ier_ follows its noun, as here, the idea conveyed is
"cldquo;conceptions which form the basis of other conceptions."

12. durant. According to Littre, this preposition differs from
_pendant_ in that it means "dldquo;during the entire time," whereas pendant
may mean "aldquo;at a certain point during the time": _durant la campagne les
ennemis se sont enfermes dans leurs places_, and _c'est pendant la
campagne que s'est livree 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. Bire, _Honore de Balzac_.

232.--28. bestiaux. This word is now used as the plural of
_betail_; it is, however, etymologically not the plural of betail, 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 "aldquo;all the
cattle" (cf. Nyrop, _Grammaire historique de la langue francaise_, vol.
II, sec. 292, 2, remark).

235.--22. anachoretes. Anchorites differ from hermits in
that they live in the most absolute solitude and subject themselves to
the greatest privations.

237.--4. il ne se serait pas sacre comme ca, que la
frayeur ...That is, _quand meme il ne se serait pas sacre comme ca,
la frayeur..._ (the principal clause expresses a concession, and the
_que_ clause the conclusion).

11. qu'est. A popular error already noted (see note to p. 92, l.
29).

18. que qui te dit. For _qu'est-ce qu'il te dit_; qu'elle
repond (l. 19), an example of the superfluous que used by the
uneducated; qu'a dit (l. 21) _= qu'elle dit = dit-elle_.

31. defunt ma mere. _Defunt_, as also the adjective _feu_, does
not agree with its noun when the latter follows.

238.--5. qu'a ecoute. For _qu'elle a ecoute_. 22. plus
du temps. For _plus que le temps_.

239.--20. fallait des especes. Popular omission of il.

26.