On the Flight of Time
Horace: Book I, Ode 2
“Tu ne quæsieris, scire nefas, quem mihi, quem tibi”
AD LEUCONOEN
Look not, Leuconoë, into the future;
Seek not to find what the Answer may be;
Let no Chaldean clairvoyant compute your
Time of existence.... It irritates me!
Better to bear what may happen soever
Patiently, playing it through like a sport,
Whether the end of your breathing is Never,
Or, as is likely, your time will be short.
This is the angle, the true situation;
Get me, I pray, for I’m putting you hep:
While I’ve been fooling with versification
Time has been flying.... Both gates!
Watch your step!