What is the meaning of こそ...め?


I've come across a construction, こそ...め, that I don't know how to translate.

Specifically, め, which I know is the [已然]{いぜん}[形]{けい} of む, since it comes
after [未然]{みぜん}[形]{けい} inflections, is being used terminally. I don't know how
to interpret this.

I have a few example sentences from classical literature:

> [千年]{せんねん}を[過]{す}ぐすとも、[一夜]{いちや}の[夢]{ゆめ}の[心地]{ここち} _ **こそ**_ せ _ **め**_ 。

> 「[我]{われ} _ **こそ**_ [死]{し}な _ **め**_ 」とて、[泣]{な}きののしること、

> 「とく _ **こそ**_ [試]{こころ}みさせたまは _ **め**_ 」など[聞]{き}こゆれば、

> [恥]{はぢ}かはしてありけれど、[男]{をとこ}はこの[女]{をんな}を _ **こそ**_ [得]{え} _ **め**_ と[思]{おも}ふ。

As well as from the [仰]{あお}げば[尊]{とうと}し:

> [思]{おも}えばいと[疾]{と}しこの[年月]{ねんげつ} [今]{いま} _ **こそ**_ [分]{わ}かれ _ **め**_ いざさらば

What exactly does こそ...め mean? And also, can the [已然]{いぜん}[形]{けい} always be
used terminally for any verb, or is this just a quirk of む?




This 未然形+む is the same 未然形+む that evolved into the volitional form 未然形+う used
in modern Japanese (hint: the meaning changes based on what person your
subject is (1st, 2nd, or 3rd)). You can find its uses
[here](https://www.google.com/amp/s/kobun.weblio.jp/content/amp/%25E3%2582%2580).
This [こそ](https://kobun.weblio.jp/content/%E3%81%93%E3%81%9D) is being used in
a similar sense as in modern Japanese, i.e. to emphasize a particular portion
of the sentence.

**In classical Japanese, こそ before a verb triggered it to take the 已然形 in
certain cases (look up 係り結び)** , much like ぞ and や force 連体形. Confusingly it
doesn't take the usual こそ…已然形 meaning of (modern) こそ…けれども (and I can't answer
as to why). Maybe someone will be willing to go through your examples and
explain what each one means, but you should be able to figure it out yourself
with the links I gave.




This 未然形+む is the same 未然形+む that evolved into the volitional form 未然形+う used
in modern Japanese (hint: the meaning changes based on what person your
subject is (1st, 2nd, or 3rd)). You can find its uses
[here](https://www.google.com/amp/s/kobun.weblio.jp/content/amp/%25E3%2582%2580).
This [こそ](https://kobun.weblio.jp/content/%E3%81%93%E3%81%9D) is being used in
a similar sense as in modern Japanese, i.e. to emphasize a particular portion
of the sentence.

**In classical Japanese, こそ before a verb triggered it to take the 已然形 in
certain cases (look up 係り結び)** , much like ぞ and や force 連体形. Confusingly it
doesn't take the usual こそ…已然形 meaning of (modern) こそ…けれども (and I can't answer
as to why). Maybe someone will be willing to go through your examples and
explain what each one means, but you should be able to figure it out yourself
with the links I gave.

