Ode I. 11
Leucon, no one’s
allowed to know his fate,
Not you, not
me: don’t ask, don’t hunt for answers
In
tea leaves or palms. Be patient with whatever comes.
This could be our last winter, it could
be many
More, pounding the Tuscan Sea on
these rocks:
Do what you must, be wise,
cut your vines
And forget about hope.
Time goes running, even
As we talk. Take
the present, the future’s no one’s affair.
~ Horace
~
(The Essential Horace,
edited and translated by Burton Raffel)
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