George Leo Haydock, on Neh 2:3

“And I said to the king: O king, live for ever: why should not my countenance be sorrowful, seeing the city of the place of the sepulchres of my fathers is desolate, and the gates thereof are burnt with fire?”

“Live; an usual salutation, Daniel iii. 9., and v. 10. So Ælian (var. i. 32.) says, “O king Artaxerxes, mayst thou reign for ever.” — Father, ver. 5. He knew that the Persians shewed great regard to the dead, (Calmet; Tirinus) whose bodies they sometimes cover with wax, and keep in their house, (Cic.[Cicero?] Tusc. i.; Alex. Genial iii. 2.) or inter. (Herodotus i. 140.)”

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