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Page 36
79-80 Cf. Book of Esther, ii. 18: "And he made a release to the
provinces and gave gifts . . ." Line 80 is figurative: the king's
releases and gifts did not actually "invite" the masses of his subjects
(see N. to l. 56) to the royal nuptials, but "made them partake of the
joy" of these nuptials.--_Leurs princes_ = Ahasuerus and his new queen.
_Leurs_, a _constructio ad sensum_ with the collective singular
_peuple_.
84 Literally true of the then known world, since the one hundred and
twenty-seven provinces of the Persian Empire extended from the Indus in
the East to the Hellespont in the West.
88 sont cess�es. _Cesser_ was both transitive and intransitive, as
early as the sixteenth century: hence the passive is legitimate, and
lays additional stress on the state resulting from the action.
89 ennuis = "troubles." _Trouble_ (cf. l. 1170) = "agitation."
92 encor. See App. I, Metre.
96 jusque has always the force of "as far as," but must be variously
translated.
98 avis. Cf.: _C'est moit avis.--Avis au lecteur.--Quand je serai pr�t,
je vous en donnerai avis.--Le Pr�sident prit l'avis de la chambre.--Il
donne trof d'avis.
99 d�couvrir here, as several times in this play, "to reveal." Cf.
Merchant of Venice, (Act II. Sc. vii.) "Draw aside the curtains and
discover the several caskets."
Pratiques, like our "practices," always unfavorable when = "doings."
100 domestiques = "officers of the household." The "Rest of the Book
of Esther" gives their names, Gabatha and Tharra, and states that they
were keepers of the palace (xii. 1).
101-110 These lines are a graceful allusion to St. Cyr, and to Mme. de
Maintenon herself. See Introd. section III.
105 profanes, here, as in l. 155, is an especially apt word, since it
suggests not only the seclusion in which these maidens live within the
palace, but also the difference between their religion and that of the
court.
108 me cherchant moi-m�me, "seeking [communion with] myself."
114 A fine antithesis. Cf. Oedipus Rex, l. l: Kudmou tou palai nia
trophe. 120 (Heading) Endroit or _lieu_ is the general word for a
"place" or "spot." _Place_ is the place to which a thing belongs.
123 De tous c�tes and de toutes parts (l. 148) = both "on all sides"
and "from all sides."
126 jusques. See App. I, Metre. The "_s_" is due to the tendency of
adverbial words to assume a final "s." Cf. _sans_ from _sine_, _alors_
from _ad illam horam_.
132 d�plorable, a fine etymological use of the word; now only used in
the derived meaning "sad" or "wretched."
139 ta douleur retrac�e = _le recit de ta douleur_. This is a Latin
construction of frequent occurrence in this play. Cf. _post urbem
conditam_ = "after the founding of the city." The past participle
qualifying the noun takes the place of our abstract substantive.
140 n'occupe. _Pas_ is omitted after _si_ whenever the affirmative
idea is predominant. Tr.: "unless."
146 relever. See App. III.
149 tes peuples. Cf. l. 19, and N. to l. 56.
155 This interview is a departure from the Book of Esther, where
Mordecai, in accordance with Eastern custom, can do no more than "walk
before the court of the women's house" (ii. II).
s'ose avancer is an elegant order for _ose s'avancer_. The peculiarity
is that _oser_ is here used as though it were one of the two
auxiliaries _avoir and _�tre_, which alone must separate the oblique
conjunctives from their governing verb. Cf. ll. 231, 471. We shall
find several other such pseudo-auxiliaries.
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