quote · Legacy record
“Why sits thou by that ruin’d hall, Thou aged carle so stern and grey? Dost thou its former pride recall, Or ponder how it pass’d away?” “Know’st thou not me?” the deep voice cried, “So long enjoyed, so oft misused— Alternate, in thy fickle pride, Desired, neglected, and accused? Before my breath, like smoking flax, Man and his marvels pass away, And changing empires wane and wax, Are founded, flourish, and decay. Redeem mine hours—the space is brief While in my glass the sand-grains shiver, And measureless thy joy or grief, When time and thou shalt part for ever!”
“Why sits thou by that ruin’d hall, Thou aged carle so stern and grey? Dost thou its former pride recall, Or ponder how it pass’d away?” “Know’st thou not me?” the deep voice cried, “So long enjoyed, so oft misused— Alternate, in thy fickle pride, Desired, neglected, and accused? Before my breath, like smoking flax, Man and his marvels pass away, And changing empires wane and wax, Are founded, flourish, and decay. Redeem mine hours—the space is brief While in my glass the sand-grains shiver, And measureless thy joy or grief, When time and thou shalt part for ever!”
Approximate author period: c. 1801 AD · industrial
Meaning not yet available
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Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Sir Walter Scott
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Approximate author period: c. 1801 AD · industrial
author lifetime midpoint (1771–1832)
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 606 · printed citation: Sir Walter Scott · subject: TIME
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.