What is the Meaning of Carpe Diem

Contrary to popular belief, Carpe Diem does not mean ‘Seize the Day’. Instead the Latin aphorism means pluck the day, not seize it; and subtle though this difference may seem, it is in fact significant. 

Where does Carpe Diem come from?

This Latin saying Carpe Diem first appears in the Odes (lyric poems) composed by the poet Horace during the reign of the emperor Augustus. The poem in which it appears, Ode 11, dates to 23 BC, which was an important year in Roman history as it was the year in which Rome’s first emperor Augustus assumed the title of princeps (or ‘first citizen’), the title of which gives us the word 'prince'.

This effectively marked the end of the Roman Republic and the beginning of the Roman Empire. 

Depiction of the 1st-century Roman poet Horace, the author of Carpe Diem

Horace’s poem begins with the poet addressing a Greek woman called Leuconoe. She may have been a slave (Greeks in ancient Rome often were) to whom our poet was offering advice, but she was more likely a courtesan he was trying to seduce. 

The silver-tongued devil.

Leuconoe likes to divine the future through horoscopes—or 'Babylonian calculations' as Horace calls them (those damn Babylonians, coming over here and divining our futures etc...), but Horace urges her not to. "Only Jupiter can know our fate," he declares; "life is short, so it is better to live in the present, strain the wine, and carpe diem, trusting as little in tomorrow as possible."

To help you understand the meaning of Carpe Diem, here's Horace's poem in full:

Tu ne quaesieris (scire nefas) quem mihi, quem tibi finem di dederint, Leuconoe, nec Babylonios temptaris numeros. Ut melius quicquid erit pati! Seu pluris hiemes seu tribuit Iuppiter ultimam, quae nunc oppositis debilitat pumicibus mare Tyrrhenum, sapias, vina liques et spatio brevi spem longam reseces. Dum loquimur, fugerit invida aetas: carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero.

“Please don’t ask Leuconoe - the gods don’t wish it to be known - what end they have given me or you, and don’t dabble with Babylonian calculations. How much better to accept whatever comes, whether Jupiter grants us more winters or this is our last, which is now wearying the Tyrrhenian sea on the pumice rocks opposing it. Be wise, strain the wine, and, since time is short, renounce extended hope. Envious time flies as we speak; pluck the day trusting as little in the future as possible.”

What stands out in this last part is the phrase invida aetas fugerit, translated here as 'envious time flies as we speak'.

You've probably heard the expression 'time flies'; it also comes from Latin—specifically the Latin author Virgil's expression tempus fugit. The eagle-eyed among you will have noticed that Virgil uses a different noun for time (tempus) than Horace (aetas), which is because the Latin word aetas translates more to our meaning of lifetime or generation.

Carpe Diem takes on a different meaning in the context of this envious fleeting age. There's a sense of urgency, immediacy—of gripping hold of the moment in the knowledge that nothing is permanent.

The ancient meaning of Carpe Diem

Deriving from the Latin verb carpere, carpe means to pluck, harvest, or reap. And so carpe diem means to pluck the day. Horace, like other Roman poets, used an abundance of agricultural language and terminology. The Romans even had their own extensive (and often painfully dull) genre of pastoral poetry, which is an excellent remedy for insomnia but not the most stimulating literature. 

Many words in our modern vocabulary are rooted in Latin agricultural language. Take our word culture, for example, which comes from the Latin verb colere (meaning to cultivate or grow) or the noun cultura, meaning cultivation. 

Horace uses the metaphor of wine and fruit to suggest living for today because life is short and future plans may not come to fruition. In Latin, the phrase is rich with imagery. It conveys the idea of picking fruit the moment it is ripe and not waiting until its best has passed. And so the ancient meaning of Carpe Diem was to live in the fullness of the moment—to pluck the day and not trust in tomorrow.

Erotic connotations of Carpe Diem

We mentioned earlier that the woman Horace was addressing might have been a courtesan or prostitute. Why do we think this, and what implications does this have for the meaning of Carpe Diem?

Well, something worth asking is what Horace is asking of Leuconoe? What is he advising her about? His immediate reference to ‘me and you’, his oblique reference to fruit (a symbol of temptation) and wine (a metaphor for a loss of inhibition), and his plea that she lives in the present all suggest that our poet is trying to get this young Greek girl into bed. Well, here is where things get fruity.

**Explicit content warning**

Peeling fruit bore sexual connotations in Latin. The Romans used the same word for peeling fruit (glubere) as they did for masturbating and peeling back the foreskin. The poet Catullus, a near contemporary of Horace, has left us a pretty vivid example of this — and it’s worth warning that Catullus’ poetry contains some of the most explicit lines from Latin literature, including my personal favourite pedicabo ego vos et irrumabo, which translates as ‘I will sodomize you and'...

Well, best look up the rest yourself. 

In his writing about Lesbia, Catullus’ love interest and Latin literature's most famous prostitute, Catullus writes about her ‘peeling back the descendants of Romulus and Remus’ (glubit magnanimi Remi nepotes) while working the streets and preparing to give her clients blowjobs.

Plucking in Latin is less sexually charged than peeling. Plucking is gentle, sensual, and dependent on timing. You can only pick fruit when it’s ready: ripe fruit isn’t all that rewarding, but rotten fruit is even worse. Seizing on the other hand is forceful, violent, and not dependent on the right timing. 

You seize something when you want it, not necessarily when it’s ready.

If Horace were alive today, and had more than lyric poetry and flute music to serenade his love interest, he'd have probably wooed her with something like this. (Only in toga instead of black tie).

The Modern Meaning of Carpe Diem

A dead poet introduced Carpe Diem to Augustus’ generation, but it was the Dead Poets Society (1989) that defined the meaning of Carpe Diem for ours.

The aphorism appears in John Keating's (Robin Williams) speech as the rebellious pedagogue who plays by nobody's rules—not even his own. Addressing his class and making them look at photos of former students, he exhorts them to make the most of every moment: "Carpe Diem, seize the day boys, make your lives extraordinary."

Carpe Diem's modern meaning is to do something grand and seize the moment—to take that vacation you have always dreamed of, go for that dream job or tell someone how you feel and finally ask them out! 

The TikTok generation would understand it as #YOLO (you only live once). And while stripped of the agricultural language that defines most other exhortations to seize the moment, you've at least got to give credit to how concise it is.

These are the ideas that best convey the modern meaning of Carpe Diem, and we have many sayings in English today that convey a similar message; strike while the iron is hot, grab the bull by the horns, time and tide wait for no man, to the more emphatic you only live once.

Today, Carpe diem could be a motto for any of the life-changing possibilities above or used to justify not taking responsibility…… just one more shot of tequila on a school night!

Carpe Diem in Pop Culture

What do Metallica, Dame Judie Dench, and an Australian philosopher all have in common? (No it’s not the beginning of a joke). The answer is that they’ve all given Carpe Diem meaning by translating it into the modern day. 

• In 1997, Metallica released the song Carpe Diem Baby on the album Reload. Featuring such lyrics as ‘​​So wash your face away with dirt; It don't feel good until it hurts; So take this world and shake it; Come squeeze and suck the day’, we reckon Horace wouldn’t have approved, but Catullus would have (some of his poetry was filthy).
• In 2016, Dame Judie Dench got Carpe Diem tattooed on her wrist in block script. (Thank you, Dame Judie, for not getting inked with #YOLO).
• In 2017, the Australian philosopher Roman Kznaric published Carpe Diem Regained. It’s a good read, arguing that the modern meaning of Carpe Diem as ‘Just Do It’ has been hijacked by four groups. These are: consumer culture (Just Buy It), digital entertainment and social media (Just Watch It), our modern obsession with scheduling and time management (Just Plan It) and the mindfulness movement (Just Breathe).

Album cover of Metallica, Reload, which features the track Carpe Diem Baby

Dame Judi Dench reveals her new tattoo to Surrey Life editor, Caroline Harrap (Photo: Andy Newbold)

Cover of Roman Kryznaric’s Carpe Diem Regained

The Meaning of Carpe Diem to our Co-founders

For us, the meaning of Carpe Diem is about making the most of life’s moments, taking chances, and grabbing opportunities. Perhaps being brave or strong enough to do something you really want to, making the most of the moment, and being the best you can be. 

That’s why we embrace the meaning of Carpe Diem and why we use it as our name. 

Carpe Diem’s co-founder, Russ, giving a tour of Rome’s Palatine Hill

You may only come to Rome once (unless you ensure your return by throwing a coin over your shoulder into the Trevi Fountain) and it should be an amazing experience. We’re here to help you make the most of your trip to Rome. Why walk around the city and try and make sense of it alone when you could join one of our expert guides and storytellers who can provide that all-important context.

Why visit the Vatican or Colosseum and miss out on all that context when you could explore it with our guides and nourish yourself with all their knowledge? And why rely on TripAdvisor reviews when choosing where to eat and what to see when you can ask those of us who have been here for years!

So whether that means indulging yourself on a food tour, seizing the chance to meet new people on our Tipsy Tour, embrace the true meaning of Carpe Diem - and make your holiday extraordinary!

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