In connection with the lawsuit with which Alceste is involved, Philinte asks Alceste what he will bring to court in his behalf. Alceste answers that he will bring reason, justice, and the rightness of his cause. Philinte wants Alceste to call on the judges and pay his respects to them, but Alceste refuses because he feels that the case should be judged entirely by its merits. In terms of the French society of the times, Philinte is, of course, correct. Alceste refuses to pay court to the judge because he sees such an action as a bribe. But in fact, the judge might be perfectly honest and just, and the act of calling on the judge was a custom of courtesy. Refusal to do so would probably be interpreted as an act of rudeness in the same way as a prisoner's refusal to stand up in an American law court when the judge enters would be considered disrespectful.
Alceste, who would appear to be setting himself up as the perfect rational being, is in actuality thoroughly irrational in matters of love. He has fallen in love with the most famous flirt and tease of the town, and he even admits that he cannot justify his emotions as anything except irrational. In the final section of this scene, we learn that two other characters, Eliante and Arsinoé are also in love with Alceste but that he refuses to acknowledge their affections, since he is so completely in love with Célimène. These facts will have a bearing on the development of the plot.
