his friend, in whose most burlesque expression there truly lurked a
learned and useful moral: "Let the envious exclaim against thee," he
said, "because thy scenes are agreeable to all the vulgar; if thou
wert less acquainted with the art of pleasing, thou wouldst be enabled
to please even thy censors." Moliere himself wrote a defence of
"L'Ecole des Femmes," "in which," says M. Taschereau, "he had the good
fortune to escape the most dangerous fault of an author writing upon
his own compositions, and to exhibit wit where some people would only
have shown vanity and self-conceit."

In the evening of the same day which saw his next comedy, "Le Mariage
Force," there came out as a part of the royal fete, the three first
acts, or rough sketch, of the celebrated satire, entitled "Tartuffe,"
one of the most powerful of Moliere's compositions. It was applauded,
but from the clamor excited against the poet and the performance, as
an attack on religion, instead of its impious and insidious adversary,
hypocrisy, the representation was for the time interdicted; a
fortunate circumstance, perhaps, since in consequence the drama
underwent a sedulous revision, given by Moliere to few of his
performances.

"Le Festin de Pierre"--the Feast of the Statue--well known to the
modern stage under the name of "Don Juan," was the next vehicle of
Moliere's satire. The story, borrowed from the Spanish, is well known.
In giving the sentiments of the libertine Spaniard, the author of
"Tartuffe" could not suppress his resentment against the party, by
whose interest with the king that piece had been excluded from the
stage, or at least its representation suspended. "The profession of a
hypocrite," says Don Juan, "has marvellous advantages. The imposture
is always respected, and although it may be detected, must never be
condemned. Other human vices are exposed to censure and may be
attacked boldly. Hypocrisy alone enjoys a privilege which stops the
mouth of the satirist, and enjoys the repose of sovereign impunity."
This expression, with some other passages in the piece (the general
tenor of which is certainly not very edifying), called down violent
clamors upon the imprudent author; some critics went so far as to
invoke the spiritual censure and the doom of the civil magistrate on
Moliere as the atheist of his own "Festin de Pierre." He was, however,
on this as on other occasions, supported by the decided favor of the
king, who then allowed Moliere'