Tu ne quaesieris—scire nefas—quem mihi, quem tibi finem di dederint, Leuconoë, nec Babylonios temptaris numeros. Ut melius, quicquid erit, pati! Seu plures hiemes, seu tribuit Iuppiter ultimam, quae nunc oppositis debilitat pumicibus mare Tyrhenum. Sapias, vina liques, et spatio brevi spem longam reseces. Dum loquimur, fugerit invida aetas: carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero.
~ Quintus Horatius Flaccus, Odes.
[Ask not—we cannot know—what end the gods have set for you, for me; nor attempt the Babylonian reckonings Leuconoë. How much better to endure whatever comes, whether Jupiter grants us additional winters or whether this is our last, which now wears out the Tuscan Sea upon the barrier of the cliffs! Be wise, strain the wine; and since life is brief, prune back far-reaching hopes! Even while we speak, envious time has passed: pluck the day, putting as little trust as possible in tomorrow!]