To develop a theme of translating from Latin, I want to take a quick look at this phrase today.
-Oh man, he’s not going to tell us we’ve been using this wrong too, is he? He’s not going to take this inspirational phrase away from us!?
No no, not at all!
Well, maybe a little…
Before we do anything else, let’s have a quick look at what it means. It translates as seize the day, and is used to mean live for the moment, don’t worry too much about the future and just enjoy yourself now.
Where does it come from? From the Roman poet Horace, and specifically his work Odes. Here’s the particular line it’s from:
carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero.
(Seize the day; trust tomorrow even as little as you may.)
OK, nothing surprising there, but that second part of the line gives us a clue as to how Horace meant the line in a slightly different way from how we use it now. He meant that we can’t rely on things to work out in the future, so we need to seize today and do what we can now to make the future that we want. He was basically saying that we shouldn’t put off till tomorrow what we can do today, but also, that we should think about what we really want, and make it happen now.
In that sense, it’s almost the opposite to how it’s used now. Rather than not overthinking things and not being afraid to try something new or scary, he was suggesting we think about what we want and then not wait to make it happen.
So, does this mean you’ve been getting it wrong all this time?
No.
First of all, the two senses of the phrase aren’t that different. Both are about making the most of the present, and about not relying on the future. The only real difference is that the modern version emphasises enjoying the moment as you might not get to enjoy tomorrow, whereas Horace emphasises doing what you can now to make your future better. He’s not saying the future won’t come; rather that you can’t rely on getting to do what you want to do in the future.
More important though, is the fact that we’ve been using the phrase to mean live in the moment, do something crazy! for a long time now. Regardless of what Horace intended, that’s what it means now, and there’s no point swimming against the tide and trying to get everyone to use it differently.
That being said, I think it can be useful to consider Horace’s intention. The thing about living in the moment is that there usually is another moment afterwards, and it can be useful to think a little about that moment. I think this is particularly relevant in terms of climate change, for example. Why not seize the day to make the world a safe place for ourselves and future generations? I think that’s the kind of thing Horace had in mind.
English-Language Thoughts 
I like both meanings! Very interesting read.
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Me too, I think they complement each other very well!
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Really interesting post! It makes me think about if there are other phrases we have perhaps adopted to mean what we want which are slightly different to how they were originally intended.
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There are probably a lot whose original meanings are completely forgotten.
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That’s really interesting! I think I like the quote better now that I know more about it.
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I probably wouldn’t have known what ‘carpe diem’ meant if not for ‘Dead Poets Society’. I wonder how many old, not necessarily Latin, phrases are commonly used because of modern media?
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It’s an interesting thought. I’m sure there are quite a few that are revived like that, but then become so popularly used that no-one remembers how they came back into use.
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I really like this phrase and always get a joyful jolt when I come across it, thank you for enlightening me on it’s true meaning, it’s a phrase that gets one thinking, that’s for sure!
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So interesting… so he was trying to raise awareness… It was not precisely all about having fun, in the sense of living an epicurean life. It was about thinking, mainly… Probably making plans in order to achieve what we want.
It seems the motto Carpe Diem reminds us also about our own mortality. As far as I know, it is the positive formulation of a negative fact (death). All this according to Horace.
Excellent post, dear Niall 😀 xx
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That’s an interesting way of looking at it: we have to use our time to make sure we achieve what we want, as we’re only guaranteed this present time now while we’re alive. It’s quite a deep and complex thought the more you think about it.
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Excellent read, thank you ❤❤
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Thanks 😊
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[…] Source: Carpe Diem […]
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I really like the second part of the line. Never heard that before. Although I’m much more of a carpe noctem kind of gal due to my insomnia haha.
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It’s actually much to seize the night, as there are far fewer distractions 😊
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