ASSUÉRUS.
Quoi? le traître sur vous porte ses mains hardies?
Ah! dans ses yeux confus je lis ses perfidies;
Et son trouble, appuyant la foi de vos discours, 1170
De tous ses attentats me rappelle le cours.
Qu'à ce monstre à l'instant l'âme soit arrachée;
Et que devant sa porte, au lieu de Mardochée,
Apaisant par sa mort et la terre et les cieux,
De mes peuples vengés il repaisse les yeux. 1175
(_Aman est emmené par les Gardes_.)
SCÈNE VII.
ASSUÉRUS, ESTHER, MARDOCHÉE, ÉLISE, LE CHOEUR.
ASSUÉRUS _continue en s'adressant à Mardochée_.
Mortel chéri du ciel, mon salut et ma joie,
Aux conseils des méchants ton roi n'est plus en proie.
Mes yeux sont dessillés, le crime est confondu.
Viens briller près de moi dans le rang qui t'est dû.
Je te donne d'Aman les biens et la puissance; 1180
Possède justement son injuste opulence.
Je romps le joug funeste où les Juifs sont soumis;
Je leur livre le sang de tous leurs ennemis;
A légal des Persans je veux qu'on les honore,
Et que tout tremble au nom du Dieu qu'Esther adore. 1185
Rebâtissez son temple, et peuplez vos cités;
Que vos heureux enfants dans leurs solennités
Consacrent de ce jour le triomphe et la gloire,
Et qu'à jamais mon nom vive dans leur mémoire.
SCÈNE VIII.
ASSUÉRUS, ESTHER, MARDOCHÉE, ASAPH, ÉLISE, LE CHOEUR.
ASSUÉRUS.
Que veut Asaph? 1190
ASAPH.
Seigneur, le traître est expiré
Par le peuple en fureur à moitié déchiré.
On traîne, on va donner en spectacle funeste
De son corps tout sanglant le misérable reste.
MARDOCHÉE.
Roi, qu'à jamais le Ciel prenne soin de vos jours.
Le péril des Juifs presse, et veut un prompt secours. 1195
ASSUÉRUS.
Oui, je t'entends. Allons, par des ordres contraires,
Révoquer des méchants les ordres sanguinaires.
ESTHER.
O Dieu, par quelle route inconnue aux mortels
Ta sagesse conduit ses desseins éternels!
SCÈNE IX.
LE CHOEUR.
TOUT LE CHOEUR.
Dieu fait triompher l'innocence: 1200
Chantons, célébrons sa puissance.
UNE ISRAÉLITE.
Il a vu contre nous les méchants s'assembler,
Et notre sang prêt à couler.
Comme l'eau sur la terre ils allaient le répandre:
Du haut du ciel sa voix s'est fait entendre; 1205
L'homme superbe est renversé.
Ses propres flèches l'ont percé.
UNE AUTRE.
J'ai vu l'impie adoré sur la terre.
Pareil au cèdre, il cachait dans les cieux
Son front audacieux, 1210
Il semblait à son gré gouverner le tonnerre,
Foulait aux pieds ses ennemis vaincus.
Je n'ai fait que passer, il n'était déjà plus.
UNE AUTRE.
On peut des plus grands rois surprendre la justice.
Incapables de tromper, 1215
Ils ont peine à s'échapper
Des pièges de l'artifice.
Un coeur noble ne peut soupçonner en autrui
La bassesse et la malice.
Qu'il ne sent point en lui. 1220
UNE AUTRE.
Comment s'est calmé l'orage?
UNE AUTRE.
Quelle main salutaire a chassé le nuage?
TOUT LE CHOEUR.
L'aimable Esther a fait ce grand ouvrage.
De l'amour de son Dieu son coeur s'est embrasé;
Au péril d'une mort funeste 1225
Son zèle ardent s'est exposé.
Elle a parlé. Le Ciel a fait le reste.
DEUX ISRAÉLITES.
Esther a triomphé des filles des Persans.
La nature et le Ciel à l'envi l'ont ornée.
L'UNE DES DEUX.
Tout ressent de ses yeux les charmes innocents. 1230
Jamais tant de beauté fut-elle couronnée?
L'AUTRE.
Les charmes de son coeur sont encor plus puissants,
Jamais tant de vertu fut-elle couronnée?
TOUTES DEUX _ensemble_.
Esther a triomphé des filles des Persans.
La nature et le Ciel à l'envi l'ont ornée. 1235
UNE ISRAÉLITE _seule_.
Ton Dieu n'est plus irrité.
Réjouis-toi, Sion, et sors de la poussière.
Quitte les vêtements de ta captivité,
Et reprends ta splendeur première.
Les chemins de Sion à la fin sont ouverts. 1240
Rompez vos fers,
Tribus captives.
Troupes fugitives,
Repassez les monts et les mers.
Rassemblez-vous des bouts de l'univers.
TOUT LE CHOEUR.
Rompez vos fers,
Tribus captives.
Troupes fugitives,
Repassez les monts et les mers.
Rassemblez-vous des bouts de l'univers. 1250
UNE ISRAÉLITE _seule_.
Je reverrai ces campagnes si chères.
UNE AUTRE.
J'irai pleurer au tombeau de mes pères.
TOUT LE CHOEUR.
Repassez les monts et les mers.
Rassemblez-vous des bouts de l'univers.
UNE ISRAÉLITE _seule_.
Relevez, relevez les superbes portiques 1255
Du temple où notre Dieu se plaît d'etre adoré.
Que de l'or le plus pur son autel soit paré,
Et que du sein des monts le marbre soit tiré.
Liban, dépouille-toi de tes cedres antiques.
Prêtres sacrés, préparez vos cantiques. 1260
UNE AUTRE.
Dieu descend et revient habiter parmi nous.
Terre, frémis d'allégresse et de crainte;
Et vous, sous sa majesté sainte,
Cieux, abaissez-vous!
UNE AUTRE.
Que le Seigneur est bon! que son joug est aimable! 1265
Heureux qui dès l'enfance en connaît la douceur!
Jeune peuple, courez à ce maître adorable!
Les biens les plus charmants n'ont rien de comparable
Aux torrents de plaisirs qu'il répand dans un coeur.
Que le Seigneur est bon! que son joug est aimable! 1270
Heureux qui dès l'enfance en connaît la douceur!
UNE AUTRE.
Il s'apaise, il pardonne.
Du coeur ingrat qui l'abandonne
Il attend le retour.
Il excuse notre faiblesse. 1275
A nous chercher même il s'empresse.
Pour l'enfant qu'elle a mis au jour
Une mère a moins de tendresse.
Ah! qui peut avec lui partager notre amour?
TROIS ISRAÉLITES.
Il nous fait remporter une illustre victoire. 1280
L'UNE DES TROIS.
Il nous a révélé sa gloire.
TOUTES TROIS _ensemble_.
Ah! qui peut avec lui partager notre amour?
TOUT LE CHOEUR.
Que son nom soit béni, que son nom soit chanté!
Que l'on célèbre ses ouvrages
Au delà des temps et des âges, 1285
Au delà de l'éternité!
NOTES TO PROLOGUE.
[This prologue is an afterthought, having been written to provide a
part for Mme. de Caylus, a niece of Mme. de Maintenon. It is never
spoken on the stage, and rarely, if ever, read in French schools. It
is here given for the sake of completeness only.]
3 ce lieu, of course is St. Cyr.
9 un roi, Louis XIV.
13 à sa porte, St. Cyr being in the vicinity of Versailles, the king's
residence.
15 cet ouvrage, the founding of this institution.
24 Louis XIV. supported foreign missions in the East and in the
_Nouveau Monde_.
31-32 Allusion is here made to the Augsburg League (1687), in which
Austria joined Sweden, Saxony, etc., for the purpose of opposing Louis
XIV. Its leading spirit was the protestant William of Orange.
36 The pope Innocent III. was accused by Louis XIV. of aiding the
anti-Roman designs of William of Orange,
48 Allusion to the taking of Philippsburg, Mannheim and Frankenthal, in
the preceding year.
49 un fils. The Grand Dauphin had conducted the above campaign, with
the great engineer Vauban.
NOTES TO PLAY.
2 Beni soit is the usual form. The retained _que_ is therefore
emphatic.--_Voeux_ very frequent in poetry for _prieres_, for metrical
reasons. The whole expression is elliptical: _qui te rend [a moi en
reponse] a_ etc.
3 Cf. Book of Esther, ii. 5, for the descent of Mordecai, and
consequently of Esther herself, his brother's daughter.
4 For tense of _fus_, see App. II., ii. B. b.
5 d'un meme is stronger than _du meme_. Cf. l. 263.
8 Note the mode of emphasizing pronouns, Cf. ll. 23, 443, and contrast
ll. 47, 429.
9 je te fais chercher, see App. III. Note the present tense.
10 donc, emphatic, untranslatable here. Observe the order _quel
climat_, _quel desert_, and the reason for it.
11 eploree, quite different from _deploree_, is an adjective, meaning
"weeping," "tearful." Cf. Alfred de Musset:
_Plantez un saule an cimetiere;
J'aime son feuillage eplore . . ._
13 When ne . . . que = "only," _que_ precedes the word specially
qualified by the adverb in English. Here the sense makes "only"
qualify _attendais_ rather than _la fin_. For similar construction see
l. 373.
15 Note: _abuser quelqu'un_, "to deceive a person."
_abuser de_, "to use improperly."
_injurier_, "to abuse" or "insult."
16 Suse, "Shushan the palace" of the Bible, on the river Eulaeus, was
the winter residence of the first Persian kings, the Achemenidae.
Susa, Persepolis, and Ecbatana were the principal towns of, Persia, the
biblical "Elam."
18 Note the formal masc. _assis_.
20 Sion, properly one of the four hills, on which Jerusalem was built,
and often used as the name of the town itself, here stands for the
Jewish nation, to which Jerusalem stood in the same relation as Mecca
to the Mohammedans.
23 horreur, a very strong word, because expressing the physical effect
of fear (here "religious awe"). Cf. Latin _horridus_, _horresco_, etc.
24 J'ai su. For tense, see App. II, iii. B. Savoir is often elegantly
used = "to succeed," especially in this tense.
37 For this _Assuerus_, see Introduction, section IV.
29 ressort (lit. that which "comes out again" when pressed in) is any
mechanical "spring;" often used figuratively.
31-34 See Book of Esther, i. 10-22. On the assumption that Assuerus
is Darius, Vashti is Atossa, daughter of Cyrus, and wife, successively,
of Cambyses II., Smerdis, and Darius, to the last of whom she bore
Xerxes and Artabazanus.
33-34 Epexegesis, or explanation, of _disgrace_. Cf. ll. 250-252.
36 offensee, in the correct etymological sense of "wounded." Vashti
left an "aching void" in the king's heart.
39 L'Inde, now usually _l'Indus_, is generally the river, and rarely
_India_, in Racine's writings.
40 comparaitre, always used of appearance in answer to official summons.
41 indompte, a classical epithet. Cf. _indomitique Dahae_, Verg. Aen.
VIII. 728. The warlike and nomadic character of the Scythians
increased in the mind their geographical remoteness. The Parthians are
supposed to have sprung from Scythian exiles. The two races occupied
the vast regions of north-western Asia.
45 heureux, like "happy," often = "successful."
49 agite refers of course to _il_ in l. 50.
51 The exquisite taste and modesty of the queen's narrative has been
commented upon in Introd. section IV.
54 ma race et mon pays. We are told (Book of Esther, ii. 5-7) that
Mordecai, who had taken Esther for his daughter, had been carried away
from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar; whence it follows that Esther, too,
was not only a Jewess by race, but a native of Palestine. The Book of
Esther (ii. 20) says she had not showed "her kindred nor her people."
56 peuple means: 1. "nation;" 2. "mass of common people," in
contradistinction to _la noblesse_; 3. "crowd."
57 intérêt, whose meaning is always "a matter of interest," will have
to be variously translated; e.g., "prize," "cause," "need," etc.
58 arrêt is the decision at which, when reached, a "stop" is made.
Hence, "decree," "edict," and here "doom."
59 brigue is correctly defined by Mr. Saintsbury as "the whole process
of endeavoring to secure a favor by interest and
influence."--_Suffrages_ is here used of the claims to preference put
forward by each.
69 Note that tandis que has two uses: 1 "during the time that," and 2.
"whereas." _Pendant que_ has only the former.
75 dès has always the force of "as early as," but the translation must
vary.
79-80 Cf. Book of Esther, ii. 18: "And he made a release to the
provinces and gave gifts . . ." Line 80 is figurative: the king's
releases and gifts did not actually "invite" the masses of his subjects
(see N. to l. 56) to the royal nuptials, but "made them partake of the
joy" of these nuptials.--_Leurs princes_ = Ahasuerus and his new queen.
_Leurs_, a _constructio ad sensum_ with the collective singular
_peuple_.
84 Literally true of the then known world, since the one hundred and
twenty-seven provinces of the Persian Empire extended from the Indus in
the East to the Hellespont in the West.
88 sont cessées. _Cesser_ was both transitive and intransitive, as
early as the sixteenth century: hence the passive is legitimate, and
lays additional stress on the state resulting from the action.
89 ennuis = "troubles." _Trouble_ (cf. l. 1170) = "agitation."
92 encor. See App. I, Metre.
96 jusque has always the force of "as far as," but must be variously
translated.
98 avis. Cf.: _C'est moit avis.--Avis au lecteur.--Quand je serai prêt,
je vous en donnerai avis.--Le Président prit l'avis de la chambre.--Il
donne trof d'avis.
99 découvrir here, as several times in this play, "to reveal." Cf.
Merchant of Venice, (Act II. Sc. vii.) "Draw aside the curtains and
discover the several caskets."
Pratiques, like our "practices," always unfavorable when = "doings."
100 domestiques = "officers of the household." The "Rest of the Book
of Esther" gives their names, Gabatha and Tharra, and states that they
were keepers of the palace (xii. 1).
101-110 These lines are a graceful allusion to St. Cyr, and to Mme. de
Maintenon herself. See Introd. section III.
105 profanes, here, as in l. 155, is an especially apt word, since it
suggests not only the seclusion in which these maidens live within the
palace, but also the difference between their religion and that of the
court.
108 me cherchant moi-même, "seeking [communion with] myself."
114 A fine antithesis. Cf. Oedipus Rex, l. l: Kudmou tou palai nia
trophe. 120 (Heading) Endroit or _lieu_ is the general word for a
"place" or "spot." _Place_ is the place to which a thing belongs.
123 De tous côtes and de toutes parts (l. 148) = both "on all sides"
and "from all sides."
126 jusques. See App. I, Metre. The "_s_" is due to the tendency of
adverbial words to assume a final "s." Cf. _sans_ from _sine_, _alors_
from _ad illam horam_.
132 déplorable, a fine etymological use of the word; now only used in
the derived meaning "sad" or "wretched."
139 ta douleur retracée = _le recit de ta douleur_. This is a Latin
construction of frequent occurrence in this play. Cf. _post urbem
conditam_ = "after the founding of the city." The past participle
qualifying the noun takes the place of our abstract substantive.
140 n'occupe. _Pas_ is omitted after _si_ whenever the affirmative
idea is predominant. Tr.: "unless."
146 relever. See App. III.
149 tes peuples. Cf. l. 19, and N. to l. 56.
155 This interview is a departure from the Book of Esther, where
Mordecai, in accordance with Eastern custom, can do no more than "walk
before the court of the women's house" (ii. II).
s'ose avancer is an elegant order for _ose s'avancer_. The peculiarity
is that _oser_ is here used as though it were one of the two
auxiliaries _avoir and _être_, which alone must separate the oblique
conjunctives from their governing verb. Cf. ll. 231, 471. We shall
find several other such pseudo-auxiliaries.
156 père, figuratively, of course.
160 enfin must be variously translated. It can have the force of: 1.
"at length;" 2. "too," at the end of an enumeration; 3. "in short;" 4.
"still," or, "after all;" 5. "in the end."
164 c'est fait de . . . = _actum est de_. . . . See also App. V, ii.
D.
166 Devoir means 1. "to owe;" 2. "to have to," "must" expressing either
physical necessity (e.g., "You must be tired") or moral obligation; 3.
"to be [about] to;" e.g., "I am to be queen of the May."
170 race d'Amalécite, in apposition to _Aman_, is infinitely more
contemptuous than the equally metrical _de race amalécite_. Tr. "of
the brood of Amalek." Cf. Book of Esther, iii. 1, where Haman is
stated to be descended from Agag, king of the Amalekites.
171 crèdit:--"personal influence," which Haman has used as a weapon to
strike down his foes.
173 prévenir means: 1. "to forestall," 2. "to give notice" (l. 203),
"to warn," i.e., to forestall the mishap; 3. "to prejudice," i.e., to
forestall impartial judgment, as here.
174 en horreur à. Cf. _odio esse alicui_, and _en proie à (l. 1177).
See App. V, i.
176 pris. Cf. _prendre jour avec quelqu'un_ = "to make an appointment."
182 les restes, very strong when applied to persons.
183 See l. 140, N.
189 Note the agreement of the adverb.--_Le feu de_ = "the fire that
inspired . . ."
194 affecte = "claims." The word is very skillfully chosen. It
conveys, without the slightest disrespect, Esther's sense of the
arbitrary character of this law.
203 _sans [que je puisse] le prévenir_. The queen may not even inform
the king of her desire to speak with him.
208 Que dis-je? = "Nay!"
209 sang, a frequent metonymy for _race_, as in English.
211 Book of Esther, iv. 14: "and who knoweth whether thou art not come
to the kingdom for such a time as this?"
214 vain--"idle," "useless." Cf. "in vain."
216 ses saints = "his holy ones."
218 d'un enfant, and not _d'une enfant_, because the statement is
general. The next line appeals to Esther directly, hence the fem.
heureuse.
221 peuvent = "can avail."
226 Cf. Isaiah, xl. 17. "All the nations are as nothing before him;
they are counted to him less than nothing."
227 trépas (from _trans_ and low Latin _passare_) is the passing across
the boundary of life. Cf. our two uses of "trespass."
230 que is here a survival from the very frequent construction which
begins with _c'est: c'est, sans doute, que_. . .-_Éprouver_ has either
an active sense, "to put to the test," or a passive, "to experience."
232 The addition of _bien_ to _vouloir_ weakens the meaning from strong
volition to condescension. Here: "has deigned." Cf. l. 357.
Similarly _aimer_ = "to love," but _aimer bien_ = "to like."
234 en. See App. V, ii. C.
237 cette grâce, i.e., of being the instrument of our delivery. The
statement is of course hypothetical, and the future is used, instead of
the conditional, only for greater directness and force.
238 toute votre race, obviously "thou and thy father's house," Book of
Esther, iv. 14.
240 assidus à prier is the order.
242 jeûne, from _jejunum_. Cf. our "jejune."
245 "And if I perish, I perish," Book of Esther, iv. 16. _Contente_,
now colloquially = our "glad," has here its truest sense of "satisfied."
247 Qu'on s'éloigne. The touch of dignity added to the command by the
use of the indefinite pronoun, can hardly be translated. For the
following prayer, see Introd. section IV.
259 sert has here its full etymological meaning of "being a slave."
Its other meanings are: 2. with _de_, "to serve as," "to be used for,"
l. 843; 3. with accus. "to serve" a person, a cause, etc., l. 336; 4.
with dative, "to be of use" to a person or for a purpose, l. 333.
200 veut, as often, = "seek to." Note that the _de_ before _être_ is
not dependent on _peu_, but is the regular preposition introducing an
infinitive not at the beginning of a sentence.--For _vouloir_, used as
a pseudo-auxiliary, see l. 155, N.
261 Insulter, like _applaudir_, is used with the accus. in a literal,
with the dat. in a figurative, sense.
262 Imputer always implies that you charge a person with an _offence_.
Here there is a slight hypallage: the offence lies in the fact that the
conqueror dares to credit his false gods with his triumph, and not, as
the words would literally signify, in that with which he credits them.
263 Note that adjectives at the end of the line are strongly emphatic.
266 Foi means: 1. "faith," l. 256; 2. "loyalty," l. 375; 3. "truth," as
here; 4. "promise," l. 1152. If the Jews were annihilated, the Saviour
promised by God to the seed of Abraham could not be born to them.
277 où, frequently used for the dat. of relative pron. referring to
things.
299 Il fut is elegant for _il y eut_. Cf. l. 477. For the tense, see
App. II, ii. B. b.
309 Arracher is "to snatch away," "to pull off" or "up;" _déchirer_ is
"to tear into pieces."
332 Note that autrui can never be nominative.
333 Que. See App. IV, 1. A.
347 Ni is almost always followed by _ne_ without _pas_, because _ne_ is
only attended by its intensifying particle _pas_ when used as the sole
negative in the clause, without any accompanying _rien_, _jamais_,
_aucun_, etc. Here, therefore, there should be no _pas_. Its
introduction creates a sort of anacoluthon, and throws great stress on
the negative.
364 When Pharaoh's host was swallowed up by the Red Sea.
367 paille légère = "chaff."
373 ne . . . que. Cf. l. 13, N.
375 en. See App. V, ii. E.
382 Tout ce . . . de mystères is a construction framed on the analogy
of genitives following adverbs of quantity.
386 fait and not _faite_. See App. III.
392 fuit is the present tense because _qui le fuit_ is equivalent to an
adjective.
404 The story is that, at the death of Gomates, the candidates to the
throne of Persia, unable to settle their rival claims, agreed that he
should be king whose horse should neigh first after sunrise, and that
Darius won the crown through the wit of his servant who led a mare to
the appointed spot in advance. See Herodotus, III. 85-86.
405 idée, by frequent metonymy for _esprit_.
406 Chaldaea was famous for its astronomers, who had fixed the duration
of the year, were acquainted with the zodiac, and as early as the
middle of the fourth century B.C., already possessed astronomical
records extending over 1,900 years. They were also far-famed
astrologers, and as such were in great demand as late as the last years
of the Roman empire.
415 eut du ciel. Cf. Gray's Elegy: "He gained from heaven, 'twas all
he asked," etc.
419 Striking witness is borne to Haman's high position by the flattery
paid him by Hydaspes.
426 Tout révère, for _tous révèrent_, for metrical reasons. See App.
I, Metre.
430 Traiter de = "to call," always with an unfavorable connotation.
444 fragile, of course, must be translated here "broken."
445 salutaire, here "timely."
449 l'artifice. The definite article is used distributively: = "all
artifice."
452 Racine heightens the contrast between Haman's past and present
fortunes by imagining him to have been bought for a slave, in boyhood,
by a Persian master. This the Bible does not state, although the Rest
of the Book of Esther calls him a Macedonian (xvi, 10), but immediately
adds "and as a stranger received of us."
454 soutiens de ma puissance. Male children were, and still are,
indispensable to prosperity in the East, as the supporters and
defenders of the family.
458 atteinte is now usually unfavorable.
459 Mardochée assis, etc. See l. 139, N, for this Latin construction.
462 tandis que. See l. 69, N. _Tant que_ would have been more precise
here.
465 est . . . à. The construction is _ad sensum_, as though _sembler_
had been used.
468 Note the use of aller as a pseudo-auxiliary. Cf. l. 155, N.
469 C'est trop peu d'une telle . . . The _de_ in such forms is due to
false analogy with the construction in which an infinitive in
apposition follows _c'est_, for which see l. 260, N.
477 Il fut. See App. II, ii. B. b.
478 This line, expressive of the multitude of the Jews, heightens the
contrast with l. 480.
484 a dû. See l. 166, N.
485-87 I Sam. xv, 7-8: "And Saul smote the Amalekites . . . and he took
Agag, the King of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the
people with the edge of the sword."
486 vils, a classical adjective = "valueless," "contemptible." Cf.
Merch. of Ven. ii., 4: "'tis vile, unless it may be quaintly ordered."
The flocks and herds have no value, are contemptible, as adversaries;
hence, = "helpless." Cf. l. 522.
493 couleurs, now familiarly used for "false representations."
_J'armai_, cf. l. 171.
494 J'interessai . . . etc. "I showed him his glory at stake." Note
the tense of _trembla_: = "till he trembled." See App. II, ii. B. a.
502 Cf. Gen. xvi., 12; "his hand shall be against every man, and every
man's hand against him."
504 Note Haman's concluding appeal to the greed of human nature. He is
a crafty counsellor, as unscrupulous as he is clever.
511 For enfin, see l. 160; for the Latin construction of _le trépas
différé_, see l. 139.
519-520 There is here a slight confusion in construction. If a comma
preceded _terrible_, _souvent_ would then be regularly dependent on
_combien_. But there is no authority for this punctuation, and we must
supply a repeated _combien_, thus: _tu sais combien terrible . . . [il
est it combien] souvent, etc.
521 à cannot be consequent to _trop_, which always takes _pour_. Tr.
"in tormenting me."
523 Que. See App. IV, ii. A.
527 The imperfect for the conditional past, for greater vividness. Cf.
"One moment more and he was a dead man" = he would have been . . .
529 veux bien. See l. 232, N. It is condescension on the king's part
to make a confession at all.
530. Note that the king views himself as the father of his people: a
piece of flattery on Racine's part towards Louis XIV.