It is reported that it was the ancient Athenian lawgiver, Solon, who divided the human life cycle into ten stages of seven years each:((https://www.institute4learning.com/2012/08/08/the-stages-of-life-according-to-solon-ancient-greece/))
0-7 – A boy at first is the man; unripe; then he casts his teeth; milk-teeth befitting the child he sheds his 7th year;
7-14 – Then to his seven years God adding another seven, signs of approaching manhood show in the bud;
14-21 – Still, in the third of the sevens his limbs are growing; his chin touched with a fleecy down; the bloom of the cheek gone;
21-28 – Now in the 4th of the 7’s ripen to greatest completeness the powers of the man and his worth becomes plain to see;
28-35 – In the fifth he bethinks him that this is the season for courting, bethinks him that sons will preserve and continue his line;
35-42 – Now in the 6th his mind, ever open to virtue, broadens, and never inspires him to profitless deeds;
42-56 – [Two stages combined] Seven times 7, and 8; the tongue and the mind for fourteen years together are now at their best;
56-63 – Still in the ninth is he able, but never so nimble in speech and in wit as he was in the days of his prime;
63-70 – Who to the tenth has attained, and has lived to complete it, has come to the time to depart on the ebb tide of death.
The Psalmist wrote:
“The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you? So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” -Psalm 90:10–12
The Preacher of Ecclesiastes admonished:
“Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look through the windows are dimmed, and the doors on the street are shut—when the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low— they are afraid also of what is high, and terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and desire fails, because man is going to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets— before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity.” -Ecclesiastes 12:1–8
It Is Later Than You Think
by ROBERT W. SERVICE
Lone amid the café’s cheer,
Sad of heart am I to-night;
Dolefully I drink my beer,
But no single line I write.
There’s the wretched rent to pay,
Yet I glower at pen and ink:
Oh, inspire me, Muse, I pray,
It is later than you think!
Hello! there’s a pregnant phrase.
Bravo! let me write it down;
Hold it with a hopeful gaze,
Gauge it with a fretful frown;
Tune it to my lyric lyre …
Ah! upon starvation’s brink,
How the words are dark and dire:
It is later than you think.
Weigh them well …. Behold yon band,
Students drinking by the door,
Madly merry, bock in hand,
Saucers stacked to mark their score.
Get you gone, you jolly scamps;
Let your parting glasses clink;
Seek your long neglected lamps:
It is later than you think.
Look again: yon dainty blonde,
All allure and golden grace,
Oh so willing to respond
Should you turn a smiling face.
Play your part, poor pretty doll;
Feast and frolic, pose and prink;
There’s the Morgue to end it all,
And it’s later than you think.
Yon’s a playwright — mark his face,
Puffed and purple, tense and tired;
Pasha-like he holds his place,
Hated, envied and admired.
How you gobble life, my friend;
Wine, and woman soft and pink!
Well, each tether has its end:
Sir, it’s later than you think.
See yon living scarecrow pass
With a wild and wolfish stare
At each empty absinthe glass,
As if he saw Heaven there.
Poor damned wretch, to end your pain
There is still the Greater Drink.
Yonder waits the sanguine Seine …
It is later than you think.
Lastly, you who read; aye, you
Who this very line may scan:
Think of all you planned to do …
Have you done the best you can?
See! the tavern lights are low;
Black’s the night, and how you shrink!
God! and is it time to go?
Ah! the clock is always slow;
It is later than you think;
Sadly later than you think;
Far, far later than you think.
The Angel of Death Came to David’s Room
by MewithoutYou
The angel of death came to David’s room
The angel of death came to David’s room
The angel of death came to David’s room
He said, “Friend, it’s time to go”‘
Angel no I think you’ve come too soon
Angel no, I think you’ve come too soon
Angel no, I think you’ve come too soon
It’s not my time to go
Sorry friend, now put your hand in mine
I’m sorry friend, now put your hand in mine
But good angel, don’t I get a warning sign
Before it’s my time to go?
Come now David, where’s your grandma gone?
Come now David, where’s your grandpa gone?
Come now David, where’s your grandma gone?
Their time came to go
But I slew Goliath with the sling and stone
I slew Goliath with the sling and stone
I slew Goliath with the sling and stone
It’s not my time to go
He’ll be waiting for you when we get back home
He’ll be waiting for you when we get back home
He’ll be waiting for you when we get back home
It’s time, it’s time to go
Come now David, where’s your momma gone?
Come now David, where’ve your uncles gone?
Come now David, where’ve your aunts all gone?
Their time came to go
Can I tell Solomon the things I’ve learned?
Can I tell Solomon the things I’ve learned?
I’m sorry friend that’s none of my concern
It’s time, it’s time to go
Come now David, where’s Uriah gone?
Stranded on the battlefield, the troops withdrawn
Come now David, where’s Uriah gone?
His time came to go
Come now David, where’s Bathsheba gone?
And where’ve your binoculars and rooftops gone?
The unexpected baby from the bath night gone?
Their time came to go
Come now David, where’s everybody goin’?
Come now David, where’s everybody goin’?
Come now David, where’s everybody goin’?
Come now David, where’s everybody goin’?
Come now David, where’s everybody goin’?
Come now David, where’s everybody goin’?
Come now David, where’s everybody goin’?