Philinte recounts to Eliante the settlement of the quarrel between Oronte and Alceste and the latter's unbending obstinacy. Alceste would not change his opinion about Oronte's verses. The best he would do was to wish "that I could have thought better of your sonnet." On this note, Alceste and Oronte were directed to embrace, and the proceedings were concluded.
Philinte and Eliante next discuss Alceste's relationship with Célimène. Eliante admires Alceste for his honesty, and though it seems strange to her that Alceste should fancy such a coquette as Célimène, she reverts to something she said at the end of Act II: "love is blind and is not always a matter of temperamental affinities." Philinte craftily expresses the wish that Eliante's affection for Alceste be requited, but, then he goes on to show his true intentions by saying that if Alceste refuses her, he would be glad to accept her hand for himself.
