Life is short, the wings of time Bear away our early prime, Swift with them our spirits fly, The heart grows chill & dim the eye Seize the moment, snatch the treasure, Sober haste is wisdom’s leisure; Summer blossoms soon decay, Gather the rose-buds while you may.

Full Text: Life is short, the wings of time Bear away our early prime, Swift with them our spirits fly, The heart grows chill & dim the eye Seize the moment, snatch the treasure, Sober haste is wisdom’s leisure; Summer blossoms soon decay, Gather the rose-buds while you may.
Listed on Page Number: 295
Sampler Worked By: Cornelia C. Canfield
Date of Sampler: c1825
Place Sampler Made: New Haven, CT
Sampler Listed on Page: 295
Author/Publication/Country/Date: Daniel, George. “Merrie England in the Olden Time…” Bentley’s Miscellany, London: Richard Bentley, 1841, Vol 10, pg. 33.
Notes: https://archive.org/details/bentleysmiscell06ainsgoog/page/33/mode/1up?q=%22Seize+the+moment%2C+snatch+the+treasure%22 George Daniel excerpted his poem within this prose work of 1837. It is republished in it’s entirety in 1869. Daniel was popular and active in the years our sampler was made, but I have not been able to locate an earlier copy of this poem. Likely inspired by Robert Herrick’s (1591-1674) poem To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time, which begins with “Gather ye rose-buds while ye may,”