'To Young Virgins to Make Much of Time,' Robert Herrick

Part 2: Carpe Diem in a Biblical Light
Part 3: Carpe Diem Meets Christian Life
Part 4: Robert Herrick at Face Value

Mankind has long recognized that life is fundamentally uncertain. History is peppered with stories of individuals and nations whose futures deviated dramatically from their expected courses. Even more uncertain than life itself is the question of what happens when we die. Due to the tremendous uncertainty of human existence, countless people – philosophers and poets, peasants and potentates – have chosen to live their lives according to the principle of carpe diem, which means ‘seize the day.’

The phrase ‘carpe diem’ is a succinct expression of the worldview whose guiding principle is ‘live life fully while you can.’ Carpe diem philosophy looks at the many uncertainties people face, both during and after their lives, and gives up hope of finding an explanation. In the light of life’s unpredictability, carpe diem philosophy posits that the ultimate good is to live for the moment, since no one knows what tomorrow will bring. The ancient Roman poet Horace coined the phrase ‘carpe diem’ when he used it to title one of his poems. The last line of the poem says: ‘This day’s thine own; the next may be denied.’ Seventeenth century Englishman Robert Herrick was another poet who espoused carpe diem philosophy. He described the viewpoint in his work ‘To Young Virgins to Make Much of Time’

<>

<>Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
<>Old Time is still a-flying:
<>And this same flower that smiles today
Tomorrow will be dying. <>
<>
<>The glorious lamp of heaven, the Sun,
<>The higher he’s a-getting,
<>The sooner will his race be run,
And nearer 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.

This poem expresses four principles common to carpe diem philosophy. The first stanza, comparing young women to flowers, establishes that people are held captive to the passage of time. This thought, along with the principle of uncertainty, forms a foundation for the advice given later in the poem.

The second stanza, by comparing life to a single day, implies that death is the end of existence. People die and new people are born – the sun rises and sets – but once a single day is over, it is over indeed. Death is as final as a sunset.

The third stanza presents the idea that youth is the best time of life. Young people are strong, and thus able to enjoy themselves more full than at any other time in their lives. Because the young are better able to ‘seize the day’ than anyone else, youth is the pinnacle of existence.

Herrick tells us in the last stanza that each individual should take control of his or her life. Faith in anything except for one’s capacity to grasp opportunities is unfounded. Given the limited time available in which to enjoy life, people should try to ‘make their dreams come true,’ so to speak.

If the basic assumptions made by proponents of carpe diem philosophy are correct, then there is a lot of merit to the hedonistic lifestyle urged by Robert Herrick in his poem. No one knows whether life has meaning or significance, so there is hardly any use in living as if it did. If death and taxes truly are the only certainties, living for the moment demonstrates not irresponsibility, but wisdom.