quote · Legacy record
So fair is man, that death (a parting blast,) Blasts his fair flower, and makes him earth at last; So strong is man, that with a gasping breath He totters, and bequeaths his strength to death; So wise is man, that if with death he strive, His wisdom cannot teach him how to live; So rich is man, that (all his debts being paid,) His wealth’s the winding-sheet wherein he’s laid; So young is man, that (broke with care and sorrow,) He’s old enough to-day to die to-morrow.
So fair is man, that death (a parting blast,) Blasts his fair flower, and makes him earth at last; So strong is man, that with a gasping breath He totters, and bequeaths his strength to death; So wise is man, that if with death he strive, His wisdom cannot teach him how to live; So rich is man, that (all his debts being paid,) His wealth’s the winding-sheet wherein he’s laid; So young is man, that (broke with care and sorrow,) He’s old enough to-day to die to-morrow.
Approximate author period: c. 1618 AD · renaissance
Meaning not yet available
An individual explanation has not yet been added. We do not substitute a generic description for an interpretation of these particular words.
Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Francis Quarles
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Approximate author period: c. 1618 AD · renaissance
author lifetime midpoint (1592–1644)
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- A Cyclopædia of Sacred Poetical Quotations (catalogued1888) (1888 AD)
Page 374 · printed citation: Francis Quarles · subject: MAN
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.