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.