[928]. al buen entendedor: the whole proverb is "Al buen entendedor, pocas palabras," or "A buen entendedor, breve hablador." The English equivalent is "A word to the wise is sufficient."
[944]. It should be recalled that Quevedo, Act I, Scene XIII, had picked up by mistake Medina's cloak instead of his own.
[1070]. Grana calls attention to the cross of St. James and congratulates Quevedo on receiving it.
[1277-1292.] As the stage direction explains, Sanz has cleverly taken eight lines from Quevedo's sonnet A Una Nariz, and introduced asides to Olivares. The sonnet continues:
Érase un espolón de una galera,
érase un pirámide de Egipto,
las doce tribus de narices era.
Érase un naricísimo infinito,
muchísima nariz, nariz tan fiera,
que en la cara de Anás fuera delito.
[1281]. una nariz sayón y escriba: the two nouns sayón ('executioner') and escriba ('scribe,' 'notary') used as adjectives convey the idea that this nose was a sharp one, even a deadly one. The notary with his affidavits was as much to be dreaded as the executioner himself.
[1291]. Ovidio Nasón más narizado: the allusion is to the Latin poet Publius Ovidius Naso; the pun is on the word Nasón (Naso); naso in Latin = narizado.
[1445-1468.] Cf. Historical Introduction.
[1552]. Esthin: Hesdin, a fortified town near the English Channel, in Artois; taken by the French in 1639.—Wiranzan: probably Besançon in Franche-Comté.—Dola: Dôle, a fortified town, capital of Franche-Comté till 1648.
[1553]. Islas Terceras: the name given to the central group of the Azores; it may apply as well to the entire archipelago. Portuguese territory until 1582, it passed with Portugal to the control of Spain and was not restored to Portugal until the mother country regained her independence.