We that are true lovers run into
Touchstone:
"We that are true lovers run into strange capers; but as all is mortal in nature, so is all nature in love mortal
in folly."
The professional court jester, Touchstone, shifts from acknowledging mortality to accepting the "folly" of love in nature in this scene from the pastoral satire, As You Like It. The lovers in the play, who represent "nature in love," all display a kind of folly. Touchstone has accompanied the Duke's daughter, Celia, into the forest with her friend and cousin, Rosalind, each taking on a series of comedic turns. Shakespeare's use of the traditional figure of the Jester, with his social role and traditional meaning, enabled him to embody a character who could epitomize the comedy's purpose while maintaining objectivity. Touchstone, in effect, presents life as it really is, ridiculing it because it is not ideal, as we wish it to be.