Ridicule Page #4

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and the bad company is excellent.

Personally...

I no longer consort with whores.

They're as depraved as gentlewomen.

It's easier to die for a woman

than to find one worth dying for.

I marry only virgins.

I pay dearly

for what any man can steal.

Why do women's confessors

always end up archbishops?

Women are wittier.

If the sinner lacks wit,

the confessor atones for it.

What good is wit?

Without it, one is never bored.

A man of wit who says less...

isn't thought less of.

A silent fool is none the wiser.

Don't denounce the dull.

Without plains,

there would be no peaks.

Wait! Ponceludon must speak.

Wit is like money.

The less we have, the better.

''Wit is the opposite of money.

The less we have, the better.''

Voltaire.

Robbers should know whom they rob.

The contest is over.

I'm starved.

Serve me with the footmen.

We're judged by the company we keep.

A misjudgment.

Judas kept excellent company.

I'm sorry to miss your wedding.

You're rushing to leave me?

Yes.

A woman who throws herself at a man

always loses him.

Give up your water-flowers

and you'll be ordinary.

Why give them up?

We can share them.

Being married to an estate in debt...

will wilt your dreams.

If only I'd never met you!

I could still pretend

I'm not selling myself.

The painter's waiting.

When he's done,

can we take a last walk?

I must reach an inn before dark.

Is admitting love so hard?

You and I are alike.

Our plans come first.

Is admitting love so hard?

How convoluted, for a man of wit.!

You've changed.

You're becoming like them.

You'll be more useful at home.

Poor people.!

They're not only dying, they're boring.

Drain France's treasury.!

I dread this marriage.!

I've seen so many country gentlemen.

Wit debonair

in the age of Voltaire

Was seen as a heaven-sent treasure

Wit opened doors

to the company of Lords

And the tasting of noble pleasure

In the past it was able

to put food on the table

But those days are gone forever

A witty rebuff

or a verse off the cuff

Are no more the coin of the clever

What are you doing?

You're giving up 2,000!

Are you mad?

I'm breaking it off.

On a whim?

Beg Montalieri's pardon.

No, Father. I've decided.

I can't bear to marry him.

Is it Ponceludon?

- No income from our woods?

- I sold the five acres...

to buy a horse

and repair the bridge.

Poor Grgoire.

You'll inherit only ruins.

How was Versailles?

- You saw the king?

- He's very busy, but...

he listens to everyone.

Lonard is sick.

Since when?

Two weeks ago.

He drank swamp water.

From the pond?

Here, Lonard.

The king blessed it.

He tells you...

he loves all children.

The priest will pray.

God will hear him.

Why has God sent us this curse?

It's those damned swamps!

Don't blame yourself.

Versailles took everything you had.

Is our cause progressing?

Yes...

but don't stop praying.

''I am everything that is,

was, and ever shall be.''

The Egyptians who carved

those words in stone...

believed in only one effect...

and only one cause.

They viewed the universe...

as one giant cause--

- Show-off!.

- Who says we have no great preachers?

The prime cause of everything

is absolute and perfect!

There can never be two perfect beings...

or they'd be One.

The perfect Being...

is indivisible.

What is in itself...

does not change.

Time measures change.

Perfection cannot change!

One, unchanging and eternal--

It is He! God!

Causa sui. He's His own cause!

Bravo, Vilecourt! Dazzling!

It's nothing. This evening I proved

the existence of God.

But...

I can prove the reverse

if it pleases Your Majesty!

I'll see you jailed, Philosopher!

Your Majesty! It was only a jest!

A blaspheming fool!

Sophistic braggart!

So near yet so far.

The king seems ill-humored.

Will you plead for me?

- I can't help you.

- It was a jest!

Where did I go wrong?

The soul of wit

is to know one's place.

Baron...

Many women would blush

at the endearments I gave you...

yet you left with no word of farewell.

For you have I forsaken

the Abbot of Vilecourt...

my confessor...

who resented my untiring praise of you.

I will forgive you

forjeopardizing my soul...

in exchange for some news of you.

A woman's advantage...

lies in the influence

she is able to wield at court.

I have wielded mine...

to make you the most-favored

absentee of Versailles.

Who rings at this hour?

He wishes to see you.

Let him in, quick!

I have, Madame.

The boy died in my arms.

How dreadful.

To your canals.

To your locks.

What are you doing?

You sent for me?

I had a fit of palpitations.

I'm sorry to call you so early.

I was so afraid.

Better safe than sorry.

Do you often get them?

Old friends meet again.

I'll take my leave.

Monitor Madame's heart.

Her palpitations worry me.

What are you staring at?

Have you seen a ghost?

Mrs. Montalieri--

Miss de Bellegarde?

You were away...

when she broke her engagement.

Your guile has no equal.

Be patient...

and you'll be thankful.

Why are deaf-mutes isolated...

cut off from the rest of mankind?

Do they not perceive objects as we do?

Why do they remain stupid?

Why do they become intelligent?

In the beginning was the Word!

Socrates said...

''If we could not speak

and wanted to communicate...

would we not copy the dumb...

and talk with our hands, heads...

and bodies?''

This is Simon...

a merchant's son, aged 25...

born deaf and dumb.

He entered my care at 1 5.

Thanks to sign language, he can read...

write and count.

He has an artist's soul.

Here are Antoine, Pierre...

and Thrse, aged 1 9.

After 3 years,

she can do 4-figure sums in her head.

She's very devout.

This is Paul. He's 1 7...

and very gifted.

He learned my language...

in two months.

He can hold a conversation.

Next spring...

I will marry Thrse and Paul.

You mock the holy state of matrimony!

I once saw Romeo and Juliet...

played by an ape and a poodle!

Can the groom even read that clock?

It's 3 minutes fast.

Louder, Miss. He didn't hear you!

Ask him what use a violin serves.

Watteau preferred

seeing one to hearing it.

One question, Father.

Are their lives endurable?

What did he say?

It's untranslatable.

It's a ''play on signs.''

How do you say, ''Bravo''?

Like this!

Out of bed!

This is Signor Panella.

You need a court suit.

I have all the clothes I need.

At 1 1 :
00 tomorrow morning,

you will be at the Diana steps.

The king will be passing by.

The rest is up to you.

I'll leave him to you, Signor.

Is this the man you spoke of?

They say you have great wit.

- Sire?

- Indeed, yes!

The countess sings its praises.

Come. Show us.

Be witty this minute!

Use me, for example.

Sire, the king is not a subject.

''The king is not a subject.''

Admirable!

Not a pun, I hope?

No, Sire. A play on words.

Most memorable.

De Malavoy may join us.

Come here, de Malavoy.

You're an engineer.

Handsome design, Sire.

However, if I may be so bold...

a sprocket here...

would maintain the elevation.

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