Adam Clarke, on Esth 1:4

“That he might shew the riches of the glory of his kingdom, and the greatness, and boasting of his power, for a long time, to wit, for a hundred and fourscore days.”

“The riches of his glorious kingdom - Luxury was the characteristic of the Eastern monarchs, and particularly of the Persians. In their feasts, which were superb and of long continuance, they made a general exhibition of their wealth, grandeur, etc., and received the highest encomiums from their poets and flatterers. Their ostentation on such occasions passed into a proverb: hence Horace: - Persicos odi, puer, apparatus: Displicent nexae philyra coronae; Mitte sectari, rosa quo locorum Sera moretur. I tell thee, boy, that I detest The grandeur of a Persian feast; Nor for me the linden's rind Shall the flowery chaplet bind. Then search not where the curious rose Beyond his season loitering grows. Francis.”

Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.