Xxxvi. a la santé. – André Chénier

Ll. 1-3. Compare these opening lines with the envoy or concluding part
of Hylas, p. 28, l. 43.

L. 9. jeunesse prudente. In the sense of Latin prudens, ‘wise.’
Prudence is generally considered as an attribute of old age. ‘La
prudence est le fruit de la longue vie,’ says the French (Sacy’s)
translation of the Bible, where the English Bible has: ‘In length of
days (is) understanding,’ Job xii. 12.

L. 10. Pâlit. Pâlir sur des livres is a French idiom whose English
equivalent would be ‘to pore over books.’

L. 23. caresses d’amours. The s in amours is for the rime.