Topaze Page #3

We'll see about that.

Imagine, I'm taking singing lessons.

- I'm sure you have a pretty voice.

- Yes, very pretty.

I have lessons every Thursday,

from ten to twelve o'clock.

My father doesn't know,

it's a secret with my mother.

I appreciate your trust,

it'll be our secret too.

Exactly.

But the headmaster has decided

that our walks will resume

next Thursday.

- Does that mean anything to you?

- Yes, sort of.

But I don't see exactly what.

Next Thursday I have to take

my playschool children on a walk.

Do you see what favor I'm asking?

You want me to ask Mr. Muche

to change the time of the walk.

Not at all!

I want you to take them on a walk.

But of course. I've nothing to do

on Thursday mornings!

Perfect, I'll tell my father

you asked to take over

because you wish

to get some fresh air.

Excellent. What feminine cunning.

Miss Muche, it is with profound joy

that I'll take these children

on a walk, because l...

because l... Iove you.

Please...

Yes, I love you. Not with perverse

and dishonorable passion,

but with deep, honest love,

you could even say, conjugal love.

Miss, I want to tell you...

I want to tell you...

And don't forget the walk

on Thursday.

She had the expected reaction.

Divine modesty.

But she didn't cry for help.

I think it's all right.

Divine modesty.

Come in.

Quiet, settle down.

Mr. Cordier,

where do you think you are?

Wednesday, November 17,

ethics examination.

Please write down, gentlemen,

the date of this examination

in your notebooks.

Will you behave?

Mr. Kerguzec,

I don't need to turn around

to know that it's you

who's upsetting the class.

Kerguzec, to the door! I saw you.

No use hiding, come out at once.

Where's Kerguzec?

He's been absent for three days.

Absent? Then he's absent.

As for you Mr. Cordier,

I order you to stop acting up.

Now write.

To prepare for this examination,

which will take place

the day after tomorrow,

we will have a sort of

general oral revision.

But before starting this revision,

I would like to address one of you.

The one who's been disturbing

our class

with untimely music.

I'm asking him, for the last time,

to stop playing his little prank,

which I will gladly forgive.

I'm sure that he's understood,

that I have not appealed

to his moral sense in vain.

All right.

From now on, my hands are free.

Now to work.

The problem you will treat,

which will determine your ranking,

will not be restricted to

a specific question

as would be a question concerning

homeland, civism,

duty to one's parents or animals.

Instead it will be

a fundamental question

on the notions of good and evil,

vice and virtue.

To prepare you,

we will examine ethics

of civilized peoples.

Together we will determine

the vital necessities

which oblige us to obey moral law

even if our spirits are not

naturally inclined to respect it.

Let's take examples from daily life.

Let's see, Mr. Tronche-Bobine.

To succeed in life,

that is occupy a position

that corresponds to your merits,

what must one do?

- Be careful.

- Yes, if you like.

Careful of what?

- Drafts.

- Mr. Tronche,

your last grade was a zero.

Try to improve it.

You must be ho...

Horrible?

Zero, sit down!

You must be honest.

Here are some concrete examples.

First, all dishonest undertakings

are doomed to sure failure.

Look in the papers: one cannot

defy human laws with impunity.

One day,

you see a horrible madman

who slits someone's throat

for the contents of his wallet.

The next, an alert mind,

armed with prudence and tools,

illegally opens

the lock of a safe

to steal pension titles.

Then a cashier

loses his boss's money

by betting wrongly on future results

at the horse races.

All these unfortunates are arrested,

dragged in front of judges.

They are taken to prisons,

where they're harshly rehabilitated.

These examples prove that

evil is immediately punished,

for departing from the right path

means falling into an abyss.

Let's suppose that, by chance,

a dishonest man

succeeds in becoming rich.

Let us imagine this man,

who enjoys wrongfully earned wealth.

He is admirably dressed,

he has several floors to himself

where lackeys serve him.

He has one servant

who does the cooking.

And a special servant

to drive his car.

Does this man have friends?

Yes, he has friends.

He has friends?

Yes, many friends.

Why would he?

To ride in his car.

If such people existed,

they'd be wicked courtesans.

This man has no friends.

People know his fortune

is illegitimate.

They flee him. So what does he do?

- He moves?

- Maybe.

And in his new home?

- All falls into place.

- No, it cannot fall into place.

Because wherever he goes,

he will be lacking the approval

of his cons...

Of his cons...

Concierge?

I'm sure this ludicrous response

was not premeditated.

But you might think before speaking.

That way you would avoid zeros,

which are a harsh blow

to your grade average.

This man will never have

the approval

of his conscience!

Alas! Tormented day and night,

pale, thin, worn out,

to finally find peace of mind,

he gives his fortune

to the poor, because he'll have

understood that...

"lll-gotten gains never prosper."

And that...

"Money does not bring happiness."

Perfect.

Let us now look

at the fate of the honest man.

Mr. Trampouse,

what is the honest man's

state of mind

- after a day's work?

- He's tired?

Come now! We've said it 20 times.

Is work tiring?

Work is never tiring.

Idleness tires:

the devil finds work for idle hands.

Perfect, Mr. Bertin. You get a 10.

If this honest man is a cashier,

even in a big bank,

he will keep accounts

with scrupulous detail.

And his enchanted boss

will give him pay raises each month.

If he's a businessman, he'll refuse

inflated or illicit profits.

He'll be compensated by the esteem

of all those who know him,

and their trust

will make

his business prosper.

Should war break out,

he will enlist in his country's army.

If he's lucky enough

to be seriously wounded,

his government will decorate him

with medals,

which his fellow citizens

will admire.

Children will greet him

in the street,

old men will whisper

as he passes by...

- To the door at once!

- It wasn't me!

It's not you? Stand up.

Here is the instrument,

the affair is closed.

You take my goodness for weakness?

My patience for blindness?

Mr. Sgudille,

beneath this velvet glove

is a hand of iron.

And if your mind is wicked,

I'll break you!

- Where are you going?

- To the door.

No! Stay here!

In front of your comrades,

who judge you severely.

When class is over,

I'll decide your fate.

Until then,

I condemn you to uncertainty.

After this unfortunate incident...

The Baroness Pitart-Vergniolles

wishes to speak to you.

- Headmaster...

- It's very urgent.

Children, you can go play.

I've told Mr. Le Ribouchon,

he'll watch them.

In silence, gentlemen.

He likes you so much, he insisted

I ask you for more lessons.

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