Expert: Maria - 1/21/2007

Question
would i be right in thinking "carpe diem memento mori" would translate into seize the day remember you are mortal"? if not i would be very grateful if you would translate it for me? could you also translate "Today are the good old days"?  Many Thanks!!  

Answer
Hello,

“Carpe diem memento mori", which is the combination of two quotations (see below), means exactly :“Seize the day, remember you are mortal", as you say.

As for  the phrase " Today are the good old days", it can be rendered as follows:

1-“Felix tempus praeteritum est hodie” (literal, but not so good in Latin).

2-“ Praeterita non desidero, praesens amo tempus” (free translation which however sounds better in Latin)

Best regards,
Maria
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1-CARPE (seize) DIEM ( the day) is a quotation from Horace’s Odes, Book 1, ode 11, line 8.

2-MEMENTO ( remember) MORI (you are mortal, you must die) is an admonishment that seems  to have been used when a Roman general was parading through the streets of Rome during the victory celebration, i.e. the triumph. A slave in fact who stood behind the victorious general reminded him that  he was mortal, though he was at the height  of his success at that time.

3- Here is the breakdown  of “Today are the good old days"
-Today = HODIE
-are = EST
-the good = FELIX
-old = PRAETERITUM
-days= TEMPUS (singular in Latin)

4-As for “Praeterita non desidero, praesens amo tempus”, it means literally “I do not regret the good old days, I love my present life”).
-PRAETERITA = the good old days
-NON DESIDERO = I do not regret
-PRAESENS = my present
-AMO= I love
-TEMPUS= life
Latin word order can differ from English, as you see.