Reserve thy state,
And in thy best consideration check
This hideous rashness. Answer my life my judgment,
Thy youngest daughter does not love thee least,
Nor are those empty-hearted whose low sounds
Reverb no hollowness.
– William Shakespeare
King Lear, Act 1, Scene 1. Kent tries to make Lear see the foolishness of his actions. He asks him to reverse his decision to break his bond with Cordelia. He labels Lear’s act as hideous and rash, swearing on his own life that Lear’s youngest daughter Cordelia doesn’t love him least. Just because her plain speech does not offer hollow words of flattery (a dig at Regan’s and Goneril’s insincerity) doesn’t mean she is unloving, Kent bluntly tells Lear.