SCENE YI
Page 15 line 18 — Quand je vous ois parler de guerre et de concerts :
Old form coming of the obsolète oir, ouir (L. audire ), to hear; still used in oui-dire. Ex., “ Je le sais par ouï-dire,” I know it for having heard people say so.
15 20. — Festins qui ne vous coûtent gueres : The correct
spelling is guère. This word is of German origin, and corresponds, according to Littré, to the O. H. G. weigaro (much), contracted into weig'ro, hence the Provençal g aigre, guère . “ S’il eût guère vesou il eût conquis toute l’Italie, ” says a chronicle of the fourteenth century.
IG G — Je sais le Code entier avec les Authentiques : Cor-
neille means by Authentiques the summaries of the Novelles which hâve been placed in the Code de Justinien after the abrogated constitutions.
IG 7 — Le Digeste nouveau , le vieux , VInfortiat : The
first digest of the Roman laws was made by Varro, 66 years b.c.; but the term digest is generally applied to the Pandicts of Justinian, which formed the second part of his Code, finished in 529. The School of Bologne had divided the digest in three parts, named “ le vieux Digeste , VInfortiat et le nouveau Digestef
16 8 — Ce qu’en a dit J a son, Balde, Accurse, Alciat :
Jason Maino (. Jaso Magnus ), a great jurist (1435-1519). Balde de Ûbaldis (Pietro) Italian jurist (1324-1400), disciple of Bartole. Accurse (François) an Italian j urisconsult, born at Florence in 1182, author of the Great Glose, which was long an authority. His name h as also been mentioned by Boileau in the Lutrin —
A ces mots il saisit un vieil Infortiat Grossi des visions d’ Accurse et d’ Alciat.
Alciat (André), 1492-1550, professed j urisprudence at Avignon, Bourges, Milan, Bologne, and Ferrara.
10 H — Qu’un homme à paragraphe : Lit., what a
pleasant lover is a man who speaks paragraphically ! i.e., pedantically, a man who sinells of the shop.
Page 16 line 13 — Tout le secret ne gît : Lit., the secret lies (L. jacet ), the whole secret consista in . .
&c. Gît is now obsolète, except in the phrase, Ci- gît , here lies ; the infinitive was gésir . The other parts still nsed are pr. part . gisant 9 3rd per. pl. indic. présent gisent , and imperf. je gisais , tu gisais , &o. Deriv., gesine, gisement , gîte.
16 16 — Faire sonner Lamboy9 Jean de Vert , et Galas :
Names of the générais of the Emperor Ferdinand III. The campaigns in which Dorante boasted to hâve taken part had been brilliant. On the 3rd March, 1638, the Duke of Weimar had taken prisoners the four générais of the Emperor, and Jean fde Vert was brought in triumph to Paris.
16 17 — Nommer quelques châteaux de qui les noms barbares :
De qui is now obsolète. We would say now dont. De qui is still sometimes used for of whom , but never for of which.
16 19 — Avoir toujours en bouche : Instead of a la bouche ,
which would be more correct.
16 20 — Vedette , contrescarpe , et travaux avancés : Vedette ,
Italian vedetta , probably, according to Diez, corruption of veletta , deriv. from veglià , L. vigilia9 watch. Escarpe9 Ital. scarpa9 connected with G-erman sharf, Eng. sharp, meaning cutting, pointed.
16 22 — On leur fait admirer les baies qu'on leur donne :
Baies , ou bayes , mystification, nonsense ; from bayer 9 to open a wide mouth, vainly to wait for or look stupid. Cf. the phrase bayer aux corneilles , to gape in the air, to stand gaping.
16 32 — Je tombe de bien haut : I fall fiat down.
16 33 — TJrgande et Mélusine: Names of two celebrated
fairies. TJrgande was the fairy protectress of Amadis de Gaule. Mélusine , celebrated magicienne (see Jehan d’Arras in a romance of 1478) in the tradition of Poitou; married Faymondin, Count of Poitou, She was changed every Saturday into a snake on account of her having murdered her father. ïïer husband having once perceived her in her metamorphosis, shut her up in a cave of his Château de Lusignan.
NOTES
Page 17 Une 14 — Quel plaisir on a lors : Instead of quel plaisir on a alors , wbicb would be a hiatus , or a meeting of vowels, forbidden by tbe rules of French prosody.
17 15— Leurs nouvelles au corps : Instead of dans le
corps. ' ^
17 21 — Je t'apprendrai bientôt d'autres façons de vivre : -
This line is not good enough for tbe end of an act. Just at tbe fall of tbe curtain tbere ougbt to corne some verse of more importance. But still it leads tbe spectator to expect more exploits from Dorante, and tbus keeps our curiosity in suspense, wbicb aim tbe dramatic autbor must bave in view.
