01697--carpe diem

Carpe diem is a quotation from Horace's Odes (I, xi) meaning 'seize the day', in other words 'make the best of the present moment'. A common theme or  motif in European  lyric poetry, in which the speaker of a poem argues (often to a hesitant virgin) that since life is short, pleasure should be enjoyed while there is still time. The most celebrated examples in English are Marvell's To His Coy Mistress' (1681) and Herrick's To the Virgins, To Make Much of Time' (1648), which begins 'Gather ye rosebuds while ye may'. In some Christian poems and sermons, the carpe diem motif warns us to prepare our souls for death, rather than our bodies for bed.