“Not from the stars do I my judgment pluck,
And yet methinks I have astronomy,
But from thine eyes my knowledge I derive.” (SON.14)
Tips for Use. Education from the eyes of a lover. It’s going a bit overboard but it makes for a flattering compliment, especially if you met the object of your flattery (and attention) only minutes or a short time before. For example she may ask, “Where did you go to school?” and it would be a good answer.
For the record, in Shakespeare’s times, astronomy… and astrology were still closely intertwined.
For example, Catholic Archdeacon Ruiz in his “Libro de Bueno Amor” (Book of Good Love, entry #152), starting from similar premises reaches quite different conclusions. He says,
“I do not know much about astrology, and I know the astrolabe just as much as to know how to distinguish an ox from its harness. (Note: the astrolabe is an ancient mechanical computing device to solve problems relating to time and the position of the sun and stars in the sky). But I have seen and verified that many are born under the sign of Venus, therefore they spend most of their life chasing women. They never forget their star-conditioned life mission and continuously trouble themselves about it. Yet the majority never reaches their goal. I myself think that I was born under this sign because I have consistently gone after women. I never disliked the good they did to me; I courted many but never got exactly what I wanted.”
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And I promise, no sales calls, trade leads, venomous schemes, hidden plots, Machiavellian conspiracies, commercial ploys, psychological tricks, leads exchanges, barter proposals, suggestions or offers of any kind imaginable (and unimaginable).
Of course, if you acquire the book “Your Daily Shakespeare” you will not only enjoy it but you will find it very useful. The quote in this post and more than ten thousand others will lead you to find the words that perfectly strengthen your argument(s). After all Shakespeare wrote them, I simply extracted, structured and compiled them so as to make Shakespeare both useful in your life endeavors and very “user friendly” as they say. And if you wish I will even sign the book. But this is the extreme extent of any “sales” effort, call or solicitation.
In the sonnet. Again, the main object of the affections of the poet in the Sonnets was actually a young man. For reasons that have challenged scholars and psychologists, Shakespeare wanted the young man to marry so as to procreate an equally attractive progeny. It may seem somewhat weird. Still, romance can often take unexpected directions or inspirations and poetry redeems the strangeness.
Image sources: http://projectristar.wikispaces.com/
http://www.freepik.com/free-vector/man-using-binoculars-clip-art_385352.htm