Literary notes about Vouchsafe (AI summary)
The term "vouchsafe" has been employed in literature as a formal, somewhat archaic way of asking for a favor or granting permission, often imbuing the request with a sense of deference and solemnity. Authors use it to indicate a gracious bestowal, whether it is a simple smile, an answer, or divine intervention. For instance, Coleridge and Milton invoke it in poetic and elevated contexts to suggest a transcendent blessing or act of grace ([1], [2]), while Jane Austen and Dostoyevsky use it more subtly to depict a character’s withholding or offering of a reply or smile ([3], [4], [5]). Additionally, in religious or epic settings such as those found in Homer’s works, the word underscores a supplicant’s plea to the gods for leniency or favor ([6], [7], [8]). This range of uses—from the intimate requests of individual characters ([9], [10]) to the elevated petitions in national or cosmic contexts ([11], [12])—demonstrates how "vouchsafe" encapsulates both politeness and a command for grace, bridging the personal and the majestic across different literary genres.
- "And to the end we may with better ease Discern the true discourse, vouchsafe to shew What were the times foregoing near to these,
— from Biographia Literaria by Samuel Taylor Coleridge - Vouchsafe to see another of their forms, the Roman stamp: Imprimatur, If it seem good to the reverend Master of the Holy Palace.
— from Areopagitica by John Milton - " Elinor would not vouchsafe any answer.
— from Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen - She did not even vouchsafe the usual courteous smile of etiquette.
— from The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - Katerina Ivanovna did not vouchsafe a reply.
— from Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - "O thou," she cried, "that encirclest the earth, vouchsafe to grant the prayers of thy servants that call upon thee.
— from The Odyssey by Homer - Did you have a long illness, or did heaven vouchsafe you a gentle easy passage to eternity?
— from The Odyssey by Homer - Holy queen," he continued, "vouchsafe to send down thy grace upon myself, my good wife, and my children.
— from The Odyssey by Homer - "I do not think—I know," was all the answer Susan would vouchsafe.
— from Rilla of Ingleside by L. M. Montgomery - I’ll bring you thither, my lord, if you’ll vouchsafe me.
— from Much Ado about Nothing by William Shakespeare - And then she repayred to the king, praying his grace to vouchsafe to shew her his griefe.
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson - And *flouts at us they throw. 7 Return us, and thy grace divine, O God of Hosts vouchsafe 30 Cause thou thy face on us to shine,
— from The Poetical Works of John Milton by John Milton