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The short span of life forbids us to spin out hope to any length. Soon will night be upon you, and the fabled Shades, and the shadowy Plutonian home.

Vitæ summa brevis spem nos vetat inchoare longam.
Jam te premet nox, fabulæque Manes,
Et domus exilis Plutonia.

Original text (Latin)

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Life

More quotes by Horace

To flee vice is the beginning of virtue, and to have got rid of folly is the beginning of wisdom.

Epistles (-20)

He wins every hand who mingles profit with pleasure, by delighting and instructing the reader at the same time.

Ars Poetica, or The Epistle to the Pisones (-18)

What odds does it make to the man who lives within Nature's bounds, whether he ploughs a hundred acres or a thousand?

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The mountains will be in labor, and a ridiculous mouse will be brought forth.

Ars Poetica, or The Epistle to the Pisones (-18)

He who has begun has half done. Dare to be wise; begin!

Epistles (-20)

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Horace (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.