Carlo Goldoni

“ Would you like me to find you a husband? Nina. No, sir. Count. How no? Nina. How no? Because it's no, because to marry I have no need of you. Count. Do you not need my protection? Nina. No, indeed, not a bit of it. Count. Do you understand all I can do in this village? Nina. You may be able to do all in the village, but you can do nothing in my marriage. Count. I can do nothing? Nina. [Smiling gently.] Nothing, in truth, nothing, nothing. Count. You are in love with Crispino. Nina. He is to my taste. Count. And you prefer him to that worthy man, to that rich man, that admirable man, Coronato? ”

“ Enter Eleonora and Dorimene, who remains in the background. Eleon. [Falling at her mother's feet.] Oh, my mother! you know my heart, and how religiously I have always obeyed your commands. You would unite me to a man whom I can never love; virtuous affection has taken possession of my soul. I ought to have told you, but fear and respect forbade me; yet my feelings, however ardent, I was determined should be sacrificed to obedience to that affection which I have ever felt for you, and that tender attachment in which I have been educated. Ah, do not force me to a marriage I detest! ”

“ Gas. You should speak more respectfully, sir, of an officer. Mar. Remember, soldiers swear swords. Phil. Yes, that is right; all he has to do now is to kill me. Gas. My master has no such cruel design; you will soon see him come to ask your pardon. Phil. I do not wish to see him at all. Gas. Your daughter, then, shall come instead of him. Phil. Name her not to me. Mar. Your own flesh and blood, sir! Phil. Ungrateful! she was my love—my only joy. Gas. What is done cannot be undone. Phil. I know it, insolent—I know it too well. Gas. Do not be offended with me, sir. ”

“ A title makes the honour of a house, but not of a person. I do not think my niece is ambitious, nor am I inclined to sacrifice her to the idol of vanity. Count. [Laughing.] Ah, one sees that you read fables. Geltrude. Such feelings are not learnt from fables nor novels. Nature inspires them and education cultivates them. Count. Nature, education, all you will. He whom I propose is the Baron del Cedro. Geltrude. The Baron is in love with my niece? Count. Oui, Madame. Geltrude. I know him and respect him. Count. You see what a good match I propose to you. Geltrude. He is a gentleman of merit. ”

“ Control yourself. Do not give way to despair, because an avaricious, presumptuous, ignorant father refuses to marry his daughter respectably. There is a way to manage it in spite of him. De la Cot. No, sir; when the father refuses, it is not proper for me to persist. Phil. Well, what do you mean to do? De la Cot. To go far away, and to sacrifice my love to honour, duty, and universal quiet. Phil. And have you the heart to abandon a girl who loves you?—to leave her a prey to despair?—soon to receive the sad intelligence of her illness, perhaps of her death! ”

“ Evarist. Yes, yes, give it! Count. Wait. [Walks a few steps.] And if the person gives me the fan, and does not want the box? Evarist. I have given it to you. Do what you like with your property. Count. In earnest? Evarist. In earnest. Count. [Aside.] After all, the Baron is a gentleman and my friend. Because of the twenty ducats I would not accept it, but a gold snuff-box—that gives an aristocratic, refined, well-to-do air.— [Aloud.] Wait for me here. [Goes into the pharmacy.] Evarist. To justify myself in her eyes I would sacrifice my life, my heart's blood! ”

“ Baron. Has Signor Evarist returned? Coronato. I have not seen him yet, sir. I am sorry, because the dinner is ready, and the food will get spoilt. Count. Evarist is capable of amusing himself shooting till evening, and making you lose your dinner. Baron. What can I do? I promised to wait for him. Count. Well, it's all very well to wait for him up to a certain point. But, my dear friend, it does not seem to me you should wait long for a person who is your social inferior. I admit the demands of politeness, of humanity; but, my dear colleague, let us also preserve our aristocratic decorum. ”

“ The people who can spend take their supplies in the city. From the poor there is little to earn. I am a fool to lose my time here in the midst of these peasants, without manners, without respect, who do not know the difference between a shopwoman of education and those who sell milk, salad, and eggs. My town education stands me no stead in the country. All equal, all companions, Susanna, Nina, Margherita, Lucia; the shopkeeper, the goatherd, the peasant, all one. The two ladies yonder are a little more considered, but little, very little. ”

“ I see your peace of mind is in danger, and in return for the kindness you have shown me, I mean to sacrifice the dearest hopes of my life. Gian. I do not believe you have so little resolution as not to be able to control your passion, and you do me injustice if you think I cannot resist the inclinations of my heart. I own my love for you without a blush: this virtuous love, I feel, will never leave me, and I cannot persuade myself a man is less able than I am to sustain with glory the conflict of his passions. I can love you without danger; it is happiness enough for me to see you. ”

“ Can it be possible it has never passed through his mind that I, an open, frank man, and a soldier, might be captivated by the beauty and merit of his daughter? Gian. A man like my father is not inclined to suspicion; the cordiality with which he received you as a guest in his family, assures him he may rely on the correct conduct of an officer of honour; and his knowledge of my disposition makes him perfectly easy: he does not deceive himself in regard to either of us. A tender passion has arisen in our hearts, but we will neither depart from the laws of virtue, nor violate his confidence. ”

“ Susanna. There, there, don't excite yourself! You don't intimidate me with your fury! Crispino. [From out the shop.] What's the matter? Incessant bickerings, incessant high words. Susanna. She makes side hits and expects one to keep silent. Crispino. Are you angry, Nina? Nina. I angry? I am never angry! Susanna. Oh, she loves peace, and never excites herself! Nina. Never, except when I am teased, if I have to hear impertinences, if I am trampled under foot. [Susanna mutters to herself.] Crispino. Is it I who ill-treat you, tease you, trample you under foot? Nina. ”

“ Ah, my uncle, you tear my heart! Enter Madame Dalancourt. Mad. Ah, sir! you think me the cause of all the misfortunes of your nephew; it is right that I alone should bear the punishment. The ignorance in which I have lived till now, I see, is not a sufficient excuse in your eyes. Young, inexperienced, I have suffered myself to be guided by a husband who loved me. The world had attractions for me; evil examples seduced me. I was satisfied, and thought myself happy, but I am guilty in appearance, and that is enough. That my husband may be worthy of your kindness, I submit to your fatal decree. ”

“ Do you think, sir, your excellent son-in-law, a worthy Frenchman, and a good soldier, cannot provide grandchildren for you? Mar. Not a year shall pass, but you will see the finest boy in the world gambolling around your feet. Phil. My hatred for the father will make me hate the child. Mar. Oh, the sense of consanguinity will cause you to forget every injury. Gas. You have one only daughter in the world; can you have the heart to abandon her—never to see her more? Phil. My anguish of mind will kill me. [Covers his face with his hands.] Mar. Gascoigne! ”

“ Is the Marquis at home? Fior. Yes, Signor; being rather fatigued with travelling, he is taking a nap. Count. [Aside.] How amiable is his daughter! How charming! I felt affected and confused at the courtesy and kindness with which she and her aunt received me. The visit made me cheerful, happy, and reconciled to myself. What difference between the politeness of these ladies and the common and trivial manner of Araminta and her daughter; who neither understand civility nor good breeding. Ah! were the young Marchioness but as rich as she is handsome and engaging—who knows? ”

“ I remember, too, that I have a daughter, and I would not have such an injury done to me. Nature tells us, and the law commands, not to do to others what we should not wish done to us. But I am carried along by several reasons; a certain gentleness of disposition inclining me to hospitality, to friendship, makes me love the Lieutenant, and take almost the same interest in him as if he were my son. The marriage appears to me to be a suitable one, the opposition of Monsieur Riccardo unjust, and his severity to his daughter tyranny. ”

“ Here, here! that will restore him to life—five-year-old wine. Nina. He is reviving! Crispino. Oh, this wine would make the dead rise! Moracchio. Courage, courage, sir, I say! Timoteo. [With bottles, glasses, and a razor.] Here I am. Quick, undress him! Moracchio. What is the razor for? Timoteo. In case of need, it is better than a lancet. Crispino. A razor? Nina. What? Evarist. [Gets up.] Oh ho! who wants to cut my throat with a razor? Nina. The apothecary. Timoteo. Excuse me; I am an honest man, and no assassin. When one has the best intentions, it is not right to make one appear ridiculous. ”

“ In England a noble may marry whom he likes; his wife becomes his equal, his children in no wise suffer. Not so in the Venice of that time. The oligarchical rule was so severe, that a patrician marrying a woman of the lower class forfeited his right to participate in the government, and deprived his offspring of the patriciate. "Comedy, which is or should be," says Goldoni, "the school of society, should never expose the weakness of humanity save to correct it, wherefore it is not right to recompense virtue at the expense of posterity." ”

“ It is not the loss of fortune that afflicts me; a sentiment more worthy of you oppresses me—my honour. Can you bear the disgrace of a nephew? I ask nothing of you; if I can preserve my reputation, I give you my word, for myself and my wife, that want shall have no terrors for us, if, in the midst of our misery, we can have the consolation of an unsullied character, our mutual love, and your affection and esteem. Ger. Wretched man! you deserve—but I am weak; this foolish regard for blood speaks in favour of this ingrate. Rise, sir ”

“ My daughter, let us speak plainly. Monsieur de la Cotterie was perfectly cured a month after he arrived here; he was apparently in health, ate heartily, and began to recover his strength; he had a good complexion, and was the delight of our table and our circle. By degrees he grew sad, lost his appetite, became thin, and his gaiety was changed to sighs. I am something of a philosopher, and suspect his disease is more of the mind than of the body, and, to speak still more plainly, I believe he is in love. ”

“ Heaven grant that the day may be distant! but then I should be my own mistress. De la Cot. And do you wish me to remain in your house as long as he lives? Gian. No, Lieutenant; stay here as long as your convenience permits, but do not appear so anxious to go while there are good reasons for your remaining. Our hopes do not depend on the death of my father, but I have reasons to flatter myself our attachment in the end may be rewarded. Our love we must not relinquish, but avail ourselves of every advantage that occasion may offer. ”

“ Scene II.—Dalancourt and Dorval. Dor. In truth, all this seems to me a dream. I marry!—I, who have never thought of such a thing! Dal. Ah, my dear friend, I know not how to express my gratitude to you. Dor. For what? Dal. Did I not hear what my uncle said? He loves me, he feels for me; he has gone to his notary; he has given you his word of honour. I see plainly what you have done for me; I am the most fortunate man in the world. Dor. Do not flatter yourself so much, my dear friend, for the good fortune you imagine has not the least foundation in truth. ”

“ Signorina Candida! [Candida turns her back to him and goes away.] Evarist. What does this mean? Is it contempt? Does she despise me? Impossible! I know she loves me, and she knows my passion for her. And yet—no, now I understand! Her aunt will have seen and observed her, and she would not show before her. Yes, yes, it must be that, it cannot be anything else. But I must at last give up all this secrecy and talk with Signora Geltrude, and obtain from her the precious gift of her niece. Nina. In truth, I owe the Signorina thanks that she interests herself in me. Shall I not repay her? ”

“ Monsieur de la Cotterie is in a house that does honour to our country, and if he admires ladies of wit, he need not go out of it. Gian. You are too polite, Mademoiselle. Cost. I simply do justice to merit. Gian. Let us not dispute about our merits, but rather leave it to the Lieutenant to decide. De la Cot. If you wish a decision, you must choose a better judge. Gian. A partial one, indeed, cannot be a good judge. Cost. And to say nothing of partiality, he feels under obligations to you as the mistress of the house. ”

“ Is there no hope his goodness may make him agree to our marriage? Gian. My hope is that in time it will; the obstacles do not arise from motives of interest, but from the customs of our nation. Were you a merchant of Holland, poor, with only moderate expectations, you would immediately obtain my hand, and a hundred thousand florins for an establishment; but an officer, who is a younger son, is considered among us as a wretched match, and were my father inclined to give his consent, he would incur the severe censure of his relations, his friends, and indeed of the public. ”

“ I have pity on you, blinded as you are by anger. Gas. Condemn yourself for the fruits of your own bad advice. Phil. Why deceive me? why make me believe the love of the officer was for Mademoiselle Costanza? Gas. Because love is full of stratagems, and teaches lovers to conceal their passion, and to contrive schemes for their own happiness. Phil. And if Monsieur Riccardo had agreed to the marriage of his daughter, what a figure I should have made in the affair! ”

“ I flatter myself he too loves me, and for the same reason conceals it; in truth a modest officer is a strange animal, and it is hard to believe in its existence. Monsieur Philibert must have reasons for what he says, and I am well pleased to think him not mistaken, especially as I have no evidence that he is so. Here comes my handsome soldier—but Mademoiselle Giannina is with him; she never permits us to be alone together for a moment. I have some suspicion she is my rival. Enter Mademoiselle Giannina and De la Cotterie. ”