The Ghent Review Vol 1 number 2 | Page 28

SGANARELLE ( DISGUISED AS CLUTTERBUCK ): You call for help from me , a thief ? Here ’ s aid ! [ STRIKES SCAPIN WITH A CUDGEL AND FLEES .]
SCAPIN : Alack , undone ! But this is wild as it is rude ! I ’ ll have the constable put in the stocks this quondam sir who pays a debt and then heists it . Daft ! And how I always did aver this Clutterbuck an upright man . What cheek ! I ’ ll have him clapt ! Defaulting is a crime of state but robbery makes good men hate .
MASCARILLE ( DISGUISED AS SGANARELLE — AT A DISTANCE ): No need to victimize Scapin , he ’ s emptied of emolument . I ’ ll follow where my master firks and learn more of his addled works .
SCENE III — SGANARELLE DISGUISED AS CLUTTERBUCK , MASCARILLE DISGUISED AS SGANARELLE ( HIDDEN ).
SGANARELLE ( DISGUISED AS CLUTTERBUCK ): Aye , you may ask — do villains have remorse ? Broken sleeps ? Disordered bowels ? Nay , I ’ ll have you know — our villainy ’ s as fit as two wings on a bird of prey . Mankind in bulk is a stockpile of indecision and thin wit . Most people live without resolve and crave desires second-hand . They are but puppets and servants who crowd the world with blank gestures but only act their parts devised by those who make utensils think . The rabble be nonentities , empty ghouls and duplicates who wait for meals and thank their turn without knowing why they were born . Destiny , not unlike land , is a resource sui generis ;