Horace 1.11:
Tu ne quaesieris (scire nefas) quem mihi, quem tibi
finem di dederint, Leuconoe, nec Babylonios
temptaris numeros. Vt melius quicquid erit pati!
Seu pluris hiemes seu tribuit Iuppiter ultimam,
quae nunc oppositis debilitat pumicibus mare
Tyrrhenum, sapias, uina liques et spatio breui
spem longam reseces. Dum loquimur, fugerit inuida
aetas: carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero.
Parsed Verbs:
Scire-present active infinitive meaning "to know"
Dederint-3rd person plural future perfect active indicative of "dare" meaning "to give"
Erit-3rd person singular future active indicative of "esse" meaning "to be"
Pati-present active infinitive meaning "to suffer"
Tribuit-3rd person singular present active indicative of "tribuere" meaning "to assign"
Debilitat-3rd person singular present active indicative of "debilitare" meaning "to weaken"
Sapias-2nd person singular present active subjunctive of "sapere" meaning "to have sense"
Reseces-2nd person singular present active subjunctive of "resecare" meaning "to cut back"
Fugerit-3rd person singular future perfect active indicative of "fugere" meaning "to flee"
Carpe-2nd person singular present active imperative of "carpere" meaning "to seize"
Translation:
Don't you keep searching, to know is a sin, what to me, what to you
Goals that the gods will have given, Leuconoe, do not test the Babylonian
numbers. To suffer whatever is noble!
Whether Jupiter assigned the farthest winters or many,
Which now weakens against the pumice of the
Tyrrhenian sea. May you have sense, strain the wine and check your long hopes
In this small space. As we are speaking, jealous time
flies: Seize the day, with little confidence in the next.
Formal Analysis:
The poem's title is Horace 1.11
The theme is so down and take life one day at a time, using the youth of life to the fullest.
The narrator aims at spring time as the setting.
The narrator is Horace, and the poem invites us to equate the author with the narrator.
The poem has an internal addressee, named Leuconoe (line 2)
The characters in the poem are Horace, Leuconoe, and Jupiter (Line 4). Horace reports on Leuconoe, but Jupiter acts in his own right.
The poem has a mood of taking life by the reigns.
Horace is attracted to Leuconoe, and wanted to woo her, so set the poem in motion. The poem anticipates that Leuconoe will seize the day and take Horace up on his offer.
The poem alludes to Jupiter, the king of the gods, and his role in the world. It also alludes to the Babylonian numbers, which are part of an old, complicated number system.
Structural Analysis:
Horace speaks to Leuconoe on living life one day at a time, and embracing it. Horace basically says, "Stop paying attention to everything else, we're what's important. Whether you'll have a long life or short life, time's running out. We're ready, let's go. This is the springtime of our lives, let's start having fun. Stop hoping for a bright future, live in the moment. We are in our youth, and time itself is jealous of us. So seize the day, trusting the future as little as possible."
The spacing in the poem shows specific placement in words likes Babylon, Jupiter, and Tyrrhenian. Placement in Latin is very free and can be used to convey specific meaning. The lines are all also around 15 syllables long. Also, none of any of the sentences ever start with a verb.
Starting out the poem with "Tu" shows that the poem is like a letter addressed to someone. Also, starting out with a verb like "quaesieris" (Line 1) gives the impression that the whole poem will be about seeking, striving, and obtaining. Ending the poem with "little confidence in the next" shows that the now is what is important in the poem.
Jupiter is a symbol of power, as he is the "hinge" that the world relies on as the ruler of the gods. He is a symbol of action in the present, not past or future, as his job demands.
The allusion to the Babylon numbers and number system shows that one need not go against the current and fight what is already established, as it is not important or something big to worry about. Now is not the time to be profound, but to act in the moment. There is also an allusion to the Tyrrhenian Sea. People must live their lives to the fullest before they are eroded like water does to stone.
Horace chose to keep things succinct and to the point, with not many superfluous words or adjectives. He chose keep his point short and sweet, like each day that should be lived by one like Leuconoe.
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