“Life let us cherish, while yet the taper glows,
And the fresh flow’ret pluck ere it close;
Why are we fond of toil and care?
Why choose the rankling thorn to wear?”

—  Johann Martin Usteri

Life let us cherish, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).

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Johann Martin Usteri photo
Johann Martin Usteri 1
Swiss poet 1763–1827

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