| ODES - I.11 | OH ASK THOU NOT, 'T IS SIN TO KNOW ... |
| Horace (Q. Horatius Flaccus) | trans. Thomas Hawkins |
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Tu ne quaesieris, scire nefas, quem mihi, quem tibi finem di dederint, Leuconoë, nec Babylonios tentaris numeros. ut melius, quidquid erit, pati! seu plures 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. |
Strive not (Leuconoe) to know what end The Gods above to me or thee will send: Nor with Astrologers consult at all, That thou may'st better know what can befall. Whether, thou liv'st more winters, or thy last Be this, which Tyrrhen waves 'gainst rocks do cast; Be wise, drink free, and in so short a space, Do not protracted hopes of life embrace. Whilest we are talking, envious Time doth slide; This day's thine own, the next may be deny'd. |
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