1. The 'obstruction' or 'hindrance' implied in empesché would refer to air that is unable to circulate freely, and thus becomes stifling, polluted, etc.

2. As is common in Old and Early Modern French, the subject pronoun has been omitted: je compte.

3. Archaic spelling of the first-person conditional of savoir (saurais).

4. Onques 'ever', or in negative sentences, 'never'.

5. que tout autre = aussi loin que tout autre homme.

6. nocturne modifies 'exercice'.

7. sensible here means 'perceptible' rather than 'sensitive'.

8. d'un autre = d'un autre pas

9. les Parques: in classical mythology, the three Fates, two of whom spin out or unwind the thread of each individual's life, and the third of whom decides when to cut it.

10. artificiel in Early Modern French could mean 'artificial' in the sense of 'man-made', but could also, as here, refer more to artifice, craft, or artistic skill.

11. marchander here has nothing to do with haggling over a sale, but is used in a different sense, roughly: 'I am unconvinced that my hearing could be at the point of growing duller'. This usage can be seen today in the negative formulation ne pas marchander' = 'résister', 'ne pas céder sans hésitations ou éxigences'.