To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time" is a poem written by English Cavalier poet Robert Herrick in the 17th century. The poem is in the genre of "carpe diem", Latin for "seize the day". It goes as follows: First published in 1648 as number 208 in a volume of verse entitled "Hesperides", it is perhaps one of the most famous poems to extol the notion of "carpe diem". "Carpe diem" expresses a philosophy that recognizes the brevity of life and therefore the need to live for and in the moment.
Carpe diem diem" as his guiding philosophy. Carpe diem is the second-person singular present active imperative of "carpō" "pick or pluck" used by Horace to mean "enjoy, seize, use, make use of". "Diem" is the accusative of "dies" "day". A more literal translation of would thus be "pluck the day [as it is ripe]"—that is, enjoy the moment. Text from "Odes" : Perhaps the first written expression of the concept is the advice given by Siduri to Gilgamesh, telling him to forgo his mourning and embrace life although some scholars see it as simply urging Gilgamesh to abandon his mourning, "reversing the