Poésies choisies de André Chénier
IV. Au Chevalier de Pange.
L. 52. L'ennui. Ennui here says something more than its adoption into English would suggest. The English student, in order to realize its force, should refer to its earlier adoption represented by the form annoy. The word originated, according to Diez, in the Latin phrase est mihi in odio. For the weakened sense of ennui, see p. 57, l. 41.
L. 53. à, for.
L. 56. N'allument... un... trépas. A bold phrase. The passage is from 'allumer une fièvre,' through 'allumer une fièvre mortelle,' to 'allumer une mort.'
L. 61. amour... mutuelle. Amour in the feminine is an archaism. Amour, Lat. amor, was feminine in Old French, as all such derivatives were and still are: douleur, peur, &c. Littré, s.v., Rem. 2; cf. p. 61, l. 18.
IV. AU CHEVALIER DE PANGE.
L. 27. Tibullus, ii. 1. 67.
L. 28. Becq de Fouquières, in his notes, gives an epigram of Julianus (with the reference Anth., Pl. 588), which he observes has inspired this thought.
L. 35. Tout, mais surtout les champs sont restés. Tout and les champs really belong to different propositions and the verb agrees with les champs. Cf. 'Somewhat, and in many cases a great deal, is put upon us.'—Butler, Analogy, Part I.
L. 44. L'astre, the sun, or Phoebus Apollo.
L. 92. De leur voix argentine. 'The silvery voice of glasses' is pretty. André Chénier is depicting a true heathenish paradise.
L. 98. ingrat à. We should rather say now ingrat envers. Many adjectives, Haase observes (§ 125 B), now followed by envers, pour, avec, de, &c., were constructed with à, e.g. 'A moins que d'être ingrate à mon libérateur.'—Corneille, Andr. v. 2, 1573.