[22] Note.—Cucurbit ("cucurbite") for moon is, in French, as odd as it appears in English. The oddity of the expression, that assimulates Luna to the rotund melon, pumpkin, etc., of the genus of plants known as cucurbita, is in keeping with Cyrano's intentional extravagance of speech.
[23] Note.—"Tu croques le marmot" (literally "you are eating the baby") is an allusion to ogres' proverbial taste for infants, coupled with the somewhat slangy meaning: "you are waiting long and impatiently." This in English would be meaningless, and was perforce replaced by what seems to be a fair equivalent.
[24] Note.—A French proverb.
[25] Note.—Intentional affectation, like that of "his indisposition was sentenced, for high treason."
[26] Note.—An evident anachronism, since Molière did not open his Paris theatre until three years later (1658). Given, however, the deep knowledge of seventeenth century matters displayed throughout this drama, the anachronism must be intentional, the poet's object doubtless having been to embody the tradition according to which the "Qu'allait-il faire dans cette galère?" of Molière's "Fourberies de Scapin" (produced only in 1671) was taken from Cyrano de Bergerac's "Le Pédant Joué."
[27] Note.—"It" here is Death (feminine in French). The personifying he somewhat customary in English poetry, was set aside, and the neuter gender was intentionally preserved, because, being more vague, it better represents the terror-striking unknown, and is more expressive of Cyrano's daring contempt and repulsion for a loathsome thing. Cyrano, who put to flight one hundred men, could not be expected to fear a person, much less a personification.
[28] Note.—See [Introduction], [Preface] and [Prefatory Triolets ("Le Panache")].
[Transcriber's Note]
Apparent printer's errors have been retained, unless stated below.