![]() Seize the present trust tomorrow e’en as little as you may. In the moment of our talking, envious time has ebb’d away. Strain your wine and prove your wisdom life is short should hope be more? This, that makes the Tyrrhene billows spend their strength against the shore. Whether Jove has many winters yet to give, or this our last Mine and yours nor scan the tables of your Babylonish seers.īetter far to bear the future, my Leuconoe, like the past, ![]() Here’s one translator’s version of Horace’s whole stanza:Īsk not (’tis forbidden knowledge), what our destined term of years, Instead, it advises readers to be aware of the fact that time does slip away, and wisely tells them to “strain your wine”-a reference to taking reasonable precautions to insure that you do actually have a future. The ode does not recommend ignoring the future and living only in the immediate present. Horace’s ode, probably his most famous, tells us that nobody can predict the future-so you should do all you can today, right now, to make your future better. ![]() We tend to think of the phrase “seize the day” as urging everyone to live only for the moment-but that’s not what it meant to the original poet, apparently. Two thousand years ago, the Roman poet Horace first used the phrase in his line “ carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero ,” which loosely translated means “Pluck the day, put very little trust in posterity.” Life is Short-Enjoy! Take No Thought of Tomorrow. Here, for your consideration, are a few more variant versions, all with the same basic message: The Future is Uncertain-Eat Dessert First. You’ve heard the old saying: Carpe Diem! Seize the Day! Films, songs and reams of poetry all express this same basic sentiment-but is it true? ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |