Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Sapere Aude

Kant famously said that 'sapere aude', dare to be wise, was the motto of enlightenment. The saying is taken from Horace (Epistles, Book I, Epistle II). In Thomas Creech's eighteenth century translation:

For why, when any thing offends thy Eyes,
Dost thou streight seek for Ease, and streight advise;
Yet if it shall oppress thy Mind, endure
The Ills with Patience, and defer the Cure?
He that hath once begun a good Design,
Hath finish'd half; dare to be wise, begin:
He that defers to live, is like the Clown
Who waits, expecting 'till the River's gone:
But that still rouls its Streams, and will roul on.