The apodosis begins with Plus j'assure

630 en. See App. V, ii. C.

633 sans être attendue = " unsummoned."

635 Je me meurs. Se mourir is either more elevated in style than mourir, or = " to die slowly."

637 suis-je oas ? The omission of ne, the one real négative particle, is only possible as a poetical license, and is rightly very rare. — Frère, a classical strong form for " friend."

644 encore un coup, = " once more." Coup enters into many idioms. Cf. Le coup de grâce. — Le ccntp de rétrier. — La ville fut prise par un coup de main. — Venez me donner un coup de main. — // s'est engagé par coup de tête. — Un coup d'essai, de maître, d'éclat. — Un coup de pied. — Après coup. — Coup sur coup. — A coup sûr. — C'est un coup monté.

648 d'effroi dépends on combien.

649 la foudre, because the king can strike as suddenly and irre* sistibly as the thunderbolt.

653 étincelle, lit. "sparkles," but hère: "flashes."

654 The Parsees, in Asia, worship rire to this day. The king hère invokes his gods, the sun and stars.

656 peine is never " physical pain."

661 se pouvoir is only used impersonally, = " to be possible."

676 en. See App. V, ii. C. — Astres ennemis is in accordance with the astrological superstitions of the time.

678 respectable, in its full etymological sensé of "worthy of respect."

681 intérêt, see 1. 57, N.

686 veut = "bids."

690 entre, hère " above."

692 grâce devant vos yeux = " favor in your sight"

693 fûtes, in the past definite, expresses that he may hâve been favorable to her in the past, in a period of time that has corne to an end, implying " even though he be so no more." See App. II, ii. B. b.

701 qu'on lui fasse entendre = " give hrm to understand." For dat. lui, see App. III, N.

708 clartés, properly " lights ; " the plural being, as often is the case, the concrète manifestation of that quality of which the singular is the abstract name. Cf. " charity " and " charities."

713 Que vous semble. See App. IV, i. B.

714 devoir is hère used as a pseudo-auxiliary ; see I. 155, X. — •» L'emporter, idiomatic for " to win the day." The substantive, for which the fossilized pronoun le stands, is uncertain. Cf. réchapper belle, idiomatic for " to hâve a narrow escape."

778 Note the force of the tense : " I never [once] admired." See App. II, ii. B. b.

779 Note the différence betvveen avoir e?wie de and porter envie S. 799 errer is never, while " to err " is always, used figuratively. 820 en. See App. V, ii. D.

825 rejoindre = " to join." This prefix re- is more freely used in French than in English. Cf. recopier = " to copy."

826 See Book of Esther, vi. 13-14, for the few lines on which Racine has built the two strong scènes that follow. Also i. 6, for the description of the grandeur of this " court of the garden of the king's palace."

832 éclaircir is " to restore to its own brightness; " éclairer is " to throw a light from without upon." Cf. 1. 177.

835 ressentir, from re + sentir. Note the doubling of the u s," in order to préserve its sound as in sentir. Cf. ressembler, ressource, ressusciter, etc.

aussi cette félicité, i.e.. the joy of having been favored as mentioned in 1. 834, as well as the pain of the affront.

836 le mal is of course a référence to 11. 618-622 ; le bienfait, to 1.

838-843 Racine had great expérience of court. See Introd. I. — Déz^orer, figurative, " to endure in silence." Cf. dévorer ses larmes — 44 to restrain one's tears."

841 essuyer, fig. ="toput up with something disagreeable," the figure being taken from wiping up spilt liquid, as the way to makf

the best of a mishap. E.g., // essuya un refus — Ce vaisseau a essuyé une tempête — Ce général avait essuyé plusieurs défaites.

842 un outrage enduré. For this Latin construction, see 1. 139, N.

868 exerçant, " wielding," correctly refers to the speaker, Haman, as the king's minister.

872 ma vie exposée, another Latin construction.

874 Que sert. See App. IV, i. A.

881 le peuple. Cf. 1. 56, N.

890 For the spelling voi (which is etymologically correct, seeing that no first person singular ends in " s " in Lat.), see App. I, Rhyme.

892 Cf. Claudian, In Rufinum, I. 22, 23.

. . . tolluntur in altum Ut lapsu graviore ruant.

894 ces bords écartés, i.e., Macedonia. We hâve already referred to Rest of the Book of Esther, xvi. 10, where Haman is described as a Macedonian.