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Jean Racine - Esther
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.
533 succès, conformably with its derivation, is here without the usual favorable connotation. Cf. "luck" =
"good luck." - Fureur expresses aggressive madness (cf. ira furor brevis est), which the
king assumes could alone prompt such an attempt.
538 More indirect flattery for Louis XIV.
539 Foi. See l. 266, N.
541 trop = "passing." For superlative use of si, cf. 1021.
545 frappe = "impresses."
546 nous = "us" [kings]. See App. I, Hiatus.
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