quote · Legacy record
“Time is the stuff of life”—then spend not thy days while they last In dreams of an idle future, regrets for a vanished past; The tombstones lie thickly behind thee, but the stream still hurries thee on, New worlds of thought to be traversed, new fields to be fought and won. Let work be thy measure of life—then only the end is well— The birthdays we hail so blithely are strokes of the passing bell.
“Time is the stuff of life”—then spend not thy days while they last In dreams of an idle future, regrets for a vanished past; The tombstones lie thickly behind thee, but the stream still hurries thee on, New worlds of thought to be traversed, new fields to be fought and won. Let work be thy measure of life—then only the end is well— The birthdays we hail so blithely are strokes of the passing bell.
In print by 1921 AD · modern
Recorded in a printed collection by this date; the original date of these words is still unknown.
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
- W. E. H. Lecky (identity unresolved)
Attribution: unknown - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- In print by 1921 AD · modern
In print by 1921: recorded in My Commonplace Book (third English edition,1921). Collection publication is an upper bound for this wording, not its earliest origin, composition date or the author's lifetime.
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- My Commonplace Book (third English edition,1921) (1921 AD)
Page 135 · printed citation: W. E. H. Lecky. · compiler notes excluded
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.