Votre prudence est endormie, De traiter magnifiquement, Et de loger superbement Votre plus cruelle ennemie. Faites-la sortir, quoi qu’on die, De votre riche appartement, Où cette ingrate insolemment Attaque votre belle vie. Quoi ! sans respecter votre rang, Elle se prend à votre sang, Et nuit et jour vous fait outrage ! Si vous la conduisez aux bains, Sans la marchander davantage, Noyez-la de vos propres mains.
About the headline (FAQ)
Note: this sonnet is quoted by the character Trissotin in Molière's play, "Les femmes savantes", Act III, Scene 3. It does not appear all at once. According to Charles Heron Wall, in a footnote to his translation, "The sonnet is not of Molière's invention, but is to be found in Les Oeuvres galantes en prose et en vers de M. Cotin, Paris, 1663. It is called, "Sonnet à Mademoiselle de Longueville, à présent Duchesse de Nemours, sur sa fièvre quarte". "
Text Authorship:
- by Anonymous / Unidentified Author, "Sonnet à Mademoiselle de Longueville, à présent Duchesse de Nemours, sur sa fièvre quarte", appears in Les femmes savantes [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
- sometimes misattributed to Jean-Baptiste Pocquelin (1622 - 1673), as Molière
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by René-Félix Brancour (1862 - 1948), "Sonnet de Trissotin sur la fièvre qui tient la Princesse Uranie", 1922, published 1922 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Charles Heron Wall) , no title
- ENG English (Richard Wilbur) , copyright ©
- RUS Russian (Русский) (Dmitri Dmitrevich Minayev) (Nikolai Apollinarievich Bryansky) , "Сонет принцессе Урании на ее лихорадку"
- RUS Russian (Русский) (Margarita Marianovna Tumpovskaya) , "Сонет принцессе Урании на ее лихорадку"
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2017-01-24
Line count: 14
Word count: 65
Your prudence fast in sleep's repose
Is plunged; if thus superbly kind,
A lodging gorgeously you can find
For the most cruel of your foes--
Will she, nill she, quick, out she goes!
From your apartment richly lined,
Where that ingrate's outrageous mind
At your fair life her javelin throws.
What! without heed for your high line,
She saps your blood with care malign...
Redoubling outrage night and day!
If to the bath you take her down,
Without a moment's haggling, pray,
With your own hands the miscreant drown.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Charles Heron Wall (1836 - 1905), no title [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist , "Sonnet à Mademoiselle de Longueville, à présent Duchesse de Nemours, sur sa fièvre quarte", appears in Les femmes savantes and misattributed to Jean-Baptiste Pocquelin (1622 - 1673), as Molière
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this page: Andrew Schneider [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2026-04-30
Line count: 14
Word count: 90