[145] OBJET. Usually, in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, denotes a woman loved. Occasionally Corneille, like Marivaux here, employs it to denote a man loved. This, however, is infrequent.
[146] À MOI. There is an ellipsis at the end of Silvia's remark, which, completed, would read: Il n'y aurait pas grande perte à cela. Dorante's reply, which is not strictly grammatical, even in the use of the time, would certainly nowadays be constructed differently, e.g., Non plus que si je m'en allais aussi, moi.
[147] NE SONT BONNES QU'EN PASSANT, 'Can only be indulged in once in a while.'
[148] JE NE SUIS PAS FAITE POUR ME RASSURER TOUJOURS, 'I do not feel that I could always be sure of…'
[149] CELA NE RESSEMBLEROIT PLUS À RIEN. The sense is: "My attitude towards you would be so extraordinary that it might become compromising" (Larroumet).
[150] IL N'EN SEROIT NI PLUS NI MOINS = Cela ne changerait rien.' It would make no difference.'
[151] J'AMUSERAI, 'Shall I flatter with vain hopes?' Compare: "Il veut que je l'amuse, et ne veut rien de plus" (Corneille, Sertorius, II, 3). "Car vous lui promettez tous les huit jours de l'épouser dans la semaine, et il y a près d'un an que vous l'amusez" (Dancourt, Le Chevalier à la Mode, I, 7).
[152] JE T'EN ASSURE. The en here is unconnected with any other part of the sentence. In modern construction it would not be used.
[153] TE RENDRE SENSIBLE. An expression very frequently, indeed generally, used in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries for me faire aimer de toi. A reminiscence of the days and modes of thought of the précieuses and the whole tribe of writers of novels after the manner of l'Astrée.
[154] SANS DIFFICULTÉ, 'Undoubtedly.'