In this macro project, one of the most important and challenging strategic decisions, was to accurately design from the projected sightlines out to sea, so that each villa enjoys its own unique view that is not hindered by its neighbour. It is not then surprising that “Carpe Diem” has become a favorite of clockmakers as a gentle reminder to savor what time we do have.The location and views have inspired an innovative approach by the cutting-edge architectural studio, Archirevolution, to create the ultimate in Mediterranean living beside the sea. Unlike those seemingly similar reminders, Horace’s words carpe diem, popularly and most commonly translated as “seize the day” can also be trabslated as “pick” or “pluck” the day, with the emphasis on taking advantage of the now, of making what we can and enjoying the moments we are given. Since at least the middle ages and the ravages of the Black Death, reminders of the shortness of life in Vanitas art and memento mori motifs were common, particularly in religious settings as a reminder that life is short, so best be getting to the repenting. What Byron had found was not a new thought necessarily, but one phrased in a positive turn of phrase. Seize the day, trusting tomorrow as little as possible Which even now wears out the Tyrrhenian Sea on the shoreīe wise, mix the wine and confine your hopes to the near futureĮven while we speak, envious time has passed:

Whether Jupiter has many winters yet to give It is better to endure whatever the future holds, like the past dum loquimur, fugerit invidaĪetas: carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero.Īsk not-for we cannot know-what end the gods have setĪnd do not turn to Babylonian astrologers, Leuconoë. Quae nunc oppositis debilitat pumicibus mare Seu pluris hiemes seu tribuit Iuppiter ultimam, Tu ne quaesieris, scire nefas, quem mihi, quem tibiįinem di dederint, Leuconoe, nec Babylonios It is about the fleetingness of life, and the uncertainty of the future. It is in the form of advice being given to a female companion named Leuconoe. In 1817, the poet and Latin enthusiast Lord Byron wrote a letter, quoting an obscure Latin phrase he had come across “I never anticipate… carpe diem: the past at least is one’s own, which is one reason for making sure of the present.”īyron plucked this phrase from a passage from the Greek lyric poet Horace, in his Odes, book one, written around 23 BC. Still Life with Skull, Philippe de Champagneįor as long as we have been counting time with clocks and calendars, writers and artists and melancholy minds have protested the fleetingness of it, the unfairness of our brief allotment, and the question of whether one can ever bank on the future. The words of the poet Horace remind us that although life is short and the future uncertain, to savor the moments we do have, and seize the day.

Carpe diem salon