Carpe Diem
by Horace
translated by Ad Blankestijn
Don't investigate:
we are not allowed to know
what end the gods grant me or you, Leucon,
do not consult the calculations of the Babylonians.
How much better to bear whatever will be,
whether Jupiter allocates more winters,
or this is the last,
which wears out the Tyrrhenian Sea on opposing rocks.
Be wise and mix the wine,
prune far-reaching hope,
while we are talking,
envious time has already fled.
Seize the day.
rely as little as possible on tomorrow.
Tu ne quaesieris, scire nefas, quem mihi, quem tibi
Finem di dederint, Leuconoe, nec Babylonios
Temptaris numeros. Ut melius quidquid erit pati,
Seu pluris 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.
(Horatius, Carmina Liber I, Carmen XI)
[Horace, by Adalbert von Roessler (1853–1922)]
Quintus Horatius Flaccus (65–8 BCE), known in the English-speaking world as Horace, was - together with Vergil and Ovid - the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus. His philosophical views were among the best known of antiquity up to modern times and were widely received in humanism. Horace brought literature to new heights and became himself the most important ancient model, especially for English classicism. His career coincided with Rome's momentous change from a republic to an
empire. An officer in the republican army defeated at the Battle of
Philippi in 42 BCE, he was befriended by Octavian's right-hand man in
civil affairs, Maecenas, and became a spokesman for the new government.
We know quite a lot about the life of Horace. This is not due to secondary biographical tradition (which began with Suetonius' Lives of Poets in the 2nd c.), but the main source for the poet's biography are his own writings. Horace regularly refers to contemporary events and conditions; he shows himself acting in everyday life. Especially in the satires Horace depicts contemporary relationships and everyday events after the model of the satirical poet Gaius Lucilius.
[Carpe Diem mosaic from Pompeii]
The first three books of the Carmina (Odes), to which the above poem belongs, date from Horace's period of classical maturity, after he had left the aggressive early work, such as the satires, behind him. He modeled himself on early Greek song poetry, whose heyday was from around 670 to 450 BCE. The Greek song writers were later called "lyric poets" after their main instrument, the seven-stringed lyre. Horace wrote four books of Odes, the "Carmina", which contain a total of 104 poems. He published the first three around 23 BCE. The fourth followed around 13 BCE. Horace's Carmina are perfect masterpieces, which show the poet at the top of his talent.
The above translation is my own.
Translations:
Horace at Gutenberg
Horace at Wikisource
Latin text at Perseus Digital Library
Photos:
Painting Horace: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Lyric Poetry Around the World Index