Scène VII

-Nous sommes si peu de chose : We aresuch small

people. .

-Dussiez-vous m'accabler : Even if you were to overwheim me. Notice.— The imperfect subiunctive of devoir, placed at the begmmng ot a phrase, is used in the sensé of quand même, even if • Dussé-je être blâmé, je vous soutiendrai, Even if I were to be blamed, I shall support you. Dût cela me nuire, je le ferai, I shall dp it, even if it were to hurt me ; <S:c. —Accabler: To overwheim. Etym. the Ureek xo^T^3oX^, in the sensé of an overthrow, passmg from the abstract to the concrète sensé ot a machine wherewith to overthrow, produced late Lat. cadabulu^n, a balista, which became Old French cadable, next caable, a catapult. From this sensé of a machine of war to crush one s foe by throwing great stones to overthrow him, caable comes to have the more mènerai sensé of the act of overthrowing, and eives the derivative accabler, to be crushed under some heavymass. Finally, accabler ail but its figurative sensé, and is found in Us modem signification alone in i6Si, kichelet s Dict.

Page 50 line 3— Tenu compte de : Taken account of (and thanked you for).