{"id":4749,"date":"2013-09-23T03:48:11","date_gmt":"2013-09-23T01:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.antiquitatem.com\/en\/carpe-diem-horace-poetry-epicureism\/"},"modified":"2020-05-21T21:24:18","modified_gmt":"2020-05-21T19:24:18","slug":"what-does-carpe-diem-mean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.antiquitatem.com\/en\/what-does-carpe-diem-mean\/","title":{"rendered":"What does carpe diem mean?"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is very common to hear the expression Carpe Diem<\/strong>, but what does Carpe Diem mean?<\/strong> It means \u00abseize the occasion, enjoy the moment\u00bb.\u00a0 In short, it means: \u00abdon’t ask what our future will be; accept what is coming and since life is short, enjoy what you can now\u00bb.<\/p>\n

One of the advantages that ancient poets and writers in general have is that their work is not as extensive as some of the modern writers. So if we wanted, we could read their complete poetry in a few days. To the requirement of classical perfection, which only allows a very polished production, we have to add the havoc of time that makes us to have lost many extraordinary creations.<\/p>\n

Who said the phrase Carpe Diem?<\/h2>\n

One of the most notable poets for his maturity and reasonable epicureanism is Horatio (Quintus Horatius Flaccus).<\/p>\n

He is the author, among several other famous ones, of the phrase carpe diem, quoted to satiety, used and abused constantly since Antiquity.
\nHorace uses it in his Ode number 11 of the book I. The poem, which has only eight verses, is dedicated to a woman, Leuc\u00f3noe, who some authors interpret as \u00abthe lucid-minded one\u00bb, to whom perhaps he makes a subtle insinuation of love.<\/p>\n

The poet explains very well the meaning of Carpe Diem in his Ode number 11, and although poetry, and more so ancient poetry, has certain difficulties in understanding, I will offer the text in Spanish and also in Latin, in case anyone has the opportunity to read it in its original language, which is always the best, if possible.<\/p>\n

Do not wonder (knowing it would be a sacrilege) what end
\nthe gods have decided for you and me, Leuconoe;
\nor consult the Babylonian tablets *.
\nThe best will be to bear whatever comes.
\nWhether Jupiter has still given us many winters
\nas if this, that now hits the porous rocks of the Tyrrhenian Sea,
\nis the latest in our lives, be wise, enjoy your wine
\nand do not have a long hope.
\nWhile we’re talking about, our time is escaping enviously.
\nEnjoy the moment and trust in the future the least as possible.<\/em>
\n(* the horoscope ….)<\/p>\n

Tu ne quaesieris (scire nefas) quem mihi, quem tibi
\nfinem di dederint, Leuconoe, nec Babylonios
\ntemptaris n\u00fameros. Vt melius quicquid erit pati!
\nSeu plouris hiemes seu tribuit Iuppiter ultimam,
\nquae nunc oppositis debilitat pumicibus mare
\nTyrrhenum, sapias, vina liques et spatio brevi
\nspem longam reseces. Dum loquitur, fugerit invida
\naetas: carpe diem, quam m\u00ednimum cr\u00e9dula postero.<\/em><\/p>\n

Note<\/em>: immemorial poem, immortal poem, as meaningful today as yesterday. We will often talk about Horace, the quiet poet, the poet of maturity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the advantages that ancient poets and writers in general have is that their work is not as extensive as some of the modern writers. So if we wanted, we could read their complete poetry in a few days. To the requirement of classical perfection, which only allows a very polished production, we have to add the havoc of time that makes us to have lost many extraordinary creations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-language-literature"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiquitatem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiquitatem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiquitatem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiquitatem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiquitatem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4749"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiquitatem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4749\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4959,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiquitatem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4749\/revisions\/4959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiquitatem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiquitatem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiquitatem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}