Ave atque Vale

Being welcomed as I leave reminded me of the old Latin tag, Hail and farewell! And the moving elegy at a brother's tomb.

Through many countries and over many seas I have come,
Brother, to these melancholy rites,
to show this final honour to the dead,
and speak (to what purpose?) to your silent ashes,
since now fate takes you, even you, from me.
Oh, Brother, ripped away from me so cruelly,
now at least take these last offerings,
blessed by the tradition of our parents, gifts to the dead.
Accept, by custom, what a brother’s tears drown,
and, for eternity, Brother, ‘Hail and Farewell’.

Gains Valerius Catullus. 57 BC