love no man in good earnest; nor no further in sport neither, than with safety of a pure blush thou
mayst in honour come off again."(As You Like It, act I, sc.
And this King Richarde witnesseth wel, his ende this plaine doth shew, For God allotted him such ende, and sent him so great woe, As such a life deservde: as by the Chronicles thou
mayst know.
Long
mayst thou live To bear his image and renew his glories!
Take physic, pomp, Expose thyself to feel what wretches feel, That thou
mayst shake the superflux to them And show the heavens more just.
Donne concludes the verses: Restore Thine image, so much, by Thy grace, That Thou
mayst know me, and I'll turn my face.
Thou shalt accompany me in my present expedition; and in the glorious field of war, establish that valour which, if my judgment deceive me not, shines through thy features, and lives in thy heart;--and, that thou
mayst be equal with the Nobles who attend me on the enterprize, receive the order of Knighthood, which I here bestow.' (vol.
(pointing to maid) or thou
mayst come to evil, spite thy woman's gear!" he provides her with a theoretical road map for feminist action (135).
Instead, he questions the applicability of such "newe science" (25) to real human experience, of which he claims to possess little and which Africanus accuses him of lacking: "But natheles, although that thow be dul,/Yit that thow canst not do, yit
mayst thow se" (162-3).
The
Mayst Bukh story adds several details not found in the Falco letter.
Thou--whomsoever thou
mayst be, into whose hands the wretched Matilda may fall" (NA, 160).
True, a somewhat chastened King Lear urges his fellow royals to "expose thyself to feel what wretches feel, that thou
mayst shake the superflux to them and show the heavens more just." But beyond suggesting that aristocratic rule might try being a bit more considerate toward the poor, does this rueful acknowledgement of the world's injustice really only ensure that everything stays the same?
When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy its trees by forcing an axe against them: for thou
mayst eat of them, and thou shalt not cut them down; for is the tree of the field a man, that it should be besieged by thee?
/ But lend it rather to thine enemy, / "Who if he break, thou
mayst with better face / Exact the penalty" (1.3.128-32).
