Quotes from work
Polyeucte

Pierre Corneille

"Polyeucte" is also the name of an overture by Paul Dukas.Polyeucte martyr is a drama in five acts by French writer Pierre Corneille. It was finished in December 1642 and debuted in October 1643. It is based on the life of the martyr Saint Polyeuctus .In 1878 it was adapted into an opera by Charles Gounod, with the assistance of the librettist Jules Barbier. The opera was not a success and is rarely performed except for a number of arias including "Source délicieuse" and the barcarolle "Nymphes attentives". Other works based on the play include a ballet by Marc-Antoine Charpentier , the opera Poliuto by Donizetti , an overture by Paul Dukas and a composition by Edgar Tinel.

“Flee an enemy who knows your weakness.”

Pierre Corneille Polyeucte

Fuyez un ennemi qui sait votre défaut.
Néarque, act I, scene i.
Polyeucte (1642)

“My reason, it’s true, controls my feelings,
But whatever its authority,
It doesn’t rule them so much as tyrannize them.”

Pierre Corneille Polyeucte

Ma raison, il est vrai, dompte mes sentiments,
Mais, quelque autorité que sur eux elle ait prise,
Elle n'y règne pas, elle les tyrannise.
Pauline, act II, scene ii.
Polyeucte (1642)

“Its fury aims to shatter but our altars:
It scorns only the gods and never the mortals.”

Pierre Corneille Polyeucte

Sa fureur ne va qu'à briser nos autels,
Elle n'en veut qu'aux dieux, et non pas aux mortels.
Stratonice, act I, scene iii
Referring to the early Christian church.
Polyeucte (1642)

“I agree to, or rather aspire to, my doom.”

Pierre Corneille Polyeucte

Je consens, ou plutôt j'aspire à ma ruine.
Polyeucte, act IV, scene ii.
Polyeucte (1642)

“I love you much less than my God, but much more than myself.”

Pierre Corneille Polyeucte

Je vous aime,
Beaucoup moins que mon Dieu, mais bien plus que moi-même.
Polyeucte, act IV, scene iii.
Polyeucte (1642)

“The greater the effort, the greater the glory.”

Pierre Corneille Polyeucte

Plus l'effort est grand, plus la gloire en est grande.
Pauline, act IV, scene v.
Polyeucte (1642)
Variant: The greater the effort, the greater the glory.

“Desire increases when fulfillment is postponed.”

Pierre Corneille Polyeucte

Le désir s'accroît quand l'effet se recule.
Polyeucte, act I, scene i.
Polyeucte (1642)

“Your Christians, whom one persecutes in vain,
Have something in them that surpasses the human.
They lead a life of such innocence,
That the heavens owe them some recognition:
That they arise the stronger the more they are beaten down
Is hardly the result of common virtues.”

Pierre Corneille Polyeucte

Sans doute vos chrétiens, qu'on persécute en vain,
Ont quelque chose en eux qui surpasse l'humain:
Ils mènent une vie avec tant d'innocence,
Que le ciel leur en doit quelque reconnaissance;
Se relever plus forts, plus ils sont abattus,
N'est pas aussi l'effet des communes vertus.
Sévère, act V, scene vi.
Polyeucte (1642)

“By speaking of our misfortunes we often relieve them.”

Pierre Corneille Polyeucte

À raconter ses maux souvent on les soulage.
Stratonice, act I, scene iii.
Polyeucte (1642)

“The Christians have one God alone, the lord
Of all, whose will unaided does what he
Resolves. But, if I dare to speak my mind,
Our gods are often ill-assorted, and
Ev'n were their wrath to strike me down at once,
There are too many to be real gods.”

Pierre Corneille Polyeucte

Les chrétiens n'ont qu'un Dieu, maître absolu de tout,
De qui le seul vouloir fait tout ce qu'il résout;
Mais, si j'ose entre nous dire ce que me semble,
Les nôtres bien souvent s'accordent mal ensemble,
Et, me dût leur colère écraser à tes yeux,
Nous en avons beaucoup pour être de vrais dieux.
Sévère, act IV, scene vi. Trans. John Cairncross (1980)
Variant of last lines: As for our gods, we have a few too many to be true.
Polyeucte (1642)