To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time

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"To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time" is a poem written by English Cavalier poet Robert Herrick in the 17th century. The poem is in the genre of carpe diem, Latin for "seize the day".

1648 text[]

Gather ye Rose-buds while ye may,
    Old Time is still a-flying:
And this same flower that smiles to day,
    To morrow will be dying.

The glorious Lamp of Heaven, the Sun,
    The higher he's a getting;
The sooner will his Race be run,
    And neerer he's to Setting.

That Age is best, which is the first,
    When Youth and Blood are warmer;
But being spent, the worse, and worst
    Times, still succeed the former.

Then be not coy, but use your time;
    And while ye may, go marry:
For having lost but once your prime,
    You may forever tarry.[1]

Theme: carpe diem[]

First published in 1648 as number 208 in a volume of verse entitled Hesperides, it is perhaps one of the more famous poems to extol the notion of carpe diem, a philosophy that recognizes the brevity of life and, therefore, the need to live for and in the moment. The phrase originates in Horace's Ode 1.11.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Herrick, Robert (1921). Moorman, Frederic William (ed.). The poetical Works of Robert Herrick. Oxford University Press. p. 84. Reprint of the first edition (1648) of Hesperides

External links[]

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