Verse 1, line 2. _Clamours._ See how southern this is, with its
Lanquedoc forms, "clamours" for "_clameurs_."
Line 5. So are these diminutions all made up at random, as southern as
can be, and note the tang of the verse, fit for a snapping of the
fingers to mark the rapid time.
Verse 3, line 2. _Bénistre._ The older form of _bénir_ from
_Benedicere_; the _c_ between vowels at the end of the tonic syllable
becomes _s_: the _t_ is added for euphony, to help one to pronounce the
_s_.
Line 3. _Silenus_ for _Silène_. Because the name was new, the Latin form
is kept. The genius of the French, unlike that of modern English, is to
absorb a foreign name (as we did once). Thus once we said "Anthony"
"Tully": but Montaigne wrote "Cicero"--his descendants say "Ciceron."
Line 4. _Aussi droict qu'une ligne_="right out of the flask." The flask
held above one and the wine poured straight into the mouth. The happy
south still know the way.
Line 5. _Bigne_: a lump, a knock, a bruise.
Line 6. _Guigne_=cherry.