Compagnons d'armes, 'comrades in arms

Les uns . . . suicide, ' Some died in war, others in duels, others by their own hands. '

121. et cependant . . . réservée, ' and yet, simple, cold and reserved in appearance.*

122. le jeu, *gambling.* /eUy m. (Lat. *jocum,* m.) = (i) play, game ; (2) in a more spécial sensé, *gambling.' Cf. feu^ m. = * fire.* Lat. * focum,* m. * hearth.*

123. les travaillaient sourdement, 'silently worked upon them.* .Sc^wr^ (Latin ' surdum, -am ') : (i) *deaf'; (2) *duir (of a Sound); (3) hence *underhand' {agitatiotty intrigue sourde), See Ch. iv. 1. 394, and Ch. vu. L 180, note

mais ils ne parlaient . . . cœur, 'but they rarely (hardly) spoke, and turned aside any direct approach ready to touch the unhealed wound in their hearts* (^^'^^ /^'«^=*with difficulty '). Propos = * topic. * Point saignant — * the bleeding, wound ed point.'

126. cbeicliant à . . . attitude, * seeking to attract attention ' (lit. * to get themselves noticed ') * by striking tragic attitudes.*

128. au sortir . . . roman, * on setting down a novel,' lit. * on leaving off the reading of a novel * (* a lecture '=«« courSf une conférence).

132 NOTES. [Cti. t

Z29. les eûtTiu . . . mépris, 'had seen them so submissive to, and so to speak drilled into, drawing-room étiquette and simple chatter in undertones, she would hâve despised them.* The pluperfect subjunctive is used elegantly instead of (i) past conditional, (2) pluperfect indicative after si, Both occur in this line of Corneille {Le Cid)^

Il ne V eût jamais fait si je V eusse pu faire, *he would never hâve done it if I had been able to do it.* Les eût vus is an instance of (2) ; les eût pris is an instance of (i). Saluts en usage =\\i, *bows or greetings generally in use.' Soumis must be taken with aux saluts en usage also ; it paves the way for disciplinés ^ a strong metaphor which would hâve been harsh without some previous explanation.

131. et pourtant . . . Jamais, 'and yet, they'lived and died, you know it, men as strong as nature ever produced.* En hommes = lit. * as men. *

134-5. ^^ Caton . . . étalent, 'Great Cato and B tutus himself did not show to better advantage, toga'd though they were.' Lit. *did not get out of it' {i.e, of the test) — *did not come off— better.' N,B. Les Caton^ no s\ because the meaning is * Cato himself ; the les could be omitted without affecting the meaning.

136. ont autant d'éner^^e, ' hâve as much life now as they ever had,* lit. *as in any time.' Aucun (Lat. *aliquem — unum*) has no ne2:ative meaning without the négative ne. Compare rien (Lat. rem y *a thing *), personne (Lat. personam, * a character,* * a person *), etc.

mais ce n'est . . . reconnaître, ' but it is only from the traces their cares liave left upon us, that the look of a friend can recognise their existence.' The argument is this : we hâve passions nowadays as keen as men ever had ; but we hide them, the characteristic of our âge being reserve ; and it is only the searching eye of a sympathising friend that can discover them ; and then he does not see thèse passions of ours themselves, for

Ch. I.] NOTES. Î33

we do not show them ; ail he can see is the traces left by the fatigue, and cares they hâve caused. Such traces would be wrinkles, grey hair, and the signs of past anxiety and sorrow.

138. Les dehors . . . toute force. * The demeanour, conversation, and manners of men hâve a ceitain measure of chilly dignity that is common to ail of us, and that is only shaken off by some children who wish to bçcoine great and to make their mark at ail costs.' Dehors =-\i\.. *outward appearance.* Et dont, * and of which only some children shake themselves free, who . . .* Se grandir, lit. *magni[y themselves' {grandir = * to grow '). Se faire valoir =■ * show their worth,* * make their worth felt.* Vouloir à toute force =^ * to wish absolutely.*

X43. A présent . . . Convenance, ' Nowadays, the suprême law of life is Décorum.* Cf. *That tyrant, custom,* Shakesp. {Othello), Mœurs, fem. (though from mas. Lat. * mores*), lit. * manners,* *moraIity.* Convenan€e= * àtcomm,'^ 'convention,* * propriety * ; we hâve no exact équivalent, and therefore often borrow the French word 'convenance.* In mariage ^de convenance the word bas another meaning, that of suitability of position and fortune between the two parties.

145-50. Il n'y a pas . . . souifre. This sentence and the following had best be tumed into one : * There is no profession* . . . *than the profession of the soldier, who loathes exaggeration and scorns the language of a man who strove to add relief and colour to what he feels, and draw pity upon his sufferings.'

Thus we avoid translating on by * one,* and y by * there ' or Mnit.'

147. On y pousse loin . . . Lit. * Thèse men carry far the h at red of exaggeration. . . .* C?«/rifr from ^«/r^, *beyond' (Lat. ultra) = * io exaggerate,' which cannot be used, * exaggeration* just con^ing before : were it not so familiar, the idiom *to pile on the agony* would render admirably outrer ce qtCil sent. Attendrir b active ; les gens^ * people,' is understood. Lit.

134 NOTES. [en. L

* make people tender,' * melt people*s hearts over what he suflfers.'

151. Il me prit le bras, * He took my arm ' ; meis dative, a fréquent idiom in speaking of a part of the body. "

152. La manœuvre des Suisses, ^The manœuvring of the Swiss.* The French King's body-guard was a régiment of Swiss soldiers. N.B. the gender for manœuvre hère : le maftœuvre = * journeyman, * * workman. *

153. Ils ont ... en avançant, * They cleared the streets in skirmisbing order.' ,

155. Depuis que Je sers. * Since I joined the service ' {i.e. the army). N.B. the présent je sers, because the action is still continuing ; he is still in the army.

Je n' en . . . Tapp^lcation, ' I had never seen it practised.' Lit. * I had not seen people (* people * understood) make the application ofit (^«).*

156. c'est une manœuvre . . . d'opéra, St is a manœuvre reslricted to parade and the opéra,* i.e, a manœuvre which is never used in actual warfare, but only on parade (^ys, in reviews, or in opéras. Cest, see Appendix I. A. 11.

157-60. elle peut avoir . . . faire feu, 'it may be valuable' (lit. *have its value'), *provided the right and left sections form rapidly. in front of the men who hâve just fired.' Peloton j m. = * platoon ' generally. * Platoon * may not be used in this context : in English drill * half * is the technical Word.

162. bout. boîit=* Qnà* of a stick, a pencil, etc., i.e, of a material object as regards its length and continuity.

But, m. = * end,' i,e. * goal * you aim at, physically or figuratively.

Fin, f. = * end,* i,e, * termination ' of an action, of a work or book, the point where something ceases, as regards its ofder or séquence.

Extrimiti^- * end,' i.e. the remotest part of a thing as regards

Ch. L] NOTES, 135

its situation, e.g, je Vai ramené des extrémités de la terre=, * I hâve brought him back from the end of the earth.*

z66. d'exaltation . . . captiva, *of nervous and quasiinvoluntary excitement that fascinated me.*

167. et qn • . . . froid, * and that I should never hâve expected in him, who was what we agrée to call a cold man.*