1 Tu
ne quaesieris (scire nefas) quem mihi, quem tibi
finem di dederint, Leuconoe, nec
Babylonios
temptaris numeros. Ut melius quicquid
erit pati!
Seu pluris hiemes seu tribuit Iuppiter
ultimam,
5 quae nunc oppositis debilitat
pumicibus mare
Tyrrhenum, sapias, uina liques et
spatio brevi
spem longam reseces. Dum loquimur,
fugerit inuida
aetas: carpe diem, quam minimum
credula postero.
1
Do not seek (to know is a sin) the limit of life which to
me or you the gods may have granted,
Leuconoe,* nor
test Babylonian numbers.+ How much better it will be
to suffer anything that will be! Whether Jupiter
divides out more winters or the final
winter,
5 which now weaken the Tyrrhean sea on
opposing
cliffs, be wise, strain the wines and
cut short vast hope
for a long life within the brief
space allotted to us.
While we speak, envious life(time)
will flee. Pluck
the day, believing as little as
possible in the future.
~~~
* Horace is giving Leuconoe this advice.
+ Babylonian numbers were an attempt to interpret the future.
~~~
Although it can be interpreted as quite morbid, the poem stands as a reminder that life is short and it must be lived, embraced, plucked. There is no use for hoping/ begging for a longer life; we get what we're given by the gods. Whether you look at carpe diem as make the most of the day or the original YOLO [You Only Life Once], work today to experience the life you've made for yourself (and maybe even be contented with it).
What kind of day will you make yours today?