Scene XVI Mr. de Pourceaugnac, an Apothecary, Two Physicians (In Grotesque Clothes)
The Two Physicians.
Piglialo sù,
Signor Monsu;
Piglialo, piglialo, piglialo sù,
Che non ti fara, male, &c.10
Act II
Scene I 1st Physician, Sbrigani
1st Phy. He has forced through every obstacle I had placed to hinder him, and has fled from the remedies I was beginning to prepare for him.
Sbri. To avoid remedies so salutary as yours is to be a great enemy to oneself.
1st Phy. It is the mark of a disturbed brain and of a depraved reason to be unwilling to be cured.
Sbri. You would have cured him, for certain, in no time.
1st Phy. Certainly; though there had been the complication of a dozen diseases.
Sbri. With all that he makes you lose those fifty well-earned pistoles.
1st Phy. I have no intention of losing them; and I am determined to cure him in spite of himself. He is bound and engaged to take my remedies; and I will have him seized, wherever I can find him, as a deserter from physic and an infringer of my prescriptions.
Sbri. You are right. Your medicines were sure of their effect; and it is so much money he takes from you.
1st Phy. Where could I find him?
Sbri. No doubt, at the house of that goodman Oronte, whose daughter he comes to marry; and who, knowing nothing of the infirmity of his future son-in-law, will perhaps be in a hurry to conclude the marriage.
1st Phy. I will go and speak to him at once.
Sbri. You should, in justice to yourself.
1st Phy. He is in need of my consultations; and a patient must not make a fool of his doctor.
Sbri. That is well said; and, if I were you, I would not suffer him to marry till you have physicked him to your heart’s content.
1st Phy. Leave that to me.
Sbri. (aside, and going). For my part, I will bring another battery into play; for the father-in-law is as much of a dupe as the son-in-law.