01 · Side by side

Side by side

Comparison sheet
AspectMemento moriCarpe diem
IsThe premiseA conclusion
Historic useDetachmentEnjoyment
Effect on wantingReduces itFocuses it
HomeArt and StoicismOne Horace ode
02 · Which one you meant

Which one did you mean?

In shortReaders who land here meaning Memento Mori rather than Carpe diem are usually searching for phrases like “what does memento mori mean”, “memento mori roman slave story”, “remember you must die latin”.

Memento Mori

  • “what does memento mori mean”
  • “memento mori roman slave story”
  • “remember you must die latin”
  • “is memento mori stoic”

Carpe Diem

  • “what does carpe diem really mean”
  • “is carpe diem mistranslated”
  • “seize the day origin”
  • “full carpe diem quote”
03 · Which came first

Which came first

In shortMemento mori. c. 180 CE — Marcus Aurelius writes the Meditations, repeatedly training himself on mortality: 'The time of a man's life is as a point; the substance of it ever flowing'.

  1. c. 180 CE

    Memento Mori. Marcus Aurelius writes the Meditations, repeatedly training himself on mortality: 'The time of a man's life is as a point; the substance of it ever flowing'.

  2. 1879

    Carpe Diem. Lewis & Short's A Latin Dictionary, the standard Latin lexicon, files Horace's usage not under any sense of seizure but under the figurative sense 'to enjoy, use, make use of'.

04 · Read either one

Read either one in full