NOTES.

For further information on Grammatical and Philological points, the student is referred to Macmillan's Progressive French Course, 3d Year, and to the Grammar and Glossary of the French Language in the Seventeenth Century, published separately in this series.

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2.

ACT I.-FIRST SCENE.

3. foi, 'love'; cp. 'feux' in 1. 6. Both words belong
to the language of poetry, and of the stage.
5. cet engagement où. Molière almost always em-
ploys the adverb 'où' in preference to the cumbrous
relative forms, auquel, à laquelle, etc.; cp. Amphi-
tryon, III. v.—‘Le véritable Amphitryon Est l'Amphi-
tryon où l'on dîne,' where 'où' = chez lequel. This
handy form of expression was very much commoner
in the seventeenth century than it is at present.
11. succès, 'Issue,' good or bad. The word 'success' was
similarly employed in English; cp. 'Perplexed and
troubled at his bad success, the tempter stood.'-
Milton. Cp. 'fortune,' 79, 33.

19. le plus souvent, 'more often than not.'

une innocente amour. Originally the word 'amour,' like all derivatives of Latin masculine words ending in or, was feminine both in the singular and plural. The grammarians of the sixteenth century tried to correct what they considered an error, and, by so doing, introduced an irregularity. Their attempt succeeded in the case of 'honneur,' and 'labeur; but in the seventeenth century 'amour' was still employed in both genders (see 3, 9). At present the word is generally feminine in the plural except when used in a mythological sense, and occasionally feminine in the singular in poetry.

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2. 28. les seules actions. We should write now 'les actions seules,' the adj. being predicate and not attribute; cp. votre seule physionomie.' The same construction occurs with 'même,' Corneille, Cid, II. ii. 23, 31-'Sais-tu que ce vieillard fut la même vertu,' for 'la vertu même.'

3.

1. fâcheuse, 'overnice'; see 5, 29.

2. sensibles, in a passive sense.

4. l'honnêteté . . . 'the honourable nature of my love.' 10. je retranche, 'I limit.'

je trouve en votre personne

'I find in your

personal deserts enough to justify me in what I am doing for you.'

15. aux choses, for 'dans les choses'; cp. 4, 28, etc.

17. où = à laquelle; cp. 2, 5.

22. que v. me fites éclater, which you displayed so brilliantly to me.

26. y tient en ma faveur

and there' (i.e. 'en ces

lieux') 'keeps your rank disguised for my sake.' 28. domestique. In Molière's time the word was employed not merely of servants, but of any subordinate member of a household.

29. chez moi, 'on my heart.' Apud me. 'Chez' from Latin casa. Up to the fourteenth century the phrase used was 'en chez,' followed by the objective case.

30. me, dative.

33. entre, subj., the principal clause expressing a doubt. 35. mon seul amour; see above, 2, 28.

je prétends, 'I claim.'

4. 9. j'en attends

et j'en irai. The first 'en' refers to 'mes parens,' the second to 'nouvelles.'

11. ne bougez d'ici. The omission of 'pas,' now restricted to a few cases (with savoir, pouvoir, oser, cesser), was common in old French. Cp. the motto of the Rohan family-' Duc ne daigne, Roi ne puis, Rohan suis.'

16. rapports, 'similarity.'

18. tendresse, 'affection.'

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4. 19. il n'est point = il n'y a point.

5.

21. donner dans leurs maximes, 'to adopt (to go in for)
their maxims of life' (cp. 13, 11, and 32, 35). The verb
'donner,' in such cases, is a neuter verb, or rather a
reflexive verb without its pronoun, and means 'to
fall,' to 'rush into' (of troops, 'to charge'). Cp. the
Latin se dare, dare se præcipitem in .

22. on n'a que faire; see note on 67, 5.
23. charger, 'to overdo, overact.'

24. a beau 'may be ever so plain.' This is an elliptic phrase; such a word as champ' must be supplied. It then means to have a fair field, a good opportunity for doing something, but to fail. (Cp. the English idiom-It's all very fine talking.)

26. impertinent, 'silly,' out of place.

27. en; modern use would require 'avec,' or 'de.
28. au métier, for dans le métier, cp. 3, 15.

?

'a

33. que ne, with the indic., Why do you not.
36. ménager, 'It is impossible to keep both in hand.'
'Ménage' (Low Latin mansionaticum) means
household' (cp. Old English 'meiny,' whence 'menial').
The verb 'ménager,' originally used of a careful house-
keeper, acquires the metaphorical meaning of treating
a person with consideration and tact.

4. amitié, 'love'; cp. 6, 25.

6. temps, 'opportunity.'

SECOND SCENE.

13. ouir, 'to hear,' from the Latin audire. Cp. for the suppression of the medial consonant-choir' from cadere, 'louer '-laudare. The imperative of ouïr is preserved in the proclamation, O yes! O yes! a relic of the Norman Conquest.

18. avant que d'aller.

Molière uses indifferently the

three constructions-avant de, avant que, and avant que de.

22. le jour, 'Our life'; cp. 79, 9.

23. par leur conduite, 'under their guidance.'

24. prévenus, 'prejudiced.'

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5. 26. en, 'On such a subject.' 'En' is not redundant; cp.

12, 29.

28. emportement, 'violence,' headlong passion. Generally used of anger, as in 2, 15.

29. fâcheux; Latin fastidium

=

'disgust,' loathing.

A

word which has become less dignified in meaning. See note on 'gêne,' 67, 26.

7.

12. peut-être serai-je. Notice the inverted constr. after 'peut-être,' cp. 32, 20.

14. plût au ciel, Would to Heaven!' Subjunctive in independent clause expressing a wish.

16. et me dites, for 'dites-moi'--a frequent use in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries-when one imperative follows another. Cp. Corneille-'Quittez cette chimère et m'aimez.'

23. bonne femme; in a good sense.

erally ironical, like bonhomme.'

27. un air le plus charmant.

The phrase is gen

See Tartuffe, I. ii.

Notice the indefinite

article preceding a noun followed by a superlative, instead of the definite article. Cp. 40, 32.

30. honnêteté, 'delicacy of feeling.'

33. en, 'of her.' En (like 'y') generally refers to things,
not persons. Cp. 63, 14; 62, 28.

36. sous main, 'secretly'; cp. English, 'underhand.'
1. accommodées, 'well off." Really an elliptic expres-
sion; cp. 'accommodé' des biens de la fortune.-
(Mascaron.)

'Incommodé' is used by Pascal = 'poor.'

4. que de, complement of 'ce.'

8. sois; subj. where indic. would now be employed. See on 78, 21.

9. faire éclater, 'display'; cp. 3, 22.

14. rien, 'anything.' 'Rien' (Latin rem) is really a posi-
tive word. See note on 'jamais' 74, 23.

18. le temps que, 'the time when,' tempore quo.
22. raisonnables, 'decent.'