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Page 35
15 Note: _abuser quelqu'un_, "to deceive a person."
_abuser de_, "to use improperly."
_injurier_, "to abuse" or "insult."
16 Suse, "Shushan the palace" of the Bible, on the river Eulaeus, was
the winter residence of the first Persian kings, the Achemenidae.
Susa, Persepolis, and Ecbatana were the principal towns of, Persia, the
biblical "Elam."
18 Note the formal masc. _assis_.
20 Sion, properly one of the four hills, on which Jerusalem was built,
and often used as the name of the town itself, here stands for the
Jewish nation, to which Jerusalem stood in the same relation as Mecca
to the Mohammedans.
23 horreur, a very strong word, because expressing the physical effect
of fear (here "religious awe"). Cf. Latin _horridus_, _horresco_, etc.
24 J'ai su. For tense, see App. II, iii. B. Savoir is often elegantly
used = "to succeed," especially in this tense.
37 For this _Assuerus_, see Introduction, section IV.
29 ressort (lit. that which "comes out again" when pressed in) is any
mechanical "spring;" often used figuratively.
31-34 See Book of Esther, i. 10-22. On the assumption that Assuerus
is Darius, Vashti is Atossa, daughter of Cyrus, and wife, successively,
of Cambyses II., Smerdis, and Darius, to the last of whom she bore
Xerxes and Artabazanus.
33-34 Epexegesis, or explanation, of _disgrace_. Cf. ll. 250-252.
36 offensee, in the correct etymological sense of "wounded." Vashti
left an "aching void" in the king's heart.
39 L'Inde, now usually _l'Indus_, is generally the river, and rarely
_India_, in Racine's writings.
40 comparaitre, always used of appearance in answer to official summons.
41 indompte, a classical epithet. Cf. _indomitique Dahae_, Verg. Aen.
VIII. 728. The warlike and nomadic character of the Scythians
increased in the mind their geographical remoteness. The Parthians are
supposed to have sprung from Scythian exiles. The two races occupied
the vast regions of north-western Asia.
45 heureux, like "happy," often = "successful."
49 agite refers of course to _il_ in l. 50.
51 The exquisite taste and modesty of the queen's narrative has been
commented upon in Introd. section IV.
54 ma race et mon pays. We are told (Book of Esther, ii. 5-7) that
Mordecai, who had taken Esther for his daughter, had been carried away
from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar; whence it follows that Esther, too,
was not only a Jewess by race, but a native of Palestine. The Book of
Esther (ii. 20) says she had not showed "her kindred nor her people."
56 peuple means: 1. "nation;" 2. "mass of common people," in
contradistinction to _la noblesse_; 3. "crowd."
57 int�r�t, whose meaning is always "a matter of interest," will have
to be variously translated; e.g., "prize," "cause," "need," etc.
58 arr�t is the decision at which, when reached, a "stop" is made.
Hence, "decree," "edict," and here "doom."
59 brigue is correctly defined by Mr. Saintsbury as "the whole process
of endeavoring to secure a favor by interest and
influence."--_Suffrages_ is here used of the claims to preference put
forward by each.
69 Note that tandis que has two uses: 1 "during the time that," and 2.
"whereas." _Pendant que_ has only the former.
75 d�s has always the force of "as early as," but the translation must
vary.
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