Careful Words

pomp (n.)

When Croft's "Life of Dr. Young" was spoken of as a good imitation of Dr. Johnson's style, "No, no," said he, "it is not a good imitation of Johnson; it has all his pomp without his force; it has all the nodosities of the oak, without its strength; it has all the contortions of the sibyl, without the inspiration."—Prior: Life of Burke.

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.

  Blot out vain pomp; check impulse; quench appetite; keep reason under its own control.

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 a d): Meditations. ix. 7.

No, let the candied tongue lick absurd pomp,

And crook the pregnant hinges of the knee

Where thrift may follow fawning.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616): Hamlet. Act iii. Sc. 2.

Give lettered pomp to teeth of Time,

So "Bonnie Doon" but tarry;

Blot out the epic's stately rhyme,

But spare his "Highland Mary!"

John G Whittier (1807-892): Lines on Burns.

The monumental pomp of age

Was with this goodly personage;

A stature undepressed in size,

Unbent, which rather seemed to rise

In open victory o'er the weight

Of seventy years, to loftier height.

William Wordsworth (1770-1850): The White Doe of Rylstone. Canto iii.

The boast of heraldry, the pomp of pow'r,

And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave,

Await alike the inevitable hour.

The paths of glory lead but to the grave.

Thomas Gray (1716-1771): Elegy in a Country Churchyard. Stanza 9.

And so sepúlchred in such pomp dost lie,

That kings for such a tomb would wish to die.

John Milton (1608-1674): Epitaph on Shakespeare.

Take physic, pomp;

Expose thyself to feel what wretches feel.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616): King Lear. Act iii. Sc. 4.

One thought of thee puts all the pomp to flight;

Priests, tapers, temples, swim before my sight.

Alexander Pope (1688-1744): Eloisa to Abelard. Line 273.

When I am dead, no pageant train

Shall waste their sorrows at my bier,

Nor worthless pomp of homage vain

Stain it with hypocritic tear.

Edward Everett (1794-1865): Alaric the Visigoth.