What is Carpe Diem?

We explain what carpe diem is and what is the origin of this sentence. Also, how is the lifestyle based on the carpe diem.

1. What is Carpe Diem?

The expression carpe diem comes from Latin and was first written by the Roman poet Horacio . If we translate this phrase literally we will see what it means to ” harvest the day ” and it has to do with taking advantage of life in the present. For the carpe diem it is important not to waste a second of our lives and make the most of our time.

This significance is related to the idea that we do not know exactly what will happen tomorrow . The future is unlikely and inaccurate, that’s why the present must be enjoyed and taken advantage of.

The complete phrase of the poet was “carpe diem quam minimum credentia postero” which, if we translate it into Spanish, would be something like ” take advantage of every day, do not trust tomorrow .” Horacio believes that the only thing that is precise is death , the only thing we are sure of. That is why it is necessary to take advantage of life while it lasts.

2. The carpe diem as a lifestyle

At present , this concept has been taken as a leitmotif of the lives of many people . These people who take the carpe diem as a way of life consider that we have to live every day as if it were the last day of our lives. Time is running and we must live the moments here and now.

Many consider this conception of life wrong and not responsible

 . Those who affirm this consider that not thinking about the future is not correct, since we must think and consider what will happen to us when we are old, to ensure a quiet life without work or responsibilities .

Carpe diem is an invitation to enjoy the present , this moment, without creating unnecessary worries about the future. The only thing we have specifically is the present.

The film The Society of Dead Poets (released in 1989 and directed by Peter Weir) took this concept into its history. In it, a literature professor urges his students to follow the carpe diem’s ​​mandate, to change their attitude towards life based on this principle.

3. Carpe Diem as a literary topic

This phrase has taken the form of a literary topic, that is, a recurring theme in the universal literature of all time . The carpe diem can be considered as an exhortation to nobody wasting time and for another to enjoy the present time and every moment of our lives without stopping to think about the future, since it is uncertain.

The carpe diem was more important in the Baroque and in Romanticism , although it also had its importance during the Renaissance .

It is important to mention that this concept is closely related to another Latin topic, memento mori , which tells us, remember that you are going to die . The only thing we know exactly is that we are going to die and we must live remembering this, because if not, life escapes our hands, time passes and we have not enjoyed anything.