Carpe diem

Carpe diem is a Latin aphorism, usually translated "seize the day", taken from book 1 of the Roman poet Horace's work Odes (23 BC).

Translation

Carpe is the second-person singular present active imperative of carpō "pick or pluck" used by Horace to mean "enjoy, seize, use, make use of".Diem is the accusative case of the noun dies "day". A more literal translation of "carpe diem" would thus be "pluck the day [as it is ripe]"—i.e., enjoy the moment.

History

Sources

Text from Odes 1.11:

In ancient literature

Perhaps the first written expression of the concept is the advice given by Siduri to Gilgamesh, telling him to forgo his mourning and embrace life although some scholars see it as simply urging Gilgamesh to abandon his mourning, "reversing the liminal rituals of mourning and returning to the normal and normative behaviors of Mesopotamian society."

Meaning

In Horace, the phrase is part of the longer "carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero", which can be 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 future better. This phrase is usually understood against Horace's Epicurean background. The meaning of "carpe diem" as used by Horace is not to ignore the future, but rather not to trust that everything is going to fall into place for you and taking action for the future today.

Carpe diem (disambiguation)

Carpe diem is a Latin phrase, usually translated "Seize the day".

Carpe diem may also refer to:

Music

See also

Carpe diem (Lara Fabian album)

Carpe diem is Lara Fabian's second French album released in 1994. The album sold more than 250,000 copies.

Track listing

References

Lara Fabian - official website

Little 15

"Little 15" is a Depeche Mode single, released on 16 May 1988, and the fourth single from the album Music for the Masses.

The song was never intended to be a single; in fact, it barely made it onto the album, but a French record label wanted to release the song as a single, which became a popular import and a minor hit in the UK, reaching #60 on the UK Singles Chart (to date the second lowest UK singles placing for the band).

The song's title, as well as its status as a minor release, contributed to its special catalog number "LITTLE15". In this vein, it can be seen as a "little" release between BONG15 ("Behind the Wheel") and BONG16 ("Everything Counts [Live]"). Ironically, "Little 15" didn't chart in France, but finally was also released as a single in other countries becoming a success: in West Germany, where it hit #16, in Austria where it reached #25 and in Switzerland where it entered the Top 20 at #18.

There was no remix of the song at the time of release (the 12" and 7" versions were the same); however, there are two piano instrumental B-sides, both performed by Alan Wilder. The first is "Stjärna" (mislabelled "St. Jarna"), which is Swedish for 'star', written by Martin Gore. The 12" B-side also contains a performance of Ludwig van Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata #14." According to his website, Wilder did not intend for it to be a B-side, as he was merely performing it for fun, but Gore stealthily recorded it. Wilder did not perform the song perfectly (his error occurs near the end of the song).