NOTES. VOLUME II. I Page Line CHAPTER XVI. 1, 15. La Bruyère, Jean de la Bruyère (1645-1696). "His chief work, the Caractères, is a book of almost unparalleled interest to take up and lay down at odd moments, and it is specially interesting to Englishmen, because there is no doubt that the English essayists of the Queen Anne school directly modelled themselves upon it. was possessed of a remarkable shrewdness, common sense, and soundness of taste, and his style is a model of ease, grace, and fluency without weakness." (Saintsbury.) 16. Effets divers, different results, impressions. He 16. Chez Gaston d'Orléans et chez la Reine, upon Gaston d'Orléans and upon the Queen. Although chez obviously refers to the scenes related as having taken place at the respective residences of the Queen and the Prince, it admits of the above rendering, and this meaning of chez is, notwithstanding the objection of Vaugelas and others, by no means unusual; it has the sanction of Montaigne's example, and M. Littré approves of it. 17. Cabinet modeste, humble library or study. 2, 2. L'Hospital. Michel de L'Hospital, the great Chancellor of France (1505-1573), of whom Brantôme wrote: "C'estoit un autre censeur Caton celuye-là, et qui sçavoit très bien censurer et corriger le monde corrompu. Il en avait de tout l'apparence, avec sa grande barbe blanche, son visage pâle, sa façon grave qu'on eust distà le voir que c'estoit un vray portraict de Sainct Hierosme." L'Hospital had taken for his motto Horace's words: "Impavidum ferient ruinæ" (see note on p. 200, l. 15, vol. 1), and he remained faithful to it. Unable to prevent the Massacre of St. Barthélemy, in which he nearly perished, he resigned the Chancellorship. The President de Thou was his intimate friend (see note on p. 162, l. 2, vol. i.). 3. Montaigne. Michel Eyquem, Sieur de Montaigne (15331592). His family is believed to have been of English extraction, and letters extant from and to Charles IX., Page Line Henri III., and Henri IV. show him to have enjoyed a considerable social as well as literary position. Whether Montaigne himself invented the famous title of Essays or not, it is certain that he was the first to give the word its modern meaning. His book, which at once attained and never lost an immense popularity, is of the greatest importance in the history of French style. (Saintsbury.) 2, 9. Descartes. René Descartes (1596-1650), the great reformer of philosophy in France; was also the greatest reformer of her prose style, and, with insignificant exceptions, there is nothing in his works which would not be most excellent French to-day. All is simple, straightforward, admirably clear, but at the same time the prose is fluent, harmonious, and its perfect proportion and unerring choice of words show style in its very rarest and highest form. (Saintsbury.) Translate: "Entre tous les grands esprits qu'ait produits la France, Descartes est doué de la puissance créatrice au plus haut degré, et pour exprimer toutes ses créations, il a créé un langage digne d'elles, naïf et mâle, sévère et hardi, cherchant avant tout la clarté et trouvant par surcroît la grandeur.” (Victor Cousin.) 9. Grotius. Hugo de Groot (who took the name of Grotius), the great Dutch Jurist (1583-1645). Translate: Membre des États généraux de Hollande et partisan de Barneveldt, il fut, après la défaite de celui-ci, condamné à la prison perpétuelle et à la confiscation de ses biens. Il s'échappa au bout de deux ans, grâce au dévouement de sa femme Marie de Reigersberghen, dans un coffre servant à lui apporter des livres. Il se réfugia à Paris, où on lui accorda une pension qui lui fut très-irrégulièrement payée. Grotius, dont le savoir et les idées avaient une popularité européenne, fut tour à tour mal vu de Richelieu et de Mazarin. Nommé ambassadeur de la reine de Suède en France il soutint avec beaucoup de fermeté les intérêts du pays qu'il représenta pendant dix ans, malgré les tracasseries du ministère français. 12. Méditations métaphysiques. Written in Latin by Descartes : "Meditationes de prima philosophia, ubi de Dei existentia et animæ immortalitate," etc. (1641),_translated from Latin into French by the duc de Luynes (1647). 14. La Touraine. Descartes was born at La Haye, now called La Haye-Descartes, near Tours. 21. Aux bornes, at the extreme limits. 29. Savoir viz. 34. Est née, was inborn, innate. Note that the present tense of être in conjugating naitve is not equivalent to the present Page Line tense of to be born, but is the past indefinite (je suis ně I was born). 3, 3. Ouvrier, Maker. 15. Enseigne, flag (see p. 218, 1. 25, vol. i.). 23. Sainte-Barbe, St. Barbara, the patroness of French gunners and artillerymen, who place her image in the gun-room of ships, to which in consequence her name has been given. 24. Caissons, ammunition and provision cases. 26. Venait de le distraire, had just disturbed him. 28. Aux rayons de sa bibliothèque, from his book-shelves. 4, 13. Covis, le premier roi chrétien des Francs (465-511). 27. C'est trop fort, it is really too bad! 30. Ne voulant pas en faire semblant, endeavouring not to show it or seem so. 33. Il fera avorter nos projets, he will cause the failure of our plans, or he will render our projects abortive. 5, 3. Il y avait trois mois que, it was three months since. 6. Très reculé pour, unacquainted with (literally, far behind with). 8. Lorsqu'on l'y obligeait à force de bruit, when they forced his attention by their noise. 13. Choses, affairs. 17. Yeût manqué à son égard, had failed in a friend's duty towards him. 28. Est dans son tort, is wrong. 29. C'est selon, that depends (that is the question). 31. De quoi on était convenu, what had been agreed on. 33. Je vois bien à peu près, I think I understand. 6, 2. Marion Delorme (1615-1650). A courtezan more famous for her wit than her beauty. Among her admirers were found besides Cinq-Mars and the Duke of Buckingham, some poets and young lords, Louis XIII. himself; the intimate friend of Ninon de l'Enclos, her house was the centre of Parisian "galanterie." Victor Hugo has made her the subject of one of his best dramas. 8. Fuset ferret. This word (probably a diminutive of the Latin fur thief) has two different acceptations: (a) A person prying everywhere: "Damon le furet, qui se fourre partout, à l'état très utile, officier à la cour, espion à la ville." (Boissy.) (b) One very skilful in discovering certain things: "Il aurait eu besoin d'un furet plus exercé que moi à déterrer les beautés." (Le Sage.) Cf. "Master Fer! I'll fer him, and firk him, Page Line and ferret him." (Shakespeare.) And note the words: fureter, the verb; furetage, the action; fureteur, the doer. 6, 9. Capitan, bravo, bully. This Spanish form of the word capitaine (almost synonymous with matamore and Spadassin) is only used in this sense, and is well described by La Bruyère: "Une manière dure, sauvage, étrangère qui fait un capitan d'un jeune abbé, et un matamore d'un homme de robe." Note that un Capitan Pacha means a Turkish admiral, or the ship which he commands. II. A tue-tête, at the top of his voice. This adverbial phrase is a contraction of the phrase: "Si fort qu'il vous tue (casse) la tête." 17. Bonheur, success, good luck. 21. Inconnus à figur es basanées, strangers, foreign-looking men with swarthy faces (a hint that they are suspected of being Spaniards). 23. Ne l'ait envoyé, has sent him. Note the use of the subjunctive mood with ne after ne pas douter; douter followed by que requires the subjunctive mood with ne, except in speaking of a future action, when the future may be used without ne: "Je ne doute pas qu'il fera [or qu'il ne fasse] tout ce qu'il pourra.” ~ (See note on p. 72, 1. 28, vol. i.) 25. Vaurien, scapegrace, scamp (literally, worth nothing). In Old French there was also vault-néant. There is a feminine form with a similar meaning. Cf. Franchement monsieur la femme est un peu vaurienne mais elle a du bon. (Marivaux: Surprises de l'amour, ii. 5.) Je consens que vous me preriez pour un vaurien mais pas pour un sot. (Diderot: Neveu de Rameau.) 29. Ne fit que se soulever, sans se révolter, only rose without revolting-i.e., only condemned an act without disputing the authority from which it emanated. 33. Bourreau, unjust judge, a butcher. In Spanish boyameans both butcher and hangman. Cf. innocent child." (Shakespeare.) dered, rather butchered. (Ford.) In the legal language exécuteur des hautes œuvres is the only term used. an "Butcher of Ithocles was mur 7, 1. Un amas de gens sans aveu, a mob of vagabonds. Gens sans aveu properly meant not acknowledged by any feudal lord, and is now synonymous with hommes sans feu ni lieu homeless and friendless=arrant vagabonds. I. Sortis de la boue de Faris, sprung from the dregs (mud) of Paris. Page Line 7, 2. Vomis par ses égouts. the refuse of its sewers. 7. A démêler avec, to do with (literally, to disentangle from). 8. A ne pas vouloir faire l'aveu de, in his determination not to acknowledge. 12. Grand veneur, master of the hunt. Cf. venaison and vénerie, hunt, from the verb vener (Latin venari). 20. La Sainte-Barbe. (See note on p. 3, 1. 23.) Note that the names of festivals are feminine because the word fête is understood. Cf. la Noël, la St. Jean, la Pentecôte, la Toussaint, etc. 24. C'est fort drôle ! it is very funny. 28. Qu'ils ne s'entendaient pas avec lui, that they did not understand each other. 29. Ils prirent le parti de se taire de même, they likewise remained silent. 31. L'ancien gouverneur, the former tutor or preceptor. 33. En boitant un peu, a little lame, limping or halting a little. 33. Il avait l'air soucieux, he seemed very uneasy (soucieux= careworn, not to be confounded with soigneux careful). 34. Propos, conversation. 8, 5. De la part d'un goutteux, for a man suffering from gout. 6. S'avance, runs on. 7. Fort ingambe, very swift or light-footed. This word, formerly spelt en gambe (from Latin gamba, Greek kampè, flexion), is almost synonymous with dispos, alerte, and is a contraction from the phrase bien en jambes. 8. La peur donne des jambes, fear makes one run. Compare the saying: "Qui n'a cœur ait jambes." (Cotgrave.) 9. Il se jeta au fond d'une croisée, he hastened towards the recess of a window. 12. Que je vous dise, let me tell you. 15. Oui, vraiment! indeed! really! taken from a comparison with the dangers of naviga- 17. Allons, faites donc le surpris, come, do not feign surprise. 21. Il fait des sottises, he is acting very unwisely, rashly. Note that dire des sottises à quelqu'un means to insult; but it only means foolish things in the following phrase: Il dit beaucoup de sottises, n'en écrit guères et n'en fait point. (D'Alembert.) Sottise properly means |