Bigger Than The Whole
while listening to npr this morning -- coincidently being slothful and listening to an interview with an author on a book about sloth -- i was reminded about how quotes are often incomplete for those of us lacking attention. the thought carpe diem while standing fine on it's own is part of a much greater thought.
the original ode from horace...
ut melius, quicquid erit, pati, seu pluris hiemes seu tribuit Iuppiter ultimam, quae nunc oppositis debilitat pumicibus mare Tyrrhenum: sapias, uina liques, et spatio breui spem longam reseces. dum loquimur, fugerit inuida aetas: carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero.
translates to
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.
well said horace. well said. it's a shame the rest is so obscure.
Posted by ac at December 30, 2004 02:39 PM