Edltlon: Calmann Lévy, in 24 vols. and in 45 vols. (his works have been published in several other editions).
UN DRAME AU BORD DE LA MER
[222.]--7. conceptions premières. Numerals precede their nouns; when premier follows its noun, as here, the idea conveyed is "conceptions which form the basis of other conceptions."
12. durant. According to Littré, this preposition differs from pendant in that it means "during the entire time," whereas pendant may mean "at a certain point during the time": durant la campagne les ennemis se sont enfermés dans leurs places, and c'est pendant la campagne que s'est livrée la bataille dont vous parlez.
[227.]--27. sans mot dire. Note the position of mot in this phrase; cf. sans rien dire.
[229.]--4. faquir. The fakirs or ascetic Mohammedan monks comprise various classes and orders; Balzac apparently has in mind those known as yogis, who assume and maintain for a long time various unnatural postures, their belief being that this will effect a union of the human soul with the Supreme Being, whereby further migration will be avoided (this is known as the yoga system of philosophy).
6. si le voulait la mer. Notice the inversion.
[230.]--24. mon cher oncle. A detailed account of Balzac's family can be found in E. Biré, Honoré de Balzac.
[232.]--28. bestiaux. This word is now used as the plural of bétail; it is, however, etymologically not the plural of bétail, but of the adjective bestial; the latter singular form is not now used as a substantive in the literary language, although it occurs in works of the seventeenth century and is still used in Normandy, meaning "all the cattle" (cf. Nyrop, Grammaire historique de la langue française, vol. II, sec. 292, 2, remark).
[235.]--22. anachorètes. Anchorites differ from hermits in that they live in the most absolute solitude and subject themselves to the greatest privations.