The Cid
Rodrigo has a choice to make. His father has been humiliated by the Count of Gormas, and only blood can wash that shame away. But the Count is the father of Chimène, the woman Rodrigo loves. When he kills the Count to preserve his honor, he destroys the future he wanted with the woman he loves. Now Chimène must do what honor demands: demand the King's justice against her father's killer, even as she still loves him. And Rodrigo must face the consequences of his choice, caught between the glory of his deed and the ruin of his heart. Pierre Corneille's 1637 masterpiece caused a scandal in Paris, sparking the most famous literary controversy of the century, because it dared to make honor complicated. This is not a simple tale of virtue and vice. It is about what happens when love and duty point in opposite directions, and choosing either one means losing something essential. Five acts of verse that changed drama forever.
Editions
X-Ray
“A vaincre sans péril, on triomphe sans gloire.””
— Pierre Corneille
“Ah! qu'avec peu d'effet on entend la raison,Quand le cœur est atteint d'un si charmant poison!Et lorsque le malade aime sa maladie,Qu'il a peine à souffrir que l'on y remédie!””
— Pierre Corneille
“Va, je ne te hais point.””
— Pierre Corneille
“Pour grands que soient les rois, ils sont ce que nous sommes: Ils peuvent se tromper comme les autres hommes.””
— Pierre Corneille
“Cette obscure clarté qui tombe des étoiles””
— Pierre Corneille
“لن يتسنى لنا أن نذوق غبطة ً غير مشوبة، ولا تتحقق أمانينا إلا وتخالطها الكآبة، فكلما واتتنا حوادث الدهر تخللها من الهموم ما يكدر علينا صفو مسراتنا.””
— Pierre Corneille
“Je mourrai trop heureux mourant d'un coup si beau.””
— Pierre Corneille
“Ma plus douce espérance est de perdre l'espoir.””
— Pierre Corneille
“Père, maîtresse, honneur, amour,noble et dure contrainte, aimable tyrannie,tous mes plaisirs sons morts, ou ma gloire ternie.L'un me rend malhereux, l'autre indigne du jour.Cher et cruel espoir d'une âme généreuse,mais ensemble amoureuse, digne ennemi de mon plus grand bonheur.Fer qui causes ma peine,M'es-tu donné pour venger mon honneur?M'est-tu donné pour perdre ma Chimène?””
— Pierre Corneille
