Literary notes about Forego (AI summary)
The word “forego” has long been used in literature to express the deliberate renunciation or abandonment of something, be it a personal desire, material advantage, or expected course of action. In classical texts such as Homer’s "The Iliad," the term conveys a sense of solemn sacrifice and resignation in the face of overwhelming emotion or duty ([1], [2], [3], [4], [5]). Later, authors like Samuel Richardson and José Rizal extend its use to encapsulate personal determination to set aside one’s own expectations for a greater cause or improved relations ([6], [7]). Even in philosophical and rhetorical works—from Cicero’s debates on oratory ([8]) to discussions on the impacts of societal customs ([9], [10], [11])—“forego” maintains a rich conceptual versatility, embodying the tension between voluntary choice and the demands imposed by circumstance.
- thus consumed with woe, The common cares that nourish life forego.
— from The Iliad by Homer - And yet suppose these measures I forego, Approach unarm'd, and parley with the foe, The warrior-shield, the helm, and lance, lay down.
— from The Iliad by Homer - the conquest I forego; A mortal I, a goddess was my foe; She urged her favourite on the rapid way, And Pallas, not Ulysses, won the day.
— from The Iliad by Homer - But this my prize I never shall forego; This, who but touches, warriors! is my foe.
— from The Iliad by Homer - at our board to share The genial rites, and hospitable fare; While I the labours of the forge forego, And bid the roaring bellows cease to blow.
— from The Iliad by Homer - Ibarra resolves to forego all quarrels and to work for the betterment of his people.
— from The Reign of Greed by José Rizal - I would, in this case, forego all my expectations, and be your conductor to some safe distance.
— from Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded by Samuel Richardson - M. Do you, then, expect that I am to give you a regular peroration, like the rhetoricians, or shall I forego that art?
— from Cicero's Tusculan Disputations by Marcus Tullius Cicero - Better forego some artificial stimulus, though that, too, has its charm, than become insensible to natural joys.
— from The Life of Reason: The Phases of Human Progress by George Santayana - But if praise useth and ought to accompany a good life and good works, we ought as little to forego its company, as good life itself.
— from The Confessions of St. Augustine by Bishop of Hippo Saint Augustine - A large proportion of them stray from the path of right, and these unfortunates induce millions of men to forego marriage.
— from History of Woman Suffrage, Volume I
