Careful Words

farewell (n.)

farewell (v.)

Farewell! a long farewell, to all my greatness!

This is the state of man: to-day he puts forth

The tender leaves of hopes; to-morrow blossoms,

And bears his blushing honours thick upon him;

The third day comes a frost, a killing frost,

And when he thinks, good easy man, full surely

His greatness is a-ripening, nips his root,

And then he falls, as I do. I have ventured,

Like little wanton boys that swim on bladders,

This many summers in a sea of glory,

But far beyond my depth: my high-blown pride

At length broke under me and now has left me,

Weary and old with service, to the mercy

Of a rude stream, that must forever hide me.

Vain pomp and glory of this world, I hate ye:

I feel my heart new opened. O, how wretched

Is that poor man that hangs on princes' favours!

There is betwixt that smile we would aspire to,

That sweet aspect of princes, and their ruin,

More pangs and fears than wars or women have:

And when he falls, he falls like Lucifer,

Never to hope again.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616): King Henry VIII. Act iii. Sc. 2.

Farewell! a word that must be, and hath been,—

A sound which makes us linger; yet—farewell!

Lord Byron 1788-1824: Childe Harold's Pilgrimage. Canto iv. Stanza 186.

Hope for a season bade the world farewell,

And Freedom shriek'd as Kosciusko fell!

Thomas Campbell (1777-1844): Pleasures of Hope. Part i. Line 381.

O, now, for ever

Farewell the tranquil mind! farewell content!

Farewell the plumed troop and the big wars

That make ambition virtue! O, farewell!

Farewell the neighing steed and the shrill trump,

The spirit-stirring drum, the ear-piercing fife,

The royal banner, and all quality,

Pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war!

And, O you mortal engines, whose rude throats

The immortal Jove's dread clamours counterfeit,

Farewell! Othello's occupation's gone!

William Shakespeare (1564-1616): Othello. Act iii. Sc. 3.

Forever, and forever, farewell, Cassius!

If we do meet again, why, we shall smile;

If not, why then this parting was well made.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616): Julius Caesar. Act v. Sc. 1.

Welcome ever smiles,

And farewell goes out sighing.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616): Troilus and Cressida. Act iii. Sc. 3.

Farewell happy fields,

Where joy forever dwells: hail, horrors!

John Milton (1608-1674): Paradise Lost. Book i. Line 249.

So farewell hope, and with hope farewell fear,

Farewell remorse; all good to me is lost.

Evil, be thou my good.

John Milton (1608-1674): Paradise Lost. Book iv. Line 108.

I only know we loved in vain;

I only feel—farewell! farewell!

Lord Byron 1788-1824: Farewell! if ever fondest Prayer.

Farewell! if ever fondest prayer

For other's weal avail'd on high,

Mine will not all be lost in air,

But waft thy name beyond the sky.

Lord Byron 1788-1824: Farewell! if ever fondest Prayer.

Hope withering fled, and Mercy sighed farewell!

Lord Byron 1788-1824: The Corsair. Canto i. Stanza 9.

Farewell!

For in that word, that fatal word,—howe'er

We promise, hope, believe,—there breathes despair.

Lord Byron 1788-1824: The Corsair. Canto i. Stanza 15.

O, now, for ever

Farewell the tranquil mind! farewell content!

Farewell the plumed troop and the big wars

That make ambition virtue! O, farewell!

Farewell the neighing steed and the shrill trump,

The spirit-stirring drum, the ear-piercing fife,

The royal banner, and all quality,

Pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war!

And, O you mortal engines, whose rude throats

The immortal Jove's dread clamours counterfeit,

Farewell! Othello's occupation's gone!

William Shakespeare (1564-1616): Othello. Act iii. Sc. 3.

O, now, for ever

Farewell the tranquil mind! farewell content!

Farewell the plumed troop and the big wars

That make ambition virtue! O, farewell!

Farewell the neighing steed and the shrill trump,

The spirit-stirring drum, the ear-piercing fife,

The royal banner, and all quality,

Pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war!

And, O you mortal engines, whose rude throats

The immortal Jove's dread clamours counterfeit,

Farewell! Othello's occupation's gone!

William Shakespeare (1564-1616): Othello. Act iii. Sc. 3.

O, now, for ever

Farewell the tranquil mind! farewell content!

Farewell the plumed troop and the big wars

That make ambition virtue! O, farewell!

Farewell the neighing steed and the shrill trump,

The spirit-stirring drum, the ear-piercing fife,

The royal banner, and all quality,

Pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war!

And, O you mortal engines, whose rude throats

The immortal Jove's dread clamours counterfeit,

Farewell! Othello's occupation's gone!

William Shakespeare (1564-1616): Othello. Act iii. Sc. 3.

Farewell! a long farewell, to all my greatness!

This is the state of man: to-day he puts forth

The tender leaves of hopes; to-morrow blossoms,

And bears his blushing honours thick upon him;

The third day comes a frost, a killing frost,

And when he thinks, good easy man, full surely

His greatness is a-ripening, nips his root,

And then he falls, as I do. I have ventured,

Like little wanton boys that swim on bladders,

This many summers in a sea of glory,

But far beyond my depth: my high-blown pride

At length broke under me and now has left me,

Weary and old with service, to the mercy

Of a rude stream, that must forever hide me.

Vain pomp and glory of this world, I hate ye:

I feel my heart new opened. O, how wretched

Is that poor man that hangs on princes' favours!

There is betwixt that smile we would aspire to,

That sweet aspect of princes, and their ruin,

More pangs and fears than wars or women have:

And when he falls, he falls like Lucifer,

Never to hope again.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616): King Henry VIII. Act iii. Sc. 2.

When I can read my title clear

To mansions in the skies,

I 'll bid farewell to every fear,

And wipe my weeping eyes.

Isaac Watts (1674-1748): Hymns and Spiritual Songs. Book ii. Hymn 65.

Farewell to Lochaber, farewell to my Jean,

Where heartsome wi' thee I hae mony days been;

For Lochaber no more, Lochaber no more,

We 'll maybe return to Lochaber no more.

Allan Ramsay (1686-1758): Lochaber no More.

Farewell, farewell to thee, Araby's daughter!

Thus warbled a Peri beneath the dark sea.

Thomas Moore (1779-1852): The Fire-Worshippers.