LINE No very satisfactory explanation has been given of the phrase, which occurs as early as the thirteenth century; most probably the idea of building castles in a foreign country where one was not present seemed a good simile to apply to fantastic dreams of impossible achievements. Spain, from the legends connected with Roland, was perhaps then the best-known foreign country to the French, but people also said 'Châteaux en Asie, en Albanie,' with the same meaning. Cp. 32. Picrochole; an ambitious king in Rabelais's Gargantua. lxi. 16. Pyrrhus; King of Epirus B. C. 318-272, famous for his ambitious schemes, his wars with Rome, and his miserable death. 36. à nous; possessive. Cp. xv. 11. 37. toutes les f., i.e. we can choose a wife where we like. 39. je m'écarte, 'I roam afar.' le sophi, the Shah (of Persia). 41. vont... pleuvant, 'keep raining down.' For the continuous tense cp. 1. 2, and notice that it is only when used thus with a subject, i.e. personally, that impersonal verbs can have a present participle (as here, il pleut) or an imperative. 43. gros Jean, 'plain Jack.' The phrase is borrowed from Rabelais, and means a person of no particular consequence. LXV.-LE CHAT, LA BELETTE ET LE PETIT LAPIN. 1. du palais; governed by 's'empara,' 1. 3. 5. porta ... ses p., i.e. 'installed herself.' Cp. lxi. 2. 9. souterrains s. Here, as in 1. 12, 'pat. logis,' notice the order of the words the adjective being placed before the noun instead of after. 14. que l'on d., It is a poetic usage. 'Out with you!' This use of the indef. pronoun of the 3d sing. marks a contemptuous command. sans tromp., 'quietly,' 'quickly.' The whole phrase is sans tambour ni trompette.' 17. était, 'belonged to.' The weasel had 'no case. The right of the 'first occupier' or 'general occupant' could only arise if the property were abandoned and ownerless, but she admits in the second argument that the rabbit had a right to it. 19. que answers to 'ce,' and need not be translated. LINE 20. quand = quand même, 'even though it were.' 21. bien. Notice the force of the word here- I should very much like to know.' 22. en, dependent upon 'octroi.' 27. en, 'to.' Cp. 'de temps en temps,' 'from time to time.' 31. Rapportons-nous, let us refer our case.' Raminagrobis; another comic name drawn from Rabelais. The word has a pompous, judicial sound about it. 33. f. 1. chattemite, 'who looked the pink of pussies.' The phrase is used of people who affect a cat-like demureness and meekness of manner (Latin, mitis = meek). Cp. xxix. 21. 34. un s. homme de c., 'a saint of a cat.' The phrase is curious. 38. sa maj., 'his majesty.' See iii. 5, note. 39. Grippeminaud; also drawn from Rabelais. is suggestive of his judicial proceedings. The word 'grippe' 41. approcha. 'L'un et l'autre' ought to have a plural verb. 43. le bon ap., 'the sly rascal.' The phrase is purely sarcastic. 44. des deux c., 'on both . . .' en m. t., at the same time. 47. se rapportants being pres. part., and not the verbal adjective, there should be no s' here. Cp. lxi. 19. LXVI. LE DÉPOSITAIRE INFIDÈLE. 'Answer a fool according to his folly.' 2. chez son v. after 'mit en dépôt.' 5. il n'est plus, 'it is no longer in existence.' 7. en, 'for it,' i.e. for allowing the rat to eat the iron. qu'y faire, how can it be helped?' lit. what is one to do? Interrog. infinitive. 10. détourne, lit. to turn away, to turn aside, and so 'to embezzle,' and here to kidnap.' 18. sur la brune, 'at dusk,' 'in the gloaming'; lit. 'upon the brown (time).' 19. chat-huant, 'screech-owl'; lit. 'hooting cat.' Cp. 'chauvesouris,' 'bat'; lit. 'bald-mouse '-popular names founded upon resemblance. 20. je le lui v. p., 'I saw it (the owl) carry him (the child).' Here, 'voir' is construed like faire.' See xii. 14; and cp. entendre, L LINE laisser. As the verb 'porter' governs an accus. the pronoun gov. by 'vis' is dative. 21. croie... pût. Account for the mood in which these verbs are. 23. en un b. 'at need,' 'if need be ' = au besoin, lxvii. 33. 25. vu de mes y. ; an emphatic phrase. 30. se mange, 'is eaten.' Notice the extensive use of the French reflexive. 32. où tendait, lit. 'whither tended. . .,'i.e. what he was driving at. 34. géniture, 'offspring'; an old-fashioned word. 38. chez eux, 'with them,' 'in their eyes.' 40. celui-ci, 'this one,' i.e. the one I am going to mention. se after 'permise,' i.e. thought he might exaggerate. Hyperbole is a Greek word applied to a figure of speech by which the truth is greatly exaggerated or diminished for the sake of effect. 43. tout doux (cp. tout beau); the adj. is used adverbially, 'softly,' 'gently now.' 45. plaisant, a wag.' Not 'pleasant,' but 'funny.' 46. l'absurde, 'absurdity.' The adjective is sometimes used in this way as a noun. Cp. l'impossible, le nouveau, chercher le beau dans l'horrible, etc. 48. enchérir is used originally of a person at an auction 'outbidding' another; so it comes to mean to outdo,' 'to improve upon.' s'échauffer la bile, lit. to heat one's bile,' means to 'lose one's temper,' to fly into a passion.' The 'bile' was supposed to be the seat of anger. LXVII.-LE SAVETIER ET LE FINANCIER. 3. ouïr = entendre; archaic. The crier's 'O yes, O yes,' is the imperative of this verb (oyez) preserved from the Norman-French. passages; here used in a musical sense, 'trill.' 4. sept sages; the 'Seven Sages' of Greece, of whom Solon, the lawgiver of Athens, was one. 5. cousu d'or, padded with gold,' 'made of money'; lit. 'stitched with gold' originally used of a coat 'sewn or embroidered with gold. 10. financier. The word is used here simply for a wealthy man. In La Fontaine's time it was applied to bankers, and particularly to capitalists who farmed the taxes. LINE 12. le dormir.. le manger... le b., 'sleep. . . food. . . good instances of the use of the infinitive as a noun. drink'; 14. hôtel, ‘mansion.' The word is still applied in France to a large town-house, as well as to 'hotels' or inns. 15. or ça, 'here now,' 'look here'; an old-fashioned phrase. 17. ton de rieur, laughing tone,' tone of a laugher. 19. de la sorte, 'in that way.' 'La' is used demonstratively, not as a mere article. 21. j'attrape, 'I catch up,'-meaning that he just makes both ends meet. 24. le mal. We should say 'the worst of it is that 27. chômer, to keep as holy days, i.e. to do no work on them. fêtes, 'saint's days.' 28. l'une f. tort. . . ; meaning that they encroach one upon the other, crowd one another out. 29. prône, 'sermon,' alluding to the custom of giving out, before the sermon, the holy days and fasts of the ensuing week. 32. cent écus, an 'écu' or 'crown' = as a rule, about 3 francs, that is, about half-a-crown of English money. 39. plus de . .; negative, 'no more. la voix, 'his voice.' Cp. l'œil (1. 44). 40. ce qui, etc., i.e. money. 44. la nuit, 'at night.' Notice the use of the article without preposition in phrases of time. Cp. le jour, le matin, etc. 47. s'en courut, 'ran off.' Cp. s'en venir, s'en retourner, etc. 'S'en courir' is obsolete. 48. somme. A word with two genders. Cp. 'fourbe,' ix. 6. 1. chez, 'in.’ LXVIII. LE CHAT ET LE VIEUX RAT. 2. second R. For Rodilard I. see fable xlvii. Alex. Alexander of Macedon, surnamed the Great, B. C. 356-323. 3. Attila, King of the Huns, reigned A.D. 434-453, was called the scourge of God from the slaughter and ravage he caused. 7. Cerbère. Cerberus was the dog with three heads who kept guard at the door of Hades. 9. les planches, etc.; apparently kinds of 'booby traps.' 11. au prix de lui = auprès de lui, 'in comparison with him.' 14. avait beau. Cp. xxix. 22. 15. fait le m. See xxix. 21. LINE 15. plancher here = 'ceiling,' originally 'boards.' It is generally used for the floor of a room; 'plafond,' for the ceiling. The floor of one room is practically the ceiling of the one below. 27. en quête, i.e. of something to eat; 'start on a foraging expedition.' quite. 28. bien = 31. plus d'un, i.e. tour. 32. tour de v. guerre, 'an old dodge'; lit. a trick of old war,' such as an old campaigner would practise. 34. au logis, lit. 'home,' 'you will all come to see me.' 35. vrai; adverbial. Mitis; a name sarcastically given. Cp. chattemite. 36. affine here = 'to take in,' 'deceive'; an obsolete use of the word. 37. sa robe, 'his coat.' 38. de la s. Cp. lxvii. 19. 40. à lui, ‘of him,'' on his part.' 'A' is here used to denote the real subject of an impersonal phrase. Cp. 1. 50. 41. trotte-menu, lit. 'which trots with adverbial, and therefore invariable. Fontaine. 42. sans plus, i.e. 'only one.' 45. ne me dit r., i.e. 'bodes no good.' small steps'; 'menu' is The word is coined by La LXIX.-LES ANIMAUX MALADES DE LA PESTE. 5. Achéron, 'the underworld.' Originally the river of the lower world, Hades, and then applied to the whole region which the dead were supposed to inhabit. 8. en, i.e. any of them.' Cp. xiv. 16—' D'argent, point de caché.' 9. mourante vie. Poetical order of words. Cp. 'céleste courroux,' 1. 19. 12. la d. et l'inn. When both adjectives qualify the same object the rule is not to repeat the article, e.g. 'la douce et innocente proie.' 13. se fuyaient; 'se' reciprocal. See lxii. 35. 14. plus de . partant = 19. que.. ' no more.' par conséquent. The word is old-fashioned. se sacr.; imperative, 'let each one . traits, shafts,'' strokes.' 'Traits' is a hard word to render, owing to the great variety of meanings it bears in French. |