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."