Carpe Diem

Carpe Diem

by | Oct 21, 2025 | Ancient Texts, Emerald Book Club, Poetry, Roman, Wisdom

Meaning

“Carpe diem” is a Latin phrase meaning “seize the day” or “pluck the day”. It encourages people to make the most of the present moment without dwelling on the future. The expression originates from the Roman poet Horace, who used it in his Odes as part of a longer injunction about enjoying life now because the future is uncertain

In Horace, the phrase is part of the longer carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero, which is often translated as “Seize the day, put very little trust in tomorrow (the future)”. The ode says that the future is unforeseen and that one should not leave to chance future happenings, but rather one should do all one can today to make one’s own future better. This phrase is usually understood against Horace’s Epicurean background

Origin and History

The phrase comes from the Roman poet Horace’s Odes, published in 23 BCE. The original saying is “carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero,” which translates to “pluck the day, trusting as little as possible in the next one”

Ask not (’tis forbidden knowledge), what our destined term of years,
Mine and yours; nor scan the tables of your Babylonish seers.
Better far to bear the future, my Leuconoe, like the past,
Whether Jove has many winters yet to give, or this our last;
This, that makes the Tyrrhene billows spend their strength against the shore.
Strain your wine and prove your wisdom; life is short; should hope be more?
In the moment of our talking, envious time has ebb’d away.
Seize the present; trust tomorrow e’en as little as you may. Wikipedia

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