--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Having now finished the work assigned me…" description: "\"“Having now finished the work assigned me, I retire from the great theatre of Action; and bidding an Affectionate farewell to this August body under wh..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed3/george-washington-257_freedom_having-now-finished-the-work-assigned-me_1344027.jpg" --- # Having now finished the work assigned me, I retire from… ![“Having now finished the work assigned me, I retire from the great theatre of Action; and bidding an Affectionate farewell to this August body under whose orders I have so long acted, I here offer my Commission, and take my leave of all the employments of public life. (Address to Congress on…” quote by George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed3/george-washington-257_freedom_having-now-finished-the-work-assigned-me_1344027.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed3/george-washington-257_freedom_having-now-finished-the-work-assigned-me_1344027.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed3/george-washington-257_freedom_having-now-finished-the-work-assigned-me_1344027.jpg) > ““Having now finished the work assigned me, I retire from the great theatre of Action; and bidding an Affectionate farewell to this August body under whose orders I have so long acted, I here offer my Commission, and take my leave of all the employments of public life. (Address to Congress on Resigning Commission Dec 23, 1783)”” [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Washington announces his retirement from public service, reflecting on duty and personal transition. **In simple terms:** He steps down from public life. Key Takeaway Consider leaving when duty is fulfilled. Themes service retirement leadership legacy duty Mood reflective solemn Type historical political When to use this quote - political office - military command - public speaking - career change Key Concepts public duty personal transition civic responsibility Questions to Reflect On - What responsibilities will you relinquish? - How does stepping back affect your identity? A Different Perspective Leaving may create a leadership gap. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Commission Leave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commission-leave-4549290/) [Congress Resigning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/congress-resigning-4549292/) [Farewell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/farewell/) [Farewell August](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/farewell-august-4549291/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Humility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humility/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Patriotism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriotism/) [Public life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-life/) [Resigning Commission](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resigning-commission-4549289/) [Restraint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/restraint/) ## Related quotes > [Having now finished the work assigned me, I retire from the great theatre of Action; and bidding an Affectionate farewell to this August body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/having-now-finished-the-work-assigned-me-i-retire-from-the-great-2/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [“We have already said more goodbyes than are necessary. Those were goodbyes that brought about the end of partings. We taught each other that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-goddard/we-have-already-said-more-goodbyes-than-are-necessary-those-were/) [Donna Goddard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-goddard/) > [Everlasting farewells! and again, and yet again reverberated everlasting farewells!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-de-quincey/everlasting-farewells-and-again-and-yet-again-reverberated/) [Thomas de Quincey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-de-quincey/) > [Farewell is said by the living, in life, every day. It is said with love and friendship, with the affirmation that the memories are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/farewell-is-said-by-the-living-in-life-every-day-it-is-said-with-love/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I would like to ask, Should not a player who has played 12 to 13 years for his country deserves a farewell match?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virender-sehwag/i-would-like-to-ask-should-not-a-player-who-has-played-12-to-13-years/) [Virender Sehwag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virender-sehwag/) > [We can say farewell to 10 years of bourgeois rule... now we have the opportunity to change Denmark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helle-thorning-schmidt/we-can-say-farewell-to-10-years-of-bourgeois-rule-now-we-have-the/) [Helle Thorning-Schmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helle-thorning-schmidt/) > [Petruchio: Come, come, you wasp; i' faith, you are too angry. Katherine: If I be waspish, best beware my sting. Petruchio: My remedy is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/petruchio-come-come-you-wasp-i-faith-you-are-too-angry-katherine-if-i/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Over the last few days, I have been able to see my life as from a great altitude, as a sort of landscape, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver/over-the-last-few-days-i-have-been-able-to-see-my-life-as-from-a/) [Oliver $](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver/) > [Farewell, good Salisbury, and good luck go with thee!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/farewell-good-salisbury-and-good-luck-go-with-thee/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [In the New Testament alone there are Gospels, acts, epistles, and an apocalypse. Gospels contain literary forms like miracles, parables, pronouncements, proverbs, farewell discourses,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-blomberg/in-the-new-testament-alone-there-are-gospels-acts-epistles-and-an/) [Craig Blomberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-blomberg/) > [“Hugh and Fiona stood off to one side, their hands linked and foreheads touching, saying goodbye in their own quiet way. Finally, we'd all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/hugh-and-fiona-stood-off-to-one-side-their-hands-linked-and-foreheads/) [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) > [Here - at this final hour, Harlem has come to bid farewell to one of its brightest hopes - extinguished now, and gone from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ossie-davis/here-at-this-final-hour-harlem-has-come-to-bid-farewell-to-one-of-its/) [Ossie Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ossie-davis/) > [“Okay; get out of here. Scram. Farewell . . . Go be short somewhere else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/okay-get-out-of-here-scram-farewell-go-be-short-somewhere-else/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [Farewell,' she said. 'I hope you hear many more songs' - which was the best way she could think of to say good-bye to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-s-beagle/farewell-she-said-i-hope-you-hear-many-more-songs-which-was-the-best/) [Peter S. Beagle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-s-beagle/) > [We had a farewell dinner for some of my senior staff, and generally everybody likes to talk about how cool I was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/we-had-a-farewell-dinner-for-some-of-my-senior-staff-and-generally/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) ## More by George Washington > [It is absolutely necessary... for me to have persons that can think for me, as well as execute orders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/it-is-absolutely-necessary-for-me-to-have-persons-that-can-think-for/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [The whole duty of man is summed up in obedience to God's will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/the-whole-duty-of-man-is-summed-up-in-obedience-to-god-s-will/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [The turning points of lives are not the great moments. The real crises are often concealed in occurrences so trivial in appearance that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/the-turning-points-of-lives-are-not-the-great-moments-the-real-crises/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [The propitious smiles of Heaven, can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/the-propitious-smiles-of-heaven-can-never-be-expected-on-a-nation/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [Interwoven as is the love of liberty with every ligament of your hearts, no recommendation of mine is necessary to fortify or confirm the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/interwoven-as-is-the-love-of-liberty-with-every-ligament-of-your/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism who should labor to subvert these great pillars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/in-vain-would-that-man-claim-the-tribute-of-patriotism-who-should/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [The blessed Religion revealed in the word of God will remain an eternal and awful monument to prove that the best Institution may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/the-blessed-religion-revealed-in-the-word-of-god-will-remain-an/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [While we are contending for our own liberty, we should be very cautious not to violate the conscience of others, ever considering that God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/while-we-are-contending-for-our-own-liberty-we-should-be-very/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [Among many other weighty objections to the Measure, it has been suggested, that it has a tendency to introduce religious disputes into the Army,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/among-many-other-weighty-objections-to-the-measure-it-has-been/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [Democratical States must always feel before they can see: it is this that makes their Governments slow, but the people will be right at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/democratical-states-must-always-feel-before-they-can-see-it-is-this/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [If, in the opinion of the people, the distribution or modification of the constitutional powers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/if-in-the-opinion-of-the-people-the-distribution-or-modification-of/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [A man's intentions should be allowed in some respects to plead for his actions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/a-man-s-intentions-should-be-allowed-in-some-respects-to-plead-for/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible. Do not ever let anyone claim to be a true American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/it-is-impossible-to-rightly-govern-the-world-without-god-and-the/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [My first wish is to see this plague of mankind banished from the earth, and the sons and daughters of this world employed in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/my-first-wish-is-to-see-this-plague-of-mankind-banished-from-the/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [Lenity will operate with greater force, in some instances, than rigor. It is, therefore, my first wish, to have my whole conduct distinguished by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/lenity-will-operate-with-greater-force-in-some-instances-than-rigor/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) [Explore all 801 George Washington quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) ## More Farewell quotes > [We had a farewell dinner for some of my senior staff, and generally everybody likes to talk about how cool I was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/we-had-a-farewell-dinner-for-some-of-my-senior-staff-and-generally/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Farewell,' she said. 'I hope you hear many more songs' - which was the best way she could think of to say good-bye to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-s-beagle/farewell-she-said-i-hope-you-hear-many-more-songs-which-was-the-best/) [Peter S. Beagle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-s-beagle/) > [“Okay; get out of here. Scram. Farewell . . . Go be short somewhere else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/okay-get-out-of-here-scram-farewell-go-be-short-somewhere-else/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [Here - at this final hour, Harlem has come to bid farewell to one of its brightest hopes - extinguished now, and gone from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ossie-davis/here-at-this-final-hour-harlem-has-come-to-bid-farewell-to-one-of-its/) [Ossie Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ossie-davis/) > [“Hugh and Fiona stood off to one side, their hands linked and foreheads touching, saying goodbye in their own quiet way. Finally, we'd all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/hugh-and-fiona-stood-off-to-one-side-their-hands-linked-and-foreheads/) [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) > [In the New Testament alone there are Gospels, acts, epistles, and an apocalypse. Gospels contain literary forms like miracles, parables, pronouncements, proverbs, farewell discourses,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-blomberg/in-the-new-testament-alone-there-are-gospels-acts-epistles-and-an/) [Craig Blomberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-blomberg/) > [Farewell, good Salisbury, and good luck go with thee!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/farewell-good-salisbury-and-good-luck-go-with-thee/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Over the last few days, I have been able to see my life as from a great altitude, as a sort of landscape, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver/over-the-last-few-days-i-have-been-able-to-see-my-life-as-from-a/) [Oliver $](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver/) > [Petruchio: Come, come, you wasp; i' faith, you are too angry. Katherine: If I be waspish, best beware my sting. Petruchio: My remedy is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/petruchio-come-come-you-wasp-i-faith-you-are-too-angry-katherine-if-i/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [We can say farewell to 10 years of bourgeois rule... now we have the opportunity to change Denmark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helle-thorning-schmidt/we-can-say-farewell-to-10-years-of-bourgeois-rule-now-we-have-the/) [Helle Thorning-Schmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helle-thorning-schmidt/) > [I would like to ask, Should not a player who has played 12 to 13 years for his country deserves a farewell match?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virender-sehwag/i-would-like-to-ask-should-not-a-player-who-has-played-12-to-13-years/) [Virender Sehwag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virender-sehwag/) > [Farewell is said by the living, in life, every day. It is said with love and friendship, with the affirmation that the memories are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/farewell-is-said-by-the-living-in-life-every-day-it-is-said-with-love/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everlasting farewells! and again, and yet again reverberated everlasting farewells!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-de-quincey/everlasting-farewells-and-again-and-yet-again-reverberated/) [Thomas de Quincey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-de-quincey/) > [“We have already said more goodbyes than are necessary. Those were goodbyes that brought about the end of partings. We taught each other that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-goddard/we-have-already-said-more-goodbyes-than-are-necessary-those-were/) [Donna Goddard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-goddard/) > [The Founders didn't mention political parties when they wrote the Constitution, and George Washington in essence warned us against them in his Farewell Address.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/the-founders-didn-t-mention-political-parties-when-they-wrote-the/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) [Browse all 542 Farewell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/farewell/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Having now finished the work assigned me, I retire from the great theatre of Action; and bidding an Affectionate farewell to this August body under whose orders I have so long acted, I here offer my Commission, and take my leave of all the employments of public life. 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