CHANGE.
Learn a lesson from this dial,
Dwell not on the past;
Greet the present with a smile,
For future cannot last.
To-morrow soon becomes to-day,
The present falls behind,
And as each moment glides away
My maxim comes to mind.
About This Book
This work compiles historical discussion, practical guidance, and artistic renderings related to sundials. It opens with a popular history considering origins and varieties of dials, follows with technical notes on placement and gnomonics, and includes photographs and faithful sketches of surviving examples. A large poetic section offers hundreds of short verses, mottoes, and themed poems accompanied by sketches intended to fit the age of each dial. Additional material lists names and locations of extant sundials, an index to sketches and verses, and examples of garden and architectural sundials from makers. The tone blends antiquarian curiosity, practical instruction, and creative celebration of timekeeping.