1024 Dussiez-vous, = quand même vous devriez. This elegant use of the imperf. subj. with subject pronoun inverted (= quand même and the conditional) is generally confined to the auxiliaries, or pseudo-auxiliaries, such as savoir, pouvoir, falloir, etc. In the third person sing. however, where the verb-forms are less unwieldly, other verbs may be so used: it is a matter of euphony.—For the previous offer, see l. 660.
1039 aurait puise. Note this conditional past of hypothetical statement. It always implies that the speaker is unwilling to indorse the statement on his own responsibility.
Jour means: 1. "day;" 2. "day-light;" 3. any "light,"; physical (as in un abat-jour) or figurative, e.g., l. 1136; 4. "birth," cf. l. 1277; 5. in plural, "life."
1047 contrée, always = "region."
1050 Here begins a magnificent passage where elevation of language almost reaches inspiration.
1053 qu'on outrage—an adj., "oppressed."
1059 See 2 Kings, xvii. 5-23. Shalmaneser, in 718 B.C., took captive the kingdom of Israel, and Nebuchadnezzar II., the kingdom of Juda in 606. The captivity of the Jews under the Assyrians lasted 70 years, 606-536 B.C., when they obtained leave from Cyrus to return to Palestine. See Introd., section 4, Chron. Table.
1062-3 Isaiah xlv. 1-3: "Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him, and I will loose the loins of kings; to open the doors before him, and the gates will not be shut, I will go before thee, and make the rugged places plain: I will break in pieces the doors of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron; and I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places." For the Persian kings of these times, see Introd. section 4. Cyrus reigned about 560-530 B.C.
1068 son temple détruit, another Latin construction.—Nebuchadnezzar II. destroyed the temple of Jerusalem after his capture of the city in 587 B.C.
1073 sortait, a most instructive use of the imperfect; the narrative pauses in the succession of events, to lay stress on the happy state now prevailing. See App. II, ii. A.