who is dictating your
response. It's he who is giving preference to this young Sophronine,
to my unworthy rival, to that impious--
AGLAEA:
Sophronine is not impious; he's been attached to him since childhood.
Socrates serves as a father to him as to me. Sophronine is full of
grace and virtue. I love him and I am loved by him. He clings only to
me to be his wife. But I will no more have him than you.
ANITUS:
All that you tell me astonishes me. What! You dare to admit to me that
you love Sophronine?
AGLAEA:
Yes, I dare confess to you because nothing is more true.
ANITUS:
And when he demands that you be happy with him, you refuse his hand?
AGLAEA:
Again, nothing is more true.
ANITUS:
Doubtless it's fear of displeasing me that delays your engagement to
him?
AGLAEA:
Assuredly no. Never having sought to please you, I do not at all fear
displeasing you.
ANITUS:
Then you fear to offend the gods by preferring a profane man like this
Sophronine to a minister of the altars?
AGLAEA:
Not at all; I am persuaded that the Supreme Being cares very little
whether I marry you or not.
ANITUS:
The Supreme Being! My dear girl, that's not the way you must speak.
You must speak of gods and goddesses. Take care: I perceive in you
dangerous sentiments and I know very well who inspired them. Know that
Ceres, whose high priest I am, can punish you for having scorned her
cult and her minister.
AGLAEA:
I scorn neither the one nor the other. They tell me that Ceres
presides over wheat: I intend to believe it. But she doesn't meddle
with my marriage.
ANITUS:
She meddles with everything. You know that very well; but still I hope
to convert you. Are you really determined not to marry Sophronine?
AGLAEA:
Yes, I am very determined, and I'm very annoyed about it.
ANITUS:
I don't understand these contradictions at all. Listen: I love you. I
wanted to make you happy and place you in a high rank. Believe me,
don't offend me. Don't reject your fortune. Think that it is necessary
to sacrifice everything to an advantageous establishment; that youth
passes and that fortune remains. That riches and honors must be your
only goal and that I speak to you on behalf of the Gods and Goddesses.
I beg you to reflect on it. Goodbye, my dear girl. I am going to pray
to Ceres that she may inspire you. And I hope that she will touch your
heart. Goodbye, one more time. Remember you promised me not to marry
Sophronine.
AGLAEA:
I promised that to myself not to you.
(Anitus leaves)
How that man increases my chagrin. I don't know why I never see that
priest without trembling. But here's Sophronine. Alas, while his rival
fills me with terror, this one increases my sorrows and my tenderness.
SOPHRONINE: (entering)
Darling Aglaea, I see Anitus, that priest of Ceres, that evil man,
that sworn enemy of Socrates, is leaving you, and your eyes seem damp
with tears.
AGLAEA:
Him! He's the enemy of our benefactor, Socrates? I am no longer
astonished by the aversion that he inspired me with even before he
spoke to me.
SOPHRONINE:
Alas, is it to him that I must impute the tears that darken your eyes?
AGLAEA:
He can only inspire me with disgust. No, Sophronine, only you can make
my tears flow.
SOPHRONINE:
Me, great gods! I who would pay for them with my blood! I, who adore
you, who flatter myself to be loved by you! I, who must reproach
myself for having cast a moment of bitterness into your life? You are
weeping and I am the cause of it? Then what have I done? What crime
have I committed?
AGLAEA:
You didn't commit any. I am crying because you deserve all my
tenderness; because you have it; and because I must renounce you.
SOPHRONINE:
What funereal words have you uttered? No, I cannot believe it; you
love me, you cannot change. You promised me to be mine; you don't wish
my death.
AGLAEA:
I want you to live happy, Sophronine, and I cannot make you happy. I
hoped, but my fate misled me. I swear that, not being able to be
yours, I will belong to no one. I declared it to that Anitus who is
pursuing me, and whom I scorn. I declare to you my heart is full of
the most acute sorrow and the most tender love.
SOPHRONINE:
Since you love me, I ought to live; but if you refuse me your hand, I
must die. Dearest Aglaea, in the name of so much love, in the name of
your charms and your virtues, explain this funereal mystery to me.
(Socrates enters)
O Socrates! my master! my father! I see myself here the most unlucky
of men: between two beings through whom I breathe; it's you who taught
me wisdom; it's Aglaea who taught me how to feel love. You've given
your consent to our marriage; the beautiful Aglaea who seems to desire
it refuses me and, as she tells me she loves me, plunges the dagger in
my heart. She breaks off our marriage without explaining to me the
reason for such a cruel caprice. Either prevent my pain, or teach me,
if it is possible, to bear it.
SOCRATES:
Aglaea is the mistress of her will; her father made me her tutor and
not her tyrant. I based my happiness on seeing you united together; if
she has changed her mind, I am surprised by it, but we must hear her
reasons. If they are just, we must submit to them.
SOPHRONINE:
They cannot be just.
AGLAEA:
They are, at least in my eyes. Condescend to listen to me, person to
person. When you had accepted the secret testament of my father, wise
and generous Socrates, you told me that it would leave me an honest
fortune with which I could establish myself. From that time, I formed
the plan of giving this fortune to your dear disciple, Sophronine, who
has only your support and for his entire wealth possessed only his
virtue. You entirely approved my resolution. You conceived that it was
my good fortune to make the fortune of an Athenian that I regard as
your son. Full of my happiness, carried away by a sweet joy, that my
heart could not contain, I confided this delirious state my soul was
in to your wife, Xantippe, and just as soon that condition
disappeared. She treated me as a dreamer. She showed me the will of my
father who died in poverty, who left me nothing, and who confided me
to the friendship which united you. At that moment, awakened from my
dream, I felt only sadness at being unable to make the fortune of
Sophronine; I don't wish to overwhelm him with the weight of my
misery.
SOPHRONINE:
Indeed, I told you Socrates that her reasons were valueless; if she
loves me am I not rich enough? I've subsisted, it's true through your
charity, but it's not a guilty employment that I embrace only to
support my dear Aglaea. I must, it's true, make her the sacrifice of
my love, to find for her, an advantageous role for myself. But I
confess, I don't have the strength, and in that respect I am unworthy
of her. But if she could be content with my conditions, if she could
lower herself to me! No, I don't dare ask it; I don't dare wish it and
I won't succumb to a misfortune that she suffers.
SOCRATES:
My children, Xantippe was really indiscreet to have shown you that
will. But believe me, beautiful Aglaea, that she deceived you.
AGLAEA:
She didn't deceive me. I saw my misery with my own eyes. My father's
handwriting is well known to me. Be sure, Socrates, that I know how to
bear poverty; I know how to work with my hands. It's enough to live.
That's all I need. But it's not enough for Sophronine.
SOPHRONINE:
It's a thousand times too much for me, tender, sublime soul, worthy of
having been raised by Socrates. A noble and laborious poverty is the
natural state of man. I would have wanted to offer you a throne. But
if you deign to live with me, our respectable poverty is higher than
the throne of Croesus,
SOCRATES:
Your feelings please me more than they soften me. With ecstacy, I see
blooming in your hearts the virtue that I sowed there. Never have my
cares been better rewarded; never have my hopes been better fulfilled.
But, yet once more, Aglaea, believe me, my wife has ill informed you.
You are richer than you can imagine. It was not in her but in me that
your father confided. Can you not have wealth that Xantippe is
ignorant of?
AGLAEA:
No, Socrates. It says exactly in his will that he is leaving me poor.
SOCRATES:
And as for me, I tell you that you are mistaken; that he left you
wherewithal to live happily with the virtuous Sophronine, and that it
is necessary that you both come to sign the contract now.
XANTIPPE (entering)
Come on, come on, my daughter. Don't amuse yourself with the dreams of
my husband. Philosophy is all very fine when one is in easy
circumstances, but you have nothing. One has to live. You will
philosophize later. I have concluded your marriage with Anitus, a
worthy priest, a man of credit, a powerful man. Come follow me. There
must be neither delay nor contradiction; I like to be obeyed. And
quickly, it's for your good. Don't argue and follow me.
SOPHRONINE:
Ah, heaven, ha! dearest Aglaea!
SOCRATES:
Let her talk and trust in me for your happiness.
XANTIPPE:
What do you mean, let me talk? Really, I mean to do so, and they'd
better let me do it. It's really for you, with your wisdom, and your
familiar demon, and your irony, and all your nonsense which is good
for nothing, for you to meddle in the marriage of young girls! You are
a good sort, but you don't understand anything about worldly affairs.
And you are very lucky that I govern you. Come on, Aglaea, come so I
can establish you. And you, who remain bewildered, I've got just the
thing for you, too. Drixa is your thing. You will thank me, both of
you. Everything will be concluded in no time; I am expeditious. Let's
not waste time. All this should have been concluded already.
SOCRATES:
Don't offend her, my children. Show her all sorts of deference. It's
necessary to humor her since one cannot correct her, It's the triumph
of superior reason to live with folks who don't have any.
CURTAIN