To Fare. v.n. [faran, Saxon; varen, Dutch.]

1. To go; to pass; to travel.

   At last, resolving forward still to fare,
   Until the blust'ring storm is overblown. Fairy Queen, b. i.

   His spirits pure were subject to our sight,
   Like to a man in shew and shape he fared. Fairfax.

   So on he fares, and to the border comes
   Of Eden. Milton's Paradise Lost, b. iv. l. 131.

   Sadly they far'd along the sea-beat shore;
   Still heav'd their hearts. Pope.

2. To be in any state good or bad.

   So bids thee well to fare thy nether friend. Fairy Queen.

   A stubborn heart shall fare evil at the Iast. Ecclus. iii. 26.

   Well fare the hand, which to our humble sight
   Presents that beauty, which the dazzling light
   Of royal splendor. Waller.

   So in this throng bright Sacharissa far'd,
   Oppress'd by those who strove to be her guard:
   As ships, though never so obsequious, fall
   Foul in a tempest on their admiral. Waller.

   So fares the stag among th' enraged hounds;
   Repels their force, and wounds returns for wounds. Denh.

   But as a barque, that in foul weather,
   Toss'd by two adverse winds together,
   Is bruis'd and beaten to and fro,
   And knows not which to turn him to;
   So far'd the knight between two foes,
   And knew not which of them t' oppose. Hudibras, p. i.

   If you do as I do, you may fare as I fare. L'Estrange.

   Thus fares the queen, and thus her fury blows
   Amid'st the crowd. Dryden's Æn.

   English ministers never fare so well as in a time of war with a foreign power, which diverts the private feuds and animosities of the nation, and turns their efforts upon the common enemy. Addison's Freeholder, № 49.

   Some give out there is no danger at all; others are comforted that it will be a common calamity, and they shall fare no worse than their neighbours. Swift.

3. To proceed in any train of consequences good or bad.

   Thus it fareth when too much desire of contradiction causeth our speeches rather to pass by number than to stay for weight. Hooker, b. ii. s. 5.

   So fares it when with truth falsehood contends. Milton.

4. To happen to any one well or ill. With it preceding in an impersonal form.

   When the hand finds itself well warmed and covered, let it refuse the trouble of feeding the mouth, or guarding the head, 'till the body be starved or killed, and then we shall see how it will fare with the hand. South's Sermons.

5. To feed; to eat; to be entertained with food.

   The rich man fared sumptuously every day. Luke.

   Feast your ears with the musick awhile, if they will fare so
   harshly as on the trumpet's sound. Shakespeare's Timon.

   Men think they have fared hardly, if, in times of extremity, they have descended so low as dogs; but Galen delivereth, that, young, fat, and gelded, they were the food of many nations. Brown's Vulgar Errours, b. iii. c. 25.