Scène III

Page 18 Une 20— Je revoi : "Notice that in the first person (singular) the verbs in -er do not take an «, while thb other conjugations do. . . . The French language did not originally possess an *, because the first person never took an « in Latin. . . • On the other hand, this s was a distinctive characteristic of the second person. . . • The modem final s of the first person singular is, therefore, contrary to etymology " ("Pub. Sch. Fr. Grammar," by A. Brachet, &c ). In Une 20, page 18, the old form is used in order that the two syllables which rhyme may be spelt alike. 19 13 — . . . Auteur d'une triste famille: Founder of an unhappy race. Phaedra's mother, Pasiphae, was the daughter of HeHos (the sun).

22 14 — Ariane ma sœur. See note on page 16, Une 25.

22 16 — Ennui : In lofty style ennui is a word of great

force; in ordinary parlance its meaning has been considerably weakened. Both Littré and Brachet seem to prefer the etymology in odio % "est mihi in odio" cela m'ennuie, to noxia, hurt, injury.

23 12 — Voyage infortuné ! Rivage malheureux : Littré

in his dictionary quotes this line to show that rivage is used " par extension" for contrée, paye. Allusion is made hère to Trœzen ; see page 24, line 18.

24 26 — Une flamme si noire : So criminal a love.