Reclaiming Carpe Diem:

How Do We Really Seize the Day?

Carpe diem—seize the day—is one of the oldest philosophical mottos in western history. First uttered by the Roman poet Horace1 more than 2,000 years ago, it retains an extraordinary resonance in popular culture. The heavy metal band Metallica has rocked audiences around the world with their song “Carpe Diem Baby”, while the actress Judi Dench had carpe diem tattooed on her wrist for her 81st birthday.2

Carpe diem（把握今日）是西方历史上最古老的哲学格言之一。这句格言最早于两千多年前出自古罗马诗人贺拉斯之口，如今在流行文化中仍然能够引起非同一般的反响。重金属乐队Metallica用一首“Carpe Diem Baby”（《把握今日，宝贝》）让全世界的听众为之摇滚，而女演员朱迪·丹奇在81岁生日之时将这句格言文在了自己的手腕上。

It’s a message found in Hollywood films such as Dead Poets Society; in one of the most successful brand campaigns of the last century (Just Do It);3 and in the social media hashtag #yolo (you only live once).

这一信息可以在好莱坞电影《死亡诗社》中找到；可以在上世纪最成功的品牌营销Just Do It（想干就干）中找到；也可以在社交媒体话题标签#yolo（生命只有一次）中找到。

It is remarkable that an expression from a long-dead language4 generates more than 25m online search results. Yet just as striking is the fact that there is not one carpe diem, but many. While usually translated as “seize” the day, the original Latin is sometimes rendered as “harvest”, “pluck” or “enjoy” the day. These variations tell us that carpe diem means different things to different people. For some it’s about taking a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, while for others it is about indulging in wild hedonism or living calmly in the present moment.5 We might casually use the term carpe diem when chatting with a friend, but how aware are we of its many personalities hidden beneath the surface?

这样一句用早已无人使用的死语言来表达的格言在网络上竟然有两千五百多万条搜索结果，着实令人惊讶。而同样令人惊讶的是这样一个事实：carpe diem并非只有一种意思，而是有着五花八门的含义。虽然这句格言通常被翻译成“把握”今日，但其拉丁原文有时会被译为“收获”、“采摘”或是“享受”今日。这些差别让我们明白carpe diem对于不同人而言有不同的含义：对于一些人而言，这是关于“一生只有一次”的机会，而对于其他人而言，这是关于放纵享乐或是平静地活在当下。我们同朋友聊天时或许会偶尔用到carpe diem，但我们对其隐藏在表面之下的丰富内涵又有多少认识呢？

In our age of distraction, where we are checking our phones an average of 110 times a day, grasping these different meanings is more important than ever. They are an antidote to the reality that we are, as Dead Poets’ Mr. Keating (and also Shakespeare) put it, “food for worms”.6 Life is short and our time is running out.

在这个人们时刻容易分心、每天平均要查看手机110次的时代，了解这些不同的含义比以往任何时候都更为重要。这些含义帮助我们应对这样一个现实：我们是，正如《死亡诗社》中的基丁老师（以及莎士比亚）所说，“蛆虫的食物”。人生苦短，时不我待。

But here’s the problem: carpe diem has been hijacked, and the result is that its potential to transform our lives is rapidly slipping away from us. This hijacking is an existential7 crime of the century—and one we have barely noticed. Who, or what, are the hijackers? First, the spirit of “seize the day” has been surreptitiously hijacked by consumer culture, which has recast it as Black Friday shopping sprees and one-click buying:8 Just Do It has come to mean Just Buy It.

但问题是：carpe diem已经遭到劫持，结果就是其改变我们生活的潜力正在快速从我们身边溜走。这种劫持是本世纪的一种存在主义的犯罪，而且对这种犯罪我们几乎毫无觉察。这些劫匪是谁，或者说，是什么？首先，“把握今日”的精神偷偷被消费文化所劫持，变成了黑色星期五购物狂欢和一键购买：Just Do it（想干就干）成了Just Buy It（想买就买）。

Alongside this is the growing cult of efficiency and time management that has driven us towards hyperscheduled living, turning the spontaneity of Just Do It into a culture of Just Plan It.9

与此同时，效率至上和时间管理的风潮也使我们过上了日程爆满的生活，将Just Do It（想干就干）的自发、随性变成了Just Plan It（想计划就计划）的文化。

A third hijacker is 24/7 digital entertainment that is replacing vibrant life experiences with vicarious,10 screen-based pleasures. Rather than Just Do It, we increasingly Just Watch It instead.

第三个劫匪就是全年无休的数字娱乐，我们丰富多彩的生活经历被间接的、来自屏幕的愉悦所取代。Just Do It（想干就干）逐渐变成了Just Watch It（想看就看）。

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