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To afflict; to chasten; to punish. Let us not mistake God's goodness, nor imagine, because he smites us, that we are forsaken by him. Wake.

fection, or any other noble manifestation of the heart or moral nature; inherent power or goodness. That he wants algebra he must confess; But not a soul to give our arms success. Young.

Hence, a small space or a brief portion of time. Yet not to earth's contracted span Thy goodness let me bound. Pope. Life's but a span; I'll every inch enjoy. Farquhar.

or some object of thought, either material or immaterial; as, the words man, horse, city, goodness, excellence, are substantives.

A public acknowledgment or celebration of divine goodness; also, a day set apart for religious services, specially to acknowledge the goodness of God, either in any remarkable deliverance from calamities or danger, or in the ordinary dispensation of his bounties.

To plan or design; to plot; to compass. [Obs.] So little womanhood And natural goodness, as to think the death Of her own son. Beau. & Fl.

ver; to cover with a veil. Her face was veiled; yet to my fancied sight, Love, sweetness, goodness, in her person shined. Milton.

Special dispensation; communication of divine favor and goodness, or, more usually, of divine wrath and vengeance; retributive calamity; retribution; judgment. What will ye do in the day of visitation Isa. x. 3.

of a task, a duty, or the like. O thou good Kent, how shall I live and work, To match thy goodness Shak. Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you. Ex. v. 18. Whether we work or play, or sleep or wake, Our life doth pass. Sir J. Davies.