Horace's Ode 1.11, read by Niall Rudd

A recording from many years ago (sound quality is not perfect), but one to treasure all the same: the late Horace scholar Niall Rudd, reads Horace's Ode 1.11 (Carpe Diem).

Tū nē quaesierīs, scīre nefās, quem mihi, quem tibi

fīnem dī dederint, Leuconoē, nec Babylōniōs

temptārīs numerōs. ut melius quicquid erit patī,

seu plūrīs hiemēs seu tribuit Iuppiter ultimam,

quae nunc oppositīs dēbilitat pūmicibus mare

Tyrrhēnum. sapiās, vīna liquēs, et spatiō brevī

spem longam resecēs. dum loquimur, fūgerit invida

aetās: carpe diem, quam minimum crēdula posterō.

You should not inquire – it’s not right to know – what end the gods have given you or me, Leuconoë, nor should you be trying Babylonian numbers. How much better to take whatever comes, whether Jupiter has granted more winters or this is the last, which now wears out the Etruscan sea on opposing rocks. Be wise, decant the wine and trim your long-term ambition to a brief span. Even as we speak, the unkind hour has slipped away: enjoy the moment, and trust as little as possible in tomorrow.