Selections from Poe Part 25

147. 20. aqua regia: "royal water," so called because it dissolves gold, is a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acids.

150. 15. Golconda: a ruined city of India, once famous as a place for the cutting and polis.h.i.+ng of diamonds; used figuratively in the sense of a mine of wealth.

150. 30. Read Poe's article on "Cryptography," included in his collected works.

151. 13. Spanish main: that part of the Caribbean Sea adjacent to the coast of South America. It was part of the route of Spanish merchant vessels between Spain and her new-world possessions, and was infested with pirates.

THE PURLOINED LETTER (Page 160)

First published in 1845 (see comment on the detective stories in the Introduction, page xxviii). This story is peculiarly original in its incidents and subtle in its reasoning. "The Murders in the Rue Morgue"

should certainly be read also, and perhaps it will prove of more sustained interest to the majority of readers.

160. Quotation. Lucius Annaeus Seneca (B.C. 4-A.D. 65) was a celebrated Roman philosopher and tutor of the Emperor Nero. The quotation means: "Nothing is more hateful to wisdom than excessive ac.u.men."

160. 3. Dupin: introduced in "The Murders in the Rue Morgue."

160. 4-5. Au troisieme: French, literally, "on the third," but the meaning is the fourth floor, because the count is begun above the ground floor; Faubourg St. Germain: an aristocratic section of Paris.

160. 15-16. Monsieur G----: introduced in "The Murders in the Rue Morgue."

164. 3. Hotel: in French usage, a dwelling of some pretension,--a mansion.

164. 7. au fait: French for familiar, expert.

168. 26. John Abernethy (1764-1831), an eminent English surgeon, was noted for his brusque manners and his eccentricities.

171. 15-16. Francois, Due de la Rochefoucauld (1613-1680) was a French moralist, author of the famous "Maxims"; Jean de la Bruyere (1645-1696) was a French essayist; see notes on Machiavelli and Campanella under "The Fall of the House of Usher," page 194.

172. 19. recherche: French for "sought after," selected with care.

173. 1. non distributio medii: "undistributed middle," a term in logic for a form of fallacious reasoning. Consult an encyclopedia, articles on "Logic," "Syllogism," and "Fallacy," or the Century Dictionary under "Fallacy."

173. 16. Nicholas Chamfort (1741-1794), a Frenchman, was said to be the best conversationalist of his day, and wrote famous maxims and epigrams. The quotation means, "It is safe to wager that every popular idea, every received convention, is a piece of foolishness, because it has suited the majority."

173. 27-28. ambitus: a going round, illegal striving for office; religio: scrupulousness, conscientiousness; homines honesti: men of distinction.

174. 17. Jacob Bryant (1715-1804), an Englishman; his work on mythology is of no value.

175. 5. intriguant: an intriguer.

176. 3. vis inertiae: force of inertia.

180. 5. facilis descensus Averni: "the descent to Avernus is easy." Virgil's "Aeneid," VI, 126; Cranch's translation, VI, 161-162. Lake Avernus was, in cla.s.sical mythology, the entrance to Hades. Consult Gayley's "Cla.s.sic Myths."

180. 6. Angelica Catalani (1780-1849), a famous Italian singer.

180. 9. monstrum horrendum: a dreadful monster.

180. 23-24. "A design so baneful, if not worthy of Atreus, is worthy of Thyestes." Atreus and Thyestes were brothers to whom, in cla.s.sic story, the most terrible crimes were attributed.

180. 25. Prosper J. de Crebillon (1674-1762), a noted French tragic poet. The quotation is from "Atree et Thyeste."