A Proverb of Prompting: ‘Make Hay While the Sun Shines’

Missed opportunities are something we can avoid with the help of a little proverbial wisdom.

The context of “Make hay while the sun shines” is, naturally, an agricultural one. Ruslan Suseynov/Shutterstock

Where does the proverb, “Make hay while the sun shines” come from? And is it just about self-indulgence?

The context of “Make hay while the sun shines” is, naturally, an agricultural one. While it makes sense that sunshine is important for farming, there is more to this saying.

Before the Industrial Revolution, hay-making was a lengthy process. Hay would be cut, left to dry in the fields, and then gathered and brought in. If you cut it and then it rained on the crop while it was meant to be drying, it could ruin what you just harvested, having serious consequences for the farm. So, often, workers would put in extra hours to make sure the hay was brought in as promptly as possible.

Predicting the weather isn’t an exact science. Back in medieval times, it wasn’t easy to forecast. So the simple adage, “Make hay while the sun shines,” was born.

First Mentions

Most say that Tudor England in 1546 was the first time a variation on it was recorded. In John Heywood’s “A Dialogue conteinyng the nomber in effect of all the Prouerbes in the Englishe tongue,” it is written:

“Whan the sunne shinth make hay. 

Whiche is to say.


Take time whan time cometh, 

lest time steale away.” Yet a more elusive, earlier version of it appeared in 1509, in the English translation for Sebastian Brant’s “Ship of Fools.” It says, “Who that in July whyle Phebus is shynynge About his hay is nat besy labourynge. ... Shall in the wynter his negligence bewayle”—which essentially means that those who aren’t busy laboring over their hay in July, when the sun is shining, will regret their negligence come winter.

The wisdom of this idea—that one should seize one’s opportunities while they are still ripe, not fritter away the time—caught on.

While the concept could sound, in some contexts, almost impulsive or indulgent, as it is sometimes used in that way, there is undoubtedly wholesome wisdom in it. Perhaps if there weren’t, it may not have survived for more than 500 years.

A Sister Saying

English contains, or has adopted, a few parallel sayings, the most prominent of which is the Latin “carpe diem,” usually translated as “seize the day.” This one is a closer relative of “make hay while the sun shines” than you might think.

“Diem,” is of course, “day,” but how about “carpe”? While “seize” is fine as a translation, a somewhat more literal rendering would be “pluck [fruit],” because the time is ripe. “Carpe” is from the Latin verb carpō, meaning “pick or pluck.” So the context of the natural world is something these two sayings charmingly share.

Of course, the fact that the saying is in Latin suggests that this one is far older than “make hay.” It was passed down to us from as early as 23 B.C. It appeared in book 1 of the Roman poet Horace’s work “Odes”:

“... life is short; should hope be more?

In the moment of our talking, envious time has ebb'd away.

Seize the present; trust tomorrow e'en as little as you may.”

Waiting for ‘the Perfect’ Anything

A few years ago, when our family was house hunting, we found the process to be dragging out a little too long. At one point, my husband and I had a chat that turned things around: If we waited for the “perfect” house, we would probably never buy, or at a minimum, it could take years. The thing to do was to choose the “good enough” house and stay clear on the higher priorities in life.

Our new strategy did the trick—a good house came on the market, and we grabbed it. Though certainly not perfect, we have been happy there for almost 10 years.

And isn’t that how we might apply “Make hay while the sun shines” to life? Though young people, especially, might be less apt to realize it, waiting for “the perfect” anything can lead to missed opportunities, lost time, and stress. This could be the perfect spouse, or the perfect career, or the perfect time to start a family, or the perfect vacation spot.

Sometimes waiting—much like water-ruined hay crops—can lead to much less favorable outcomes than if we had moved forward with the time we had.

However, we do need to strike a balance and not rush into decisions impulsively. Careful consideration and thoughtful action are, naturally, important for long-term success and well-being. Yet waiting, waffling, and expecting perfection in people, circumstances, and opportunities around us is something we may regret down the line.

Life is, after all, a continued balance. So seize the day, make hay, but also tie up your camel along the way.