Carpe diem? Why carpe diem? What does it mean?
"Carpe diem" is a phrase from a Latin poem by Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus). The phrase is part of the longer "carpe diem quam minimum credula postero" from Odes 1.11, popularly translated "seize the day, trusting as little as possible in tomorrow". Carpe literally means to "pick, pluck, pluck off, or gather", but Horace uses the word to mean "enjoy or make use of".
"Tu ne quaesieris, scire nefas, quem mihi, quem tibi
finem di dederint, Leuconoë, nec Babylonios
tentaris numeros. Ut melius, quidquid erit, pati!
Seu plures hiemes seu tribuit Iuppiter ultimam,
quae nunc oppositis debilitat pumicibus mare
Tyrrhenum, sapias, vina liques, et spatio brevi
spem longam reseces. Dum loquimur, fugerit invida
aetas: carpe diem quam minimum credula postero."
"Don't ask (it's forbidden to know) what final fate the gods have
given to me and you, Leuconoe, and don't consult Babylonian
horoscopes. How much better it is to accept whatever shall be,
whether Jupiter has given many more winters or whether this is the
last one, which now breaks the force of the Tuscan sea against the
facing cliffs. Be wise, strain the wine, and trim distant hope within
short limits. While we're talking, grudging time will already
have fled: seize the day, trusting as little as possible in tomorrow."
Call me a fatalist, but even the the Bible agrees that time is fleeting and life is but a vapor:
"...What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." (James 4:14 NIV)
"As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more." (Psalm 103:15-16 NIV)
I can appreciate the quotes that Horace came up with. Apparently even in 50 BC (or somewhat) there were people that needed to be reminded of their good fortune in just being alive..
ReplyDelete1. Anger is a short madness ... and the follow up to that one "I teach that all men are mad"
2. Clogged with yesterday's excess, the body drags the mind down with it. (ah...hem... that one might hit a little close to home Horace)
3. Cease to inquire what the future has in store, and take as a gift whatever the day brings forth... (prequel to sieze the day??)
4. A shoe that is too large is apt to trip one, and when to small, to pinch the feet. So it is with those whose fortune does not suit them.
5. Don't think, just do. (Short and sweet... I like that one Horace)
6. In laboring to be concise, I become obsure
7. Whatever advice you give, be short... (is he talking to me?? Are you talking to me??)
8. Begin, be bold and venture to be wise. (I like that one... I might take that one).
Apparently Horace took the opportunity to sieze the day quite a lot. ;-) Nice job Kelley, I enjoyed your Latin lesson for the day. You really SHOULD do Prima Latina with the kids... then you all could do this around the dinner table. ;-)