|
Main
- books.jibble.org
My Books
- IRC Hacks
Misc. Articles
- Meaning of Jibble
- M4 Su Doku
- Computer Scrapbooking
- Setting up Java
- Bootable Java
- Cookies in Java
- Dynamic Graphs
- Social Shakespeare
External Links
- Paul Mutton
- Jibble Photo Gallery
- Jibble Forums
- Google Landmarks
- Jibble Shop
- Free Books
- Intershot Ltd
|
books.jibble.org
Previous Page
| Next Page
Page 39
405 id�e, by frequent metonymy for _esprit_.
406 Chaldaea was famous for its astronomers, who had fixed the duration
of the year, were acquainted with the zodiac, and as early as the
middle of the fourth century B.C., already possessed astronomical
records extending over 1,900 years. They were also far-famed
astrologers, and as such were in great demand as late as the last years
of the Roman empire.
415 eut du ciel. Cf. Gray's Elegy: "He gained from heaven, 'twas all
he asked," etc.
419 Striking witness is borne to Haman's high position by the flattery
paid him by Hydaspes.
426 Tout r�v�re, for _tous r�v�rent_, for metrical reasons. See App.
I, Metre.
430 Traiter de = "to call," always with an unfavorable connotation.
444 fragile, of course, must be translated here "broken."
445 salutaire, here "timely."
449 l'artifice. The definite article is used distributively: = "all
artifice."
452 Racine heightens the contrast between Haman's past and present
fortunes by imagining him to have been bought for a slave, in boyhood,
by a Persian master. This the Bible does not state, although the Rest
of the Book of Esther calls him a Macedonian (xvi, 10), but immediately
adds "and as a stranger received of us."
454 soutiens de ma puissance. Male children were, and still are,
indispensable to prosperity in the East, as the supporters and
defenders of the family.
458 atteinte is now usually unfavorable.
459 Mardoch�e assis, etc. See l. 139, N, for this Latin construction.
462 tandis que. See l. 69, N. _Tant que_ would have been more precise
here.
465 est . . . �. The construction is _ad sensum_, as though _sembler_
had been used.
468 Note the use of aller as a pseudo-auxiliary. Cf. l. 155, N.
469 C'est trop peu d'une telle . . . The _de_ in such forms is due to
false analogy with the construction in which an infinitive in
apposition follows _c'est_, for which see l. 260, N.
477 Il fut. See App. II, ii. B. b.
478 This line, expressive of the multitude of the Jews, heightens the
contrast with l. 480.
484 a d�. See l. 166, N.
485-87 I Sam. xv, 7-8: "And Saul smote the Amalekites . . . and he took
Agag, the King of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the
people with the edge of the sword."
486 vils, a classical adjective = "valueless," "contemptible." Cf.
Merch. of Ven. ii., 4: "'tis vile, unless it may be quaintly ordered."
The flocks and herds have no value, are contemptible, as adversaries;
hence, = "helpless." Cf. l. 522.
493 couleurs, now familiarly used for "false representations."
_J'armai_, cf. l. 171.
494 J'interessai . . . etc. "I showed him his glory at stake." Note
the tense of _trembla_: = "till he trembled." See App. II, ii. B. a.
502 Cf. Gen. xvi., 12; "his hand shall be against every man, and every
man's hand against him."
504 Note Haman's concluding appeal to the greed of human nature. He is
a crafty counsellor, as unscrupulous as he is clever.
Previous Page
| Next Page
|
|