Careful Words

perfection (n.)

perfection (adv.)

He is the half part of a blessed man,

Left to be finished by such as she;

And she a fair divided excellence,

Whose fulness of perfection lies in him.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616): King John. Act ii. Sc. 1.

  Reason is the life of the law; nay, the common law itself is nothing else but reason. . . . The law, which is perfection of reason.

Sir Edward Coke (1549-1634): First Institute.

What's come to perfection perishes.

Things learned on earth we shall practise in heaven;

Works done least rapidly Art most cherishes.

Robert Browning (1812-1890): Old Pictures in Florence. xvii.

  The very pink of perfection.

Oliver Goldsmith (1728-1774): She Stoops to Conquer. Act i.

How many things by season season'd are

To their right praise and true perfection!

William Shakespeare (1564-1616): The Merchant of Venice. Act v. Sc. 1.