# farewell



## Casquilho

I did not know how to say the “farewell” in the lines below, but I thought the plural imperative _valete_ could work as a noun, like, “farewell [I say] to the stags etc”. Am I right?

Farewell to the stags, farewell to the hares, 
And to the red partridges! I wish
To kiss the linen of your hair, 
To press the purple of your lips [with mine]!

_Valete cervis, valete leporibus, 
Et rubris perdicibus! Volo
Basiare linum tui capilli, 
Premere purpuram labiorum tuorum [meis]!_


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## Scholiast

Casquilho said:


> I did not know how to say the “farewell” in the lines below, but I thought the plural imperative _valete_ could work as a noun, like, “farewell [I say] to the stags etc”. Am I right?
> 
> Farewell to the stags, farewell to the hares,
> And to the red partridges!
> 
> _Valete cervis, valete leporibus,
> Et rubris perdicibus! _



The problem with this is that grammatically, _vale_(_te_) is (like "farewell", originally) an imperative verb, and the addressee therefore needs to be vocative, with or without 'vos' or 'O'. Hence 'Valete, O vos cervi, valete lepores, valete perdices'.

Best wishes


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## Casquilho

Thank you!
Are there other ways to say that?


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## Scholiast

One can say _valere iubere_ (with a direct object), "to bid [someone] farewell".  But this would still require _vos [o] cervi... _&c. or something similar, and it is less common as a direct address than simply _vale[te]_.


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## Casquilho

Hum... 
so, in Latin there's no *isolated *noun (without auxiliar verb) which may work as "farewell"? It only admits the verbal form, that's it?


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## Scholiast

Salvete omnes!

From the Romance derivatives (_adieu_, _adios_, _addio_), I infer that at least soon after Christianity became widespread in the Roman world, _ad Deum (te/vos commendo)_ probably came into currency, but I am no expert on late Latin, and would be most interested to hear the views of others more expert than I.

What do you say in Portuguese?


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## Cagey

After _inquam_, you can use direct quotation. Perhaps you could quote yourself.  

_valete, inquam, valete cervi, ._...
_"Farewell" I say, "farewell stags,_  ....


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## Casquilho

Scholiast said:


> Salvete omnes!
> 
> From the Romance derivatives (_adieu_, _adios_, _addio_), I infer that at least soon after Christianity became widespread in the Roman world, _ad Deum (te/vos commendo)_ probably came into currency, but I am no expert on late Latin, and would be most interested to hear the views of others more expert than I.
> 
> What do you say in Portuguese?



We say _adeus.

_​Thank you, Cagey, I'll use your solution.


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## Casquilho

Cagey said:


> After _inquam_, you can use direct quotation. Perhaps you could quote yourself.
> 
> _valete, inquam, valete cervi, ._...
> _"Farewell" I say, "farewell stags,_  ....



I think you mean _valete cervi_*s* (dative), right?


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## Cagey

No, I didn't.   I meant to tell the stags to be well, using the imperative.  
If I am well, I say _valeo_, if the stags are well, I say _valent cervi_. If I tell the stags to be well, I use the imperative and the nominative: _valete cervi_. 

I was suggesting that you use a direct quotation in your poem rather than look for a Latin noun meaning  "farewell" as in English. In English, too, _'fare well'_ is an imperative: "Fare well, my bonny lass." 
The English noun "farewell" simply stands for the imperative customarily said on that occasion.  Now, of course, it is used to represent all the things said appropriate to a departure.


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## Casquilho

I think I understand you, Cagey, but, you're using imperative and vocative (not nominative), right? For, if you use imperative, by force you're adressing someone.


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## Scholiast

salvete.

You are right (#11): Cagey (#10) was suggesting imperative verb and vocative of the addressee(s).

'"valete", cervis inquam, ...' would be grammatically feasible, but makes for necessarily complex punctuation, more likely to confuse than assist.


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## Casquilho

_Valete cervi, valete lepores,
Et rubri perdices! Puella, volo_
_Basiare linum tui capilli, 
Premere purpuram labellorum tuorum [meis]!


_I put the vocative _puella_ to make clear that I changed the addressee. What do you think? Does it sound good?


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