[293] For the name-day feast of M. Jacques Roque, director of the
Petit-Séminaire de Montréal, July 25, 1810.
TIRCIS: (M. Roque)
RHETORICIANS:
DAMON: ([Édouard-Martial]1
Leprohon) for the rose
PALAEMON: ([Basile] Charlebois) for the carnation
MOERIS: ([Paul] Lussier) for the amaranthus
MOELIBÉE: ([Pierre-Stanislas] Clément) for the marigold
TITYRE: ([P.-É.-Augustin] Daveluy) for the pansy
SINGERS:
DAPHNIS: ([Louis-Joseph] Cazeneuve) pupil of 3rd year
CORYDON: (J Kimber) pupil of 4th year
Actors' positions around the table on which rests the bouquet and
the five flowers which will determine the prize
INVITATION: (Tune: "Quel jour va pour nous éclore...")
What a day has dawned for us,
The celebration for our good master
Decks these halls!
Everyone flutters in his presence,
Towards us he advances,
Let's go give him our best wishes.
[294] May the most beautiful gifts of Flora2
Adorn his head;
May the resounding echo,
Touched by our affection, 10
And by our happiness,
Repeat the songs of love.
What a day... (etc)
(Everyone advances from the back of the room towards the table in
the middle)
DAPHNIS: Who among you, Damon, in presenting these flowers,
Shall offer Tircis the homage of our hearts?
Why are these flowers separated,
Apparently ripped from the rest of the bouquet?
Is there some dissension among you?
DAMON: No, Daphnis, you know very well our unity,
Everyone burning with tenderest love for Tircis,
Each of us wanting him to hear our compliments; 20
But, in making his gifts, the cruel Chloris3
Reined in our enthusiasm with this challenge:
"He who considers the finery of my flowers,
"And best perceives the portrait of Tircis's virtues,
"Will carry off the honour of presenting them to him:
"To him alone," she said, "to him alone, I will award it."
Witness to our4 contests,
Daphnis, you will be the judge,
You will decide the winner.
DAPHNIS: Me, the judge... oh! Damon, I am still too young;
I can hardly make my thoughts in verses bud, 30
I wouldn't dare judge those who have attained
The summit of Helicon... No, at Tityre's request,
My only aspiration is to add my voice to Corydon's,
To play second fiddle to their zeal.
CORYDON: But why the delay? Let everyone, in rivalry,
Do his best to extol for us the flower which inspires him.
No doubt Apollo will make known to us
Which among them all his choice would be.
DAMON: No more delay: Let's go with Corydon's idea.
DAPHNIS: Who takes the rose?.... 40
[295]
DAMON: Me...
DAPHNIS: The carnation?...
DAMON: That's Palaemon.
The marigold pleases Moelibée;
The amaranthus, Moeris;
And Tityre champions the pansy.
CORYDON: Take your flowers, then, and sing the virtues of Tircis.
(here, each actor takes his flower)
DAMON: Who could dispute the victory of the Rose?
The combination of beauties which she reveals to our eyes
Has always made her the queen of flowers; 50
So I see the true image of Tircis;
Through his merit, he is the first among pastors
Of the flock for whom he is the glory and the model.
As the Rose delights with her charming attractions,
And tallies up the features of every part,
So she is the image of his government.
But, victim of his own good heart,
In gathering the Rose, he gives us the flower
And in the division keeps the thorn.
PALAEMON: Whatever the advantage of the Rose in our eyes, 60
Damon, I have no fear of countering with my carnation.
However one views it,
Its perfume, its rare beauty,
The variety of its features,
Make it the jewel of the flowerbed.
Among the flowers it encircles,
The carnation enchants us, and creates such an effect
That it is like an "eye", and we call it "carnation".5
Just so, impressing our eyes with his brilliant illumination,
Tircis is the eye which enlightens us in this region. 70
The carnation varies its fragrance,
Its appearance, its colour;
When our eyes rest on it,
It reflects in turn the fire of the Rose,
The snow of the Lily,
The purple of velvet, the violet of Iris,
The scarlet of Anemone,
The tender pink of Lilac;
[296] And then, scorning monotonous brilliance,
It unites the charms of diverse colours. 80
Thus, by a happy mixture
Tircis unites so many virtues,
To a degree so high and so strange
That we can't decide which one to admire more.
MOERIS: The singular praise of your carnation enchants me,
And if we had to give in to the most beautiful flower,
Palaemon, in my eyes you would be the winner;
But I find in the Amaranthus
Still greater traces of Tircis's virtues,
And it is that which swells my attraction for her; 90
If I manage to prove her enchantment and glory,
I will most certainly take the victory from my rivals.
This stunning crest, with its solidity:
Nothing better depicts Tircis's own constancy.
This flower is certainly not ephemeral;
Neither frost nor heat affects its vigour;
How could we better represent the ardour
Of his love for us, so pure that nothing affects it?
What's more, the Amaranthus has a quality
Which wins out over all: its fruitfulness. 100
If you cut it down,
It spreads its buds and grows more vigourous;
See how Tircis, with his prolific kernels of wisdom
Knows how to nurture tender sprouts in us;
It's a limitless spring:
The more one tries to quench it
The more one finds it inexhaustible.
DAPHNIS: I could never tire, dear friends, of admiring
The attractions of your debate;
But who will be able to decide the winner? 110
And you, who want to plead the right of the Marigold,
How can you still dare to enter the fight?
Give over now to your rivals;
If Tityre believes me, he will follow this example too.
MOELIBÉE: No Daphnis, the more I think about it,
The more I see new symbols of Tircis;
What symmetry and what order
This flower presents to us!... In its superb attire
She paints the outline of a radiant sun;
And so it is with our master, enemy of disorder, 120
We see orderliness shining everywhere:
Seemliness and cleanliness.
[297] "But its disagreeable odour"
You say, "makes it unpleasant."
That's the reason, Daphnis, that it must be the Marigold,
More than any other flower, that fills out the bouquet.
Our father, is he like this: without concerns,
Without worries, without regrets, without cares?
Alas! Of all his troubles we are the authors;
Why only present flattering objects? 130
In offering the Marigold,6
let us bathe him in our tears,
To his paternal heart, let us cause no more alarms,
That by our cares, his days may be more delightful.
So, with my Marigold, sacrificing glory,
Willingly I cede the victory to your flowers.
CORYDON: What an ingenious twist!
How eloquent one is when inspired by the heart!
In ceding victory, Moelibée triumphs in my view.
DAPHNIS: Nevertheless we must give Tityre the floor
And hear him exalt the gifts of Chloris. 140
TITYRE: The Pansy, on the outside, is simple in its attire,
The first to sprout, the last to perish,
It grows almost without cultivation
And takes easily to being picked;
The whole flower pleases me, and I find it charming
Because it illustrates for me Tircis's affable manner,
His modesty, his humility,
His patience, and his generosity.
But it's inside that the pansy may flaunt its richness!
In its variety, it imitates the opal; 150
Mixed gold and silver embroider its design.
See the swatch of purple it bears on its breast!
Purple is the favourite ornament of the Pontif
And new hieroglyphe of Tircis:7
His purple talents subtly bring him nearer
To the place of honour, so well he knows how to bear them!
DAMON: Your happy genius gives you the victory;
Tityre, enough, I surrender my flower,
Friends, let's not envy his glory.
PALAEMON: I can only applaud... 160
[298]
MOELIBÉE: Tityre is the winner.
MOERIS: (helping to attach the flowers)
So go to Tircis and present our homage,
Dedicate to him this pledge of our friendship;
Go in the name of everyone; and by binding these flowers
You bind our hearts to Tircis forever.
TITYRE: (taking the bouquet)
I savour at this moment an ineffable joy;
Can I really be capable of delivering your wishes?
Oh you, in whom the heavens unite at once
The art of the symphony to the charms of the voice,
Blend your harmonies, and let us hear 170
What your hearts have felt so tenderly for him.
(presenting the bouquet)
Tircis, you see in your children
Tenderness, joy, and enthusiasm.
Full of love, respect, and recognition,
They come through my voice to give you their pledge.
In this bouquet they want to offer you,
They perceive the emblems of your virtues.
This idea excites profound pleasure in their hearts,
So please you deign accept it.
With its dazzling radiance, its fragrance, its colour, 180
It depicts our love as well as our fervour;
Nevertheless, we swear that these flowers, however lively and beautiful,
Are still an inconstant pledge;
Time which destroys everything will wither their features,
But our love for you will never fade.
(here TITYRE gives the bouquet)
(MM [Honoré] Hénault, [Thomas] Durocher, [Joseph]
LeComte, and [François] Roy present their compliments)
SONG (CORYDON and DAPHNIS)
When, to express my love for you
I court my muse
One thing discourages me;
I can hardly phrase my compliment;
It happens, I don't know how, 190
That my heart says it better.
It's good to be clear of mind;
It never spoils anything, they say,
You have to have it in every good work;
But, to extoll your virtues,
Whether we have more or less wit,
The heart would say it better.
Our scholars have given you beauty,
Their flair, their style was new,
I can only envy their language, 200
But, despite all their beautiful debates,
I would say, smiling very quietly,
My heart feels it even more.
If to praise you, Apollo
Himself would offer me a song,
I wouldn't make use of it;
I would say to him, Thanks Phoebus,
Keep it, keep all your scraps,
My heart says it all the better. [fin]
NOTES
1 Maurault (1967), 201-2. The players were all from
the 1804-1812 class, except the more junior singers.
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2 Roman goddess of flowers.
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3 Chloris was a nymph of flowers in Greek myth, the
wife of Zephyrus. The Latin equivalent is Flora.
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4 The reference is obscure. The French is clearly "vos
combats" perhaps referring to some activities of Cazeneuve who was playing
Daphnis. It could also be misprint for the more apparently logical "nos
combats" [our contests]. I have chosen the latter.
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5 The author is punning on "oeil" (eye) and "oeillet"
(carnation) here and follows up the metaphor below with "lumière"
(illumination) and "éclaire" (enlightens).
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6 Again the author is punning: "souci" (worry) with
"Souci" (marigold).
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7 [original footnote]: M. Roque was also a Grand Vicar
of the Church.
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