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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.
  1. "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
  2. 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
  3. " Elinor would not vouchsafe any answer.
    — from Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
  4. She did not even vouchsafe the usual courteous smile of etiquette.
    — from The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
  5. Katerina Ivanovna did not vouchsafe a reply.
    — from Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
  6. "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
  7. Did you have a long illness, or did heaven vouchsafe you a gentle easy passage to eternity?
    — from The Odyssey by Homer
  8. Holy queen," he continued, "vouchsafe to send down thy grace upon myself, my good wife, and my children.
    — from The Odyssey by Homer
  9. "I do not think—I know," was all the answer Susan would vouchsafe.
    — from Rilla of Ingleside by L. M. Montgomery
  10. I’ll bring you thither, my lord, if you’ll vouchsafe me.
    — from Much Ado about Nothing by William Shakespeare
  11. 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
  12. 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

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