Farewell to the Faithless
A mortal anguishHow often woundeth me;Grieving I languish,Weighed down with misery;
Hearing the mournfulTale of thy fault and fallBlown by Fame's scornfulTrump to the ears of all!
Envious rumourLate or soon will slay thee:Love with less humour,Lest thy love betray thee.
Whate'er thou dost, do secretly,Far from Fame's curiosity;Love in the dark delights to be,His sports are wiles and witchery,With laugh of lovers greeting.
Thou wert not slighted,Stained in thine honour, whenWe were united,Lovers unknown to men;But when thy passionGrew like thy bosom cold,None had compassion,Then was thy story told.
Fame, who rejoicethNew amours to utter,Now thy shame voiceth,Wide her pinions flutter.
The palace home of modestyIs made a haunt for harlotry;The virgin lily you may seeDefiled by fingers lewd and free,With vile embraces meeting.
I mourn the tenderFlower of the youth of thee,Brighter in splendourThan evening's star can be.Pure were thy kisses,Dove-like thy smile;As the snake hissesNow is thy guile.
Lovers who pray theeFrom thy door are scattered;Lovers who pay theeIn thy bed are flattered.
Thou bidst them from thy presence fleeFrom whom thou canst not take thy fee;Blind, halt, and lame thy suitors be;Illustrious men with subtletyAnd poisonous honey cheating.
"Amaveram prae caeterisTe, sed amici veterisEs jam oblita! SuperisVel inferisReam te criminamur."
Words in this poem
- languish v. i.
- To cause to dr Shak.
- envious a.
- Malignant; mischievous; spiteful. [OF. envios, F. envieux, fr. L. invidiosus, fr. invidia envy. See Envy, and cf. Invidious.]
- rumour n.
- A flying or popular report; the common talk; hence, public fame; notoriety. [F. rumeur, L. rumor; cf. rumificare, rumitare to rumor, Skr. ru to cry.]
- humour n.
- Moisture, especially, the moisture or fluid of animal bodies, as the chyle, lymph, etc.; as, the humors of the eye, etc. [OE. humour, OF. humor, umor, F. humeur, L. humor, umor, moisture, fluid, fr. humere, umere, to be moist. See Humid.]
- curiosity n.
- The state or quality or being curious; nicety; accuracy; exactness; elaboration. [OE. curiouste, curiosite, OF. curioseté, curiosité, F. curiosit, fr. L. curiositas, fr. curiosus. See Currious, and cf. Curio.]
- witchery
- Sorcery; enchantment; witchcraft.
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- harlotry n.
- Ribaldry; buffoonery; a ribald story. Piers Plowman.
- lewd a.
- Not clerical; laic; laical; hence, unlearned; simple. [OE.lewed, lewd, lay, ignorant, vile, AS. l laical, belonging to the laity.]
- splendour n.
- Great brightness; brilliant luster; brilliancy; as, the splendor ot the sun. B. Jonson. [L. fr. splendere to shine: cf. F. splendeur.]
- subtlety n.
- The quality or state of being subtle, or sly; cunning; craftiness; artfulness. [OE. sotelte, sutilte, OF. sotillete, L. subtilitas. See Subtle, and cf. Subtility.]
- ream n.
- Cream; also, the cream or froth on ale. [AS. reám, akin to G. rahm.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Farewell to the Faithless is in the public domain. This text is taken from Wine, Women, and Song Mediaeval Latin Students' songs; Now first translated into English verse, Project Gutenberg ebook #18044; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: John Addington Symonds, Farewell to the Faithless, in Wine, Women and Song (1884), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #18044, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/symonds-wine-women/farewell-to-the-faithless.html, id L11848.
Form and metre
Farewell to the Faithless is 56 lines in 11 stanzas. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABAB, in 4 of the 11 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 90% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.2 syllables. 30 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 38% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic trimeter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 A-A- anguishA · me · languishA · misery
- 2 ABAB mournfulA · fallB · scornfulA · allB
- 3 ABAB rumourA · theeB · humourA · theeB
- 5 ABABCDCD slightedA · whenB · unitedA · menB · passionC · coldD · compassionC · toldD
- 6 ABAB rejoicethA · utterB · voicethA · flutterB
- 7 --AA- modesty · harlotry · seeA · freeA · meeting
- 8 ABABCDCD tenderA · theeB · splendourA · beB · kissesC · smileD · hissesC · guileD
- 9 ABAB theeA · scatteredB · theeA · flatteredB
- 10 AAA-- fleeA · feeA · beA · subtlety · cheating
- 11 AAAA- caeterisA · veterisA · superisA · inferisA · criminamur
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| A mortal anguish | 5 | ·/˘/˘ |
| How often woundeth me; | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Grieving I languish, | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| Weighed down with misery; | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Hearing the mournful | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| Tale of thy fault and fall | 6 | ······ |
| Blown by Fame's scornful | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Trump to the ears of all! | 6 | ······ |
| Envious rumour | 5 | /˘˘·˘ |
| Late or soon will slay thee: | 6 | ······ |
| Love with less humour, | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Lest thy love betray thee. | 6 | ···˘/· |
| Whate'er thou dost, do secretly, | 9 | ˘˘/···/˘˘ |
| Far from Fame's curiosity; | 8 | ····˘/˘˘ |
| Love in the dark delights to be, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| His sports are wiles and witchery, | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| With laugh of lovers greeting. | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Thou wert not slighted, | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Stained in thine honour, when | 6 | ···/˘· |
| We were united, | 5 | ··˘/˘ |
| Lovers unknown to men; | 6 | /˘˘/·· |
| But when thy passion | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Grew like thy bosom cold, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| None had compassion, | 5 | ··˘/˘ |
| Then was thy story told. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Fame, who rejoiceth | 5 | ··˘/˘ |
| New amours to utter, | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| Now thy shame voiceth, | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Wide her pinions flutter. | 6 | ··/˘/˘ |
| The palace home of modesty | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
| Is made a haunt for harlotry; | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| The virgin lily you may see | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Defiled by fingers lewd and free, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| With vile embraces meeting. | 7 | ··˘/˘/˘ |
| I mourn the tender | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Flower of the youth of thee, | 7 | /˘····· |
| Brighter in splendour | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| Than evening's star can be. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Pure were thy kisses, | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Dove-like thy smile; | 4 | ···· |
| As the snake hisses | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Now is thy guile. | 4 | ···· |
| Lovers who pray thee | 5 | /˘··· |
| From thy door are scattered; | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Lovers who pay thee | 5 | /˘··· |
| In thy bed are flattered. | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Thou bidst them from thy presence flee | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| From whom thou canst not take thy fee; | 8 | ········ |
| Blind, halt, and lame thy suitors be; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Illustrious men with subtlety | 9 | ˘/˘˘··/˘˘ |
| And poisonous honey cheating. | 8 | ·/˘˘/˘/˘ |
| "Amaveram prae caeteris | 8 | ········ |
| Te, sed amici veteris | 8 | ········ |
| Es jam oblita! Superis | 8 | ········ |
| Vel inferis | 4 | ···· |
| Ream te criminamur." | 6 | ······ |
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