Count that day lost whose low descending sun. Views from thy hand no worthy action done.

This couplet is widely circulated as a moral maxim urging daily industry and purposeful living. Although often labeled “Anonymous” in modern quotation collections, it is commonly encountered in older English-language anthologies and school readers as a translated sentiment associated with classical antiquity—frequently linked (sometimes loosely) to Horace’s emphasis on making each day count. In practice it has been used as an epigraph or copybook-style verse in devotional, self-improvement, and educational contexts, where the “low descending sun” frames an end-of-day reckoning: a person should be able to point to at least one “worthy action” before nightfall.

The couplet urges a strict, almost moral accounting of time: a day should be considered “lost” if it ends without any “worthy action.” By personifying the setting sun as a witness, the lines frame daily life as something observed and judged, pressing the reader toward purposeful conduct rather than passive drift. “Worthy” implies more than mere busyness; it suggests actions with ethical weight—service, self-improvement, or meaningful work. The rhyme and aphoristic brevity make it function like a maxim for self-discipline, aligning with traditions of moral poetry that treat each day as a unit of responsibility and character formation.