![]() ![]() These are cultural values that some argue have been co-opted by advertisers to sell us more things that we’re told will make us happier.įor Australian philosopher Roman Krznaric, author of Carpe Diem Regained, the “hijacking is an existential crime of the century–and one we have barely noticed.” Krznaric is concerned that the philosophy has come to mean something else, almost the antithesis of what Horace’s words actually meant. By seizing the day rather than plucking it like a flower, however, we’re actually conforming to hidden cultural values that we all share, not looking at the world in a different way from the norm, but in the same way as everyone else. We understand the phrase to be, rather than encouraging a deep enjoyment of the present moment, compelling us to snatch at time and consume it before it’s gone, or before we’re gone.Īs John Keating teaches his students to value their own individuality above conforming to rules, he stands on his desk, as he says, not to feel taller, but to remind himself that we must constantly look at things in a different way. But there is something in the more Hollywood phrasing “seize the day” that has clearly resonated with people in the last thirty years. It is not that as a culture we can’t understand what it means to harvest something when it’s ready-we do have related metaphors like “making hay while the sun shines,” after all. Gathering flowers as a metaphor for timely enjoyment is a far gentler, more sensual image than the rather forceful and even violent concept of seizing the moment. Metaphors may map to similar meanings across languages, but their subtle differences can have a profound effect on our understanding of the world. It’s an example of one of the more telling ways that we mistranslate metaphors from one language to another, revealing in the process our hidden assumptions about what we really value. But let’s not be persnickety aren’t these merely two different metaphors that mean essentially the same thing? “Gather ye rose-buds while ye may” is the famed Robert Herrick version. Marsilio points out, “carpe diem” is a horticultural metaphor that, particularly seen in the context of the poem, is more accurately translated as “plucking the day,” evoking the plucking and gathering of ripening fruits or flowers, enjoying a moment that is rooted in the sensory experience of nature. Meanwhile, pedantic Latin teachers have been gritting their teeth trying not to sound their barbaric yawps because (surprise!) “carpe diem” doesn’t really mean “seize the day.” As Latin scholar Maria S. ![]() It’s an enduring thought that, perhaps, motivates us to see the world a little differently from the norm. Striking while the iron is hot and taking the bull by the horns (as we may say in more well-worn fashion), even the formidable Dame Judi Dench got the motto tattooed on her wrist for her 81st birthday. The phrase, and its accompanying philosophy, has gone on to inspire countless people in how they live their lives. ![]() (Oddly enough, three years earlier Williams had starred in a film called “Seize the Day,” so I suppose he was pretty serious about getting this message out there). Make your lives extraordinary,” encourages Robin Williams in the role of textbook-ripping English teacher John Keating. As everyone and their grandmother knows by now, “carpe diem” means “seize the day.” “Carpe diem. The phrase is “carpe diem,” taken from Roman poet Horace’s Odes, written over 2,000 years ago. That film is, of course, Dead Poets Society. This year is the thirtieth anniversary of a certain influential movie that popularized standing on desks as a legitimate teaching aid for many an earnest educator-even presidential candidates have gotten the memo-and catapulted an obscure phrase from a long dead language into the public consciousness and mainstream popular culture.
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