Familiar Colloquies/Forms of Salutation
FORMS OF SALUTATION.
At the First Meeting.
A certain person teaches, and not without reason, that we should salute freely. For a courteous and kind salutation oftentimes engages friendship, and reconciles persons at variance, and does undoubtedly nourish and increase a mutual benevolence. There are indeed some persons that are such churls, and of so clownish a disposition, that if you salute them, they will scarcely salute you again. But this vice is in some persons rather the effect of their education, than their natural disposition.
It is a piece of civility to salute those that come in your way; either such as come to us, or those that we go to speak with. And in like manner such as are about any sort of work, either at supper, or that yawn, or hiccup, or sneeze, or cough. But it is the part of a man that is civil even to an extreme, to salute one that belches or breaks wind backward. But he is uncivilly civil that salutes, one that is making water or easing nature.
God save you, father; God save you, little mother; God save you, brother; God save you, my worthy master; God save you heartily, uncle; God save you, sweet cousin.
It is courteous to make use of a, title of relation or affinity, unless when it carries something of a reflection along with it; then indeed it is better not to use such titles, though proper, but rather some that are more engaging, as when we call a mother-in-law, mother; a son-in-law, son; a father-in-law, father; a sister's husband, brother; a brother's wife, sister. And the same we should do in titles, either of age or office. For it will be more acceptable to salute an ancient man by the name of father or venerable sir, than by the surname of age; although in ancient times they used to make use of ώ γέρον as an honourable title. God save you, lieutenant; God save you, captain; but not, God save you, hosier or shoemaker. God save you, youth, or young man. Old men salute young men that are strangers to them by the name of sons, and young men again salute them by the name of fathers or sirs.
A More Affectionate Salutation between Lovers.
God save you, my little Cornelia, my life, my light, my delight, my sweetheart, my only pleasure, my little heart, my hope, my comfort, my glory.
Either for the Sake of Honour, or Otherwise.
| Sal. | O master, God bless you. |
| Ans. | Oh! good sir, I wish you the same. |
| Sal. | God bless you, most accomplished and most famous sir. God bless you again and again, thou glory of learning. God save you heartily, my very good friend. God save you, my Mecænas. |
| Ans. | God save you, my singular patron. God save you, most approved sir. God save you, the only ornament of this age. God bless you, the delight of Germany. |
| Sal. | God bless you all together. God bless you all alike. |
| Ans. | God bless you, my brave boys. |
| Sal. | God save you, merry companion. God bless you, destroyer of wine. |
| Ans. | God bless you, glutton and unmerciful devourer of cakes. |
| Sal. | God bless you heartily, president of all virtue. |
| Ans. | God bless you in like manner, pattern of universal honesty. |
| Sal. | God save you, little, old woman of fifteen years of age. |
| Ans. | God save you, girl, eighty years old. |
| Sal. | Much good may it do you with your bald pate. |
| Ans. | And much good may it do you with your slit nose. |
As you salute, so you shall be saluted again. If you say that which is ill, you shall hear that which is worse.
| Sal. | God save you again and again. |
| Ans. | God save you for ever and ever. |
| Sal. | God save you more than a thousand times. |
| Ans. | In truth, I had rather be well once for all. |
| Sal. | God bless you as much as you can desire. |
| Ans. | And you as much as you deserve. |
| Sal. | I wish you well. |
| Ans. | But what if I will not be so? In truth, I had rather be sick, than to enjoy the health that you want. |
God bless your holiness, your greatness, your highness, your majesty, your beatitude, your high mightiness, are salutations rather used by the vulgar, than approved by the learned.
In the Third Person.
Sapidus wishes health to his Erasmus. Sapidus salutes his Beatus, wishing him much health.
Another Form.
| Sal. | God bless you, Crito. I wish you well, good sir. |
| Ans. | And I wish you better. Peace be to thee, brother, is indeed a Christian salutation, borrowed from the Jews, but yet not to be rejected. And of the like kind is, A happy life to you. |
| Sal. | Hail, master. |
| Ans. | In truth I had rather have than crave. |
| Sal. | Χαίρε. |
| Ans. | Remember you are at Basel, and not at Athens; how do you then dare to speak Latin when you are not at Rome? |
Forms of Well-wishing.
And to wish well is a sort of salutation.
To a Woman with Child.
God send you a good delivery, and that you may make your husband father of a fine child. May the Virgin Mother make you a happy mother. I wish that this enlarged abdomen may assuage happily. Heaven grant that this burden you carry, whatsoever it is, may have as easy an out-coming as it had an in-going. God give you a good time.
To Guests.
Happy be this feast. Much good may it do all the company. I wish all happiness to you all. God give you a happy banquet.
To One that Sneezes.
May it be lucky and happy to you. God keep you. May it be for your health. God bless it to you.
To One that is about to begin any Business.
May it prove happy and prosperous for the public good. May that you are going about be an universal good. God prosper what you are about. God bless your labours. God bless your endeavours. I pray that by God's assistance you may happily finish what you have begun. May Christ in heaven prosper what is under your hand. May what you have begun end happily. May what you are set about end happily. You are about a good work, I wish you a good end of it, and that propitious Heaven may favour your pious undertaking. Christ give prosperity to your enterprise. May what you have undertaken prosper. I heartily beg of Almighty God that this design may be as successful as it is honourable. May the affair so happily begun more happily end.
I wish you a good journey to Italy, and a better return. I wish you a happy voyage, and a more happy return. I pray God that this journey being happily performed, we may in a short time have the opportunity of congratulating you upon, your happy return. May it be your good fortune to make a good voyage thither and back again. May your journey be pleasant, but your return more pleasant. I wish this journey may succeed according to your heart's desire. I wish this journey may be as pleasant to you, as the want of your good company in the meantime will be troublesome to us. May you set sail with promising presages. I wish this journey may succeed according to both our wishes. I wish this bargain may be for the good and advantage of us both. I wish this may be a happy match to us all. The blessed Jesus God keep thee. Kind Heaven return you safe. God keep thee who art one-half of my life. I wish you a safe return.
| Sal. | I wish that this New-Year may begin happily, go on more happily, and end most happily to you, and that you may have many of them, and every year happier than other. |
| Ans. | And I again wish you many happy ages, that you may not wish well to me gratis. |
| Sal. | I wish you a glorious day to-day. May this sunrising be a happy one to you. |
| Ans. | I wish you the same. May this be a happy and a prosperous morning to both of us. |
| Sal. | Father, I wish you a good night, I wish you good repose to-night. May you sleep sweetly. God give you good rest. May you sleep without dreaming. God send you may either sleep sweetly or dream pleasantly. A good night to you. |
| Ans. | Since you always love to be on the getting hand, I wish you a thousand happinesses to one you wish me. |
Farewell at Parting.
| Sal. | Fare ye all well. Farewell. Take care of your health. Take a great care of your health. I bid you goodbye. Time calls me away, fare ye well. I wish you as well as may be. Farewell mightily, or if you had rather have it so, lustily. Fare you well as you are worthy. Fare you as well as you deserve. Farewell for these two days. If you send me away, farewell till to-morrow. Would you have anything with me? Have you anything else to say to me? |
| Ans. | Nothing but to wish you well. |
| Sal. | Take care to preserve your health. Take care of your health. Look well to your health. See that at next meeting we see you merry and hearty. I charge you make much of yourself. See that you have a sound mind in a healthful body. Take care you be universally well both in body and mind. |
| Ans. | I will promise you I will do my endeavour. Fare you well also; and I again wish you prosperous health. |
Saluting by Another.
| Sal. | Remember my hearty love to Frobenius. Be sure to remember my love to little Erasmus. Remember me to Gertrude's mother with all imaginable respect; tell them I wish them all well. Remember me to my old companions. Remember me to my friends. Give my love to my wife. Remember me to your brother in your letter. Remember my love to my kinsman. Have you any service to command by me to your friends? |
| Ans. | Tell them that I wish them all heartily well. |
| Sal. | Have you any recommendations to send by me to your friends? |
| Ans. | Much health to them all, but especially to my father. |
| Sal. | Are there any persons to whom you would command me any service? |
| Ans. | To all that ask how I do. The health you have brought from my friends to me, carry back again with much interest. Carry my hearty service to all them that have sent their service to me. Pray do so much as be my representative in saluting my friends. I would have written to my son-in-law, but you will serve me instead of a letter to him. |
| Sal. | Soho, soho, whither are you going so fast? |
| Ans. | Straight to Louvain. |
| Sal. | Stay a little, I have something to send by you. |
| Ans. | But it is inconvenient for a footman to carry a fardel. What is it? |
| Sal. | That you recommend me to Goclenius, Rutgerus, John Campensis, and all the society of trilinguists. |
| Ans. | If you put nothing into my snap-sack but healths, I shall carry them with ease. |
| Sal. | And that you may not do that for nothing, I pray that health may be your companion both going and coming back. |
How we ought to Congratulate one that is Returned from a Journey.
| Sal. | We are glad you are come well home. It is a pleasure that you are come home safe. It is a pleasure to us that you are come well home. We congratulate your happy return. We give God thanks that you are come safe home to us. The more uneasy we were at the want of you, the more glad we are to see you again. We congratulate you, and ourselves, too, that you are come home to us alive and well. Your return is the more pleasant by how much it was less expected. |
| Ans. | I am glad, too, that as I am well myself I find you so. I am very glad to find you in good health. I should not have thought myself welcome home if I had not found you well; but now I think myself safe, in that I see you safe and in good health. |