TARTUFFE The love that attracts us to what's eternal Does not stop our love for the merely temporal. Our senses can be quite easily charmed By the perfect Earthly works that God has formed. His glory is mirrored in those like you, But in you yourself we see its rarest hue. He has molded your face with such sublime art That it surprises the eye and transports the heart, And I can't gaze upon you, you perfect creature, Without worshipping in you both God and nature, And sensing in my soul an ardent love For this, the most beautiful portrait by God above. At first I feared that my secret passion Might be a tricky trap laid by Satan, And I even resolved to flee from your eyes As if you were something to exorcise. But I finally learned, oh beauty most lovable, That my ardor for you could never be culpable, That I should even consider it right, And so I submit to my heart's delight. I confess that I'm playing an audacious part In presenting to you the gift of my heart, But I place all my faith in your kindness Like a beggar-man hindered by blindness. In you I seek peace, hope, and happiness; On you depends my torment or my bliss. And through you alone I will finally be Happy if you will, or sad if you please. |
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