The Works…French and English

1755

De Beer Eb 1755 M

London: Printed for D. Browne …and A. Millar

Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (1622-1673) adopted the name ‘de Molière’ in 1643, after dropping law studies for the theatre. He was a hard-working actor-manager, who produced masterpieces such as L’École des Femmes (1662); Tartuffe (1664); Le Misanthrope (1666); and Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme (1670). His L’Amour Médecin (Love Is the Doctor) was ‘a sketch, a little impromptu’ that was presented by order of Louis XIV at Versailles on 22 September 1655. He was famous for attacking hypocrisy; the medical fraternity are the target in this play. He has one medico (Filerin) state the position: ‘Thanks to Heaven people are infatuated with us, so let us not disabuse them, let us profit from their stupidity’. Molière, whom Voltaire called the ‘painter of France’, was a true master of comedy. This bi-lingual edition is a later printing of 1755.