| Tu ne quaesieris, scire nefas, quem mihi, quem tibi | Don't ask (it's forbidden to know) what end |
| finem di dederint, Leuconoe, nec Babylonios | the gods have granted to me or you, Leuconoe. Don't play with Babylonian |
| temptaris numeros. ut melius, quidquid erit, pati. | fortune-telling either. How much better it is to endure whatever will be! |
| seu pluris hiemes seu tribuit Iuppiter ultimam, | Whether Jupiter has allotted to you many more winters or this final one |
| quae nunc oppositis debilitat pumicibus mare Tyrrhenum: | which even now wears out the Tyrrhenian sea on the rocks placed opposite |
| sapias, vina liques et spatio brevi | — be wise, strain the wine, and scale back your long hopes |
| spem longam reseces. dum loquimur, fugerit invida | to a short period. While we speak, envious time will have {already} fled |
| aetas: carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero. | Seize the day, trusting as little as possible in the future. |