Odes 1.11 (Carpe Diem)
Mouseia’s complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from the full Latin ode. Latin source edition on la.wikisource.org
Latin
Tu ne quaesieris, scire nefas, quem mihi, quem tibifinem di dederint, Leuconoe, nec Babyloniostemptaris numeros. Ut melius quidquid erit pati,seu pluris hiemes seu tribuit Iuppiter ultimam,quae nunc oppositis debilitat pumicibus mareTyrrhenum: sapias, vina liques, et spatio brevispem longam reseces. Dum loquimur, fugerit invidaaetas: carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero.
English · Plain English translation · Mouseia
Do not ask, Leuconoe. We are not allowed to know what end the gods have given me or you. And do not consult Babylonian horoscopes. It is better simply to endure whatever comes, whether Jupiter gives us many more winters, or makes this one, now pounding the Tyrrhenian sea against the cliffs, our last. Be wise. Strain the wine. Cut back long hopes to fit life's short span. Even while we speak, jealous time is running away. Seize the day, and trust as little as possible in tomorrow.