Extended excerpt [Play dialogue – ‘Monsieur Orlas’ to companions, and taking Monsieur Damiens’ arm]:

“Come, Monsieur Damiens, let us go and dine! “Everything ends this way in France – everything. Weddings, christenings, duels, burials, swindlings, diplomatic affairs – everything is a pretext for a good dinner.” (p. 120)

French text [Title: Cécile; ou L’école des pères]:

“Monsieur Damiens, passons à table! C’est la fin naturelle en France. Noces, baptêmes, duels, enterrements, escroqueries, affaires d’État, tout est prétexte à cette fin-là.”

[French text source: Jean Anouilh, Cécile, ou L’école des pères (1949) Paris: La Table Ronde, 1954, pp. 92-93]

Source [Featured text]: Library- Jean Anouilh (Seven Plays), Vol. III (1967 Hill & Wang) Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) No. 55174906

Source [French text]: Library – Cécile, ou L’école des pères (1949|1954 La Table Ronde) Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) No. 743000895

Misquote/Re-quote note: Some sources include the word “that” in the Anouilh/Hellman quote. While it’s possible that this appears in later editions of the Hellman adaptation, the additional word is not included in the source cited here.

Hellman adaptation – “Every man thinks God is on his side. The rich and powerful know He is.”

Paraphrased version: “Every man thinks God is on his side. The rich and powerful know that He is.”

Extended excerpt [Play dialogue – ‘Charles’ to ‘Joan’]:

Joan. I know. It is called God. Because God is more powerful than kings.

Charles. Oh, leave God alone for a minute. It’s called the ace. Are you running this game? God this and God that. You talk as if you dined with Him last night. Didn’t anybody tell you that the English also say their prayers to God? Every man thinks God is on his side. The rich and powerful know He is. But we’re not rich and powerful, you and I – and France.” (p. 276)

Source notes: Readers should note that the quotation cited here is from an English adaptation of Anouilh’s The Lark – not a direct translation. Although your Repeat Right editor is not fluent in French, it’s clear that even though the idea conveyed remains somewhat intact in Hellman’s 1955 adaptation, the text was altered enough to become the work of both Anouilh & Hellman.

Anouilh’s original production of The Lark debuted at the Théâtre Montparnasse-Gaston Baty in Paris on 14 October 1953. Actor Susanne Flon played the role of Joan (Jeanne) and Michel Bouquet played Charles.

French text [Title: L’Alouette. ‘Charles’ au ‘Jeanne.’]:

“L’as précisément. L’as, c’est Dieu si tu veux, mais dans chaque camp. Tu vois, as de cœur, as de pique, as de trèfle, as de carreau. Il y en a un pour chacun. On n’en sait pas long, á ce que je vois, dans ton village! Tu crois donc que les Anglais, ils ne font pas leurs prières aussi bien que nous? Tu crois donc qu’ils n’ont pas Dieu, eux aussi, qui les protège et qui les fait vaincre? Et mon cousin, le duc de Bourgogne, il a son petit Dieu très entreprenant et très malin qui lui tire toujours son épingle de jeu. Dieu est avec tout le monde, ma fille. C’est l’arbitre et il marque les points. Et, en fin de compte, il est toujours avec ceux qui ont beaucoup d’argent et de grosses armées. Pourquoi voudrais-tu que Dieu soit avec la France, maintenant qu’elle n’a plus rien du tout?” (pp. 100-101)

[French text source: Jean Anouilh, L’alouette (1953) Paris: La Table Ronde, 1953, pp. 100-101; online via Open Library [free subscription service] openlibrary.org]

Source link [Featured source]: Library- Jean Anouilh (Five Plays), Vol. II (Feb. 1959|Jan. 1961 Hill & Wang) online via Open Library [free subscription service]: https://archive.org/stream/jeananouilhfivep00anou#page/276/search/rich+and+powerful

Source link [French text]: L’alouette (1953) online via Open Library [free subscription service]: https://archive.org/stream/lalouette00anou#page/100/search/Dieu+est+avec+tout+le+monde+

Extended excerpt [Play dialogue – ‘Creon’ to ‘Antigone’]:

“Get married, Antigone, and quickly. Be happy. “Life isn’t what you think it is. It’s like water, and the young let it trickle away between their fingers without even noticing. Cup your hands, keep it safe. Life eventually becomes something else, something hard, something simple, something you can hold in your hand and nibble on contentedly as you sit in the sun.” (p. 36)

French text: [Title: Antigone]: “La vie n’est pas ce que tu crois. C’est une eau que les jeunes gens laissent couler sans le savoir, entre leurs doigts ouverts. Ferme tes mains, ferme tes mains, vite. Retiens-la. Tu verras, cela deviendra une petite chose dure et simple qu’on grignote, assis au soleil.” (p. 91)

[French text source: Jean Anouilh, Antigone (1943) Première fois à Paris 4 fèvrier 1944, Paris: La Table Ronde, 1946, p. 91; online via Open Library [free subscription service] openlibrary.org]

Source notes: Anouilh’s Antigone was based upon the original work by Sophocles, who had also based his work on earlier tales from Greek mythology. The Anouilh production of Antigone was written in 1943 and first performed at the Théâtre de l’Atelier in Nazi-occupied Paris on 4 February 1944.

[Source note source: “Jean Anouilh: A Brief Chronology,” and “Interpreting Antigone” by Errol Durbach, Department of Theatre, University of British Columbia; in University of British Columbia, Frederic Wood Theatre presents Antigone, theatre playbill, 11-15 October 1988, .pdf pages 4-5]

Source [Featured source]: Library- Antigone (2002) International Standard Book Number (ISBN) 0-573-62891-X

Source link [French text]: Library – Antigone (1943|1946 La Table Ronde) online via Open Library [free subscription service]: https://archive.org/details/antigone00anou/page/90

Source link [Source notes]: University of British Columbia, Frederic Wood Theatre presents Antigone (1988) online via University of British Columbia (UBC) Library: http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/pdfs/theatre/fw8810.pdf

Extended excerpt [Play dialogue – ‘Countess’ to ‘Count,’ ‘Villardieu,’ and the ‘General’]:

Count. This is war, General. You are in favor of humane warfare, is that it? Prohibition of barbs on the bayonet? International control of the design of the bullet, so that it makes a nice clean little hold when it kills you? No, the thing once started, all means are equally good. Each is out for the other’s skin, that’s all.”

Countess. Your cynicism is overdone, Gaston. In your efforts to dazzle us your reasoning has gone awry. You know very well that love is, above all, the gift of oneself.” (p. 161)

French text: [Title: Ardèle, ou la Marguérite]: “Vous savez bien que l’amour c’est avant tout le don de soi!.”

[French text source: Jean Anouilh, Ardèle ou La Marguerite (1948) Paris: La Table Ronde, 1949, p. 79]

Source notes: The source cited here, Jean Anouilh (Five Plays), also includes the following works: Restless Heart (La Sauvage, 1934), Time Remembered (Léocadia, 1939), Ardèle (Ardèle, ou la Marguérite, 1948), Mademoiselle Colombe (1950), and The Lark (L’Alouette, 1953).

   A 1962 French-language sound recording of Jean Anouilh reading Ardèle ou la Marguerite can be heard via the French National Library (Bibliothèque nationale de France | BnF): https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k8844183h.media

Source link [Featured source]: Library- Jean Anouilh (Five Plays), Vol. II (Feb. 1959|Jan. 1961 Hill & Wang) online via Open Library [free subscription service]: https://archive.org/stream/jeananouilhfivep00anou#page/160/search/gift+of+oneself

Source [French text]: Library – Ardèle ou La Marguerite (1948) Paris: La Table Ronde, 1949, p. 79; Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) No. 367576049

Source [Source note – Recording of Anouilh reading excerpts of play]: Library – Ardèle ou la Marguerite (1962 voice recording) Collection: Les chefs d’oeuvre du théâtre; via Bibliothèque nationale de France, Gallica archives: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k8844183h.media

Extended excerpt [Play dialogue – Excerpt of response from ‘Warwick’ to ‘Cauchon’ and other members of the group]:

Cauchon. And I remind you each day that this is a court of the Church. We are here to judge the charge of heresy. Our considerations are not yours.

Warwick. My dear Bishop. I know that. But the fine points of ecclesiastic judgments may be a little too distinguished for my soldiers – and for the rest of the world. Propaganda is a soft weapon: hold it in your hands too long, and it will move about like a snake, and strike the other way.” (p. 257)

Source notes: Readers should note that the quotation cited here is from Lillian Hellman’s English adaptation of Anouilh’s The Lark – it is not a direct translation. Although your Repeat Right editor is not fluent in French, it’s clear that even though the idea conveyed remains somewhat intact in Hellman’s 1955 adaptation, the text was altered enough to become the work of both Anouilh & Hellman.

   Jean Anouilh (Five Plays) includes the following works: Restless Heart (La Sauvage, 1934), Time Remembered (Léocadia, 1939), Ardèle (Ardèle, ou la Marguérite, 1948), Mademoiselle Colombe (1950), and The Lark (L’Alouette, 1953).

French text: [Title: L’Alouette. ‘Charles’ au ‘Jeanne.’]: “Je le sais, mais moi, je suis obligé d’en remettre, pour mes troupes. Je crains que les attendus de votre jugement ne soient un peu trop distingués pour mes soldats. La propagande est une chose sommaire, Seigneur Évêque, apprenez-le. L’essentiel est de dire quelque chose de très gros et de le répéter souvent, c’est comme cela qu’on fait une vérité. Je vous dis là une idée neuve, mas je suis persuadé qu’elle fera son chemin…Pour moi, il est urgent de faire une rien du tout de cette fille…Qui qu’elle soit.”

[French text source: Jean Anouilh, L’alouette (1953) Paris: La Table Ronde, 1953, pp. 100-101; online via Open Library [free subscription service] openlibrary.org]

Source [Featured source]: Library- Jean Anouilh (Five Plays), Vol. II (Feb. 1959|Jan. 1961 Hill & Wang) online via Open Library [free subscription service]: https://archive.org/stream/jeananouilhfivep00anou#page/256/search/propaganda+is+a+soft+weapon

Source link [French text]: Library – L’alouette (1953) online via Open Library [free subscription service]: https://archive.org/stream/lalouette00anou#page/30/search/La+propagande

Extended excerpt [Play dialogue – ‘The Cardinal’ to ‘The Pope’]:

“Sincerity is a form of strategy, just like any other, Holy Father. In certain very difficult negotiations, when matters are not going ahead and the usual tactics cease to work, I have been known to use it myself. The great pitfall, of course, is if your opponent starts being sincere at the same time as you. Then the game becomes horribly confusing.” (p. 100)

French text: [Title: Becket ou l’honneur de Dieu]: “La sincérité est un calcul comme un autre, Très Saint-Père. Il suffit d’être bien pénétré de ce pincipe et la sincérité ne gene plus. Dans certaines négociations très difficiles quand on piétine et que la manœuvre ne rend plus, il m’arrive même de m’en servir à l’occasion. Mon adversaire donne généralement dans le panneau; il m’imagine un plan extrêmement subtil, fait fausse route et se trouve pris. L’écueil, évidemment, c’est si votre adversaire se met à être sincere en même temps que vous. Le jeu se trouve alors terriblement embrouillé.”

[French source: Jean Anouilh, Becket ou l’honneur de Dieu (1959) Acte II, Paris: La Table Ronde, 1990, p. 112; online via Open Library [free subscription service] openlibrary.org]

Source note: Becket or The Honor of God (Becket ou lhonneur de Dieu) opened in the Montparnasse-Gaston Baty theatre in Paris on 8 October 1959, and at the St. James Theatre in New York City on 5 October 1960.

[Source note source: Jean Anouilh, Becket ou l’honneur de Dieu (1959) Acte II, Paris: La Table Ronde, 1990, p. 112; online via Open Library [free subscription service] openlibrary.org]

Source link [Featured source]: Library – Becket or the Honor of God (1959|1960 Coward, McCann & Geoghegan) online via Open Library [free subscription service]: https://archive.org/stream/becket00anou#page/100/search/sincerity+is

Source link [French text]: Library – Becket ou l’honneur de Dieu (1959|1990 La Table Ronde) online via Open Library [free subscription service]: https://archive.org/details/becketoulhonneur00anou_0/page/112

Source link [Source note]: Library – Becket ou l’honneur de Dieu (1959|1990 La Table Ronde) online via Open Library [free subscription service]: https://archive.org/details/becketoulhonneur00anou_0/page/n7

Extended excerpt: [The Count, discussing Hortensia’s reading of a play]:

“Hortensia, it fits you like a glove. I am merely asking for a trifle more subtlety. (He crosses to Right) Actors are the most impossible people.”

(Hortensia sits in the armchair)

“Don’t make the mistake of believing it’s enough to reproduce the realities of life. (He collects his script from the sofa)

(Hero moves to the table up C, refills his glass then stands up LC. The Footman moves the settee to Right)

“The object of art is to give life a shape, and to do it by every conceivable artifice.”

French text: [Title: La Répétition, ou, L’Amour Puni]:

Le Comte: […] “C’est très joli la vie, mais cela n’a pas de forme. L’art a pour objet de lui en donner une précisément et de faire par tous les artifices possibles – plus vrai que le vrai.” (p. 47)

[French text source: Jean Anouilh, La Répétition, ou, L’Amour Puni (1950) Acte II, Paris: Librairie Larousse, Nouveaux Classiques Larousse, 1957, p. 47; online via Open Library [free subscription service] openlibrary.org]

Source [Featured source]: Library – The Rehearsal: A Play (1950) 1989 edition, International Book Sellers Number (ISBN) 0-573-61503-9

Source link [French text]:Library –La Répétition, ou, L’Amour Puni (1950) online via Open Library [free subscription service]: https://archive.org/stream/larepetitionoula00anou#page/46/search/l’art+a+pour+objet

Extended excerpt [Play – The Chorus]:

“In a tragedy, nothing is in doubt and everyone’s destiny is known. That makes for tranquility. There is a sort of fellow-feeling among characters in a tragedy: he who kills is as innocent as he who gets killed: it’s all a matter of what part you are playing. Tragedy is restful; and the reason is that hope, that foul, deceitful thing, has no part in it.” (p. 24)

French text [Title: Antigone]:

“Dans la tragédie on est tranquille. D’abord, on est entre soi. On est tous innocents en somme! Ce n’est pas parce qu’il y en a un que tue et l’autre qui est tué. C’est une question de distribution. Et puis, surtout, c’est reposant, la tragédie, parce qu’on sait qu’il n’y a plus d’espoir, le sale espoir; qu’on est pris, qu’on est enfin pris comme un rat, avec tout la ciel sur son dos, et qu’on n’a plus qu’à crier, – pas à gémir, non, pas à se plaindre, – à gueuler à pleine voix ce qu’on avait à dire, qu’on n’avait jamais dit et qu’on ne savait peut-être même pas encore.”

[French source: Jean Anouilh, Antigone (1943) Première fois à Paris 4 fèvrier 1944, Paris: La Table Ronde, 1946, p. 54; online via Open Library [free subscription service] openlibrary.org]

Source notes: Anouilh’s Antigone was based upon the original work by the Greek playwright Sophocles, who in turn based his tale on earlier Greek mythology. The Anouilh production was written in 1943 and first performed at the Théâtre de l’Atelier in Nazi-occupied Paris on 4 February 1944.

[Source note source: “Jean Anouilh: A Brief Chronology,” and “Interpreting Antigone” by Errol Durbach, Department of Theatre, University of British Columbia; in University of British Columbia, Frederic Wood Theatre presents Antigone, theatre playbill, 11-15 October 1988, .pdf pages 4-5]

Source link [Featured source]: Library – Jean Anouilh (Five Plays), Vol. I (1958|May 1965 Hill & Wang) online via Open Library [free subscription service]: https://archive.org/stream/fiveplays00anou#page/24/search/foul

Source link [French text]: Library – Antigone (1943|1946 La Table Ronde) online via Open Library [free subscription service]: https://archive.org/details/antigone00anou/page/54

Source link [Source notes]: University of British Columbia, Frederic Wood Theatre presents Antigone (1988) online via University of British Columbia (UBC) Library: http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/pdfs/theatre/fw8810.pdf