All 15 Uses of
beseech
in
The Divine Comedy -- translated by Cary
- I to him in few: "Bard! by that God, whom thou didst not adore, I do beseech thee (that this ill and worse I may escape) to lead me, where thou saidst, That I Saint Peter's gate may view, and those Who as thou tell'st, are in such dismal plight."†
Canto 1.1-11
- I was among the tribe, Who rest suspended, when a dame, so blest And lovely, I besought her to command, Call'd me; her eyes were brighter than the star Of day; and she with gentle voice and soft Angelically tun'd her speech address'd: "O courteous shade of Mantua! thou whose fame Yet lives, and shall live long as nature lasts!†
Canto 1.1-11
- But now my master summoning me back I heard, and with more eager haste besought The spirit to inform me, who with him Partook his lot.†
Canto 1.1-11 *
- So spake my guide; and I him thence besought, That having giv'n me appetite to know, The food he too would give, that hunger crav'd.†
Canto 1.12-22
- As in Socrate, Constantine besought To cure his leprosy Sylvester's aid, So me to cure the fever of his pride This man besought: my counsel to that end He ask'd: and I was silent: for his words Seem'd drunken: but forthwith he thus resum'd: "From thy heart banish fear: of all offence I hitherto absolve thee.†
Canto 1.23
- This man besought: my counsel to that end†
Canto 1.23
- As in Soracte Constantine besought.†
Canto 1.N.
- Not of myself I come; a Dame from heaven Descending, had besought me in my charge To bring.†
Canto 2.1-11
- Thy course tends right Unto the summit:" and, replying thus, He added, "I beseech thee pray for me, When thou shalt come aloft."†
Canto 2.12-22
- Yet, beseech thee, point The cause out to me, that myself may see, And unto others show it: for in heaven One places it, and one on earth below.†
Canto 2.12-22
- So them the bard besought; and such the words, Beyond us some short space, in answer came.†
Canto 2.12-22
- Again drew near my side the very same, Who had erewhile besought me, and their looks Mark'd eagerness to listen.†
Canto 2.23-33
- I, to the spirit he had shown me, drew A little onward, and besought his name, For which my heart, I said, kept gracious room.†
Canto 2.23-33
- O glory of our kind! beseech thee say What water this, which from one source deriv'd Itself removes to distance from itself?"†
Canto 2.23-33
- …Mighty in learning, and did set himself To go about the vineyard, that soon turns To wan and wither'd, if not tended well: And from the see (whose bounty to the just And needy is gone by, not through its fault, But his who fills it basely), he besought, No dispensation for commuted wrong, Nor the first vacant fortune, nor the tenth), That to God's paupers rightly appertain, But, 'gainst an erring and degenerate world, Licence to fight, in favour of that seed, From which the twice…†
Canto 3.12-22
Definition:
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(beseech) to ask strongly or beg for somethingeditor's notes: Beseech is common in classic literature. Though its usage has doubled in recent decades, it remains a rare word in modern writing.
Synonym Comparison (if you're into word choice):
Beseech is similar to beg or entreat. Beg implies the request for a personal favor, while entreat implies an attempt to overcome resistance.