Careful Words

arch (n.)

arch (v.)

arch (adj.)

That hour, o' night's black arch the keystane.

Robert Burns (1759-1796): Tam o' Shanter.

No radiant pearl which crested Fortune wears,

No gem that twinkling hangs from Beauty's ears,

Not the bright stars which Night's blue arch adorn,

Nor rising suns that gild the vernal morn,

Shine with such lustre as the tear that flows

Down Virtue's manly cheek for others' woes.

Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802): The Botanic Garden. Part ii. Canto iii. Line 459.

On Prague's proud arch the fires of ruin glow,

His blood-dyed waters murmuring far below.

Thomas Campbell (1777-1844): Pleasures of Hope. Part i. Line 385.

Triumphal arch, that fill'st the sky

When storms prepare to part,

I ask not proud Philosophy

To teach me what thou art.

Thomas Campbell (1777-1844): To the Rainbow.