“Believe me, wise men don't say ‘I shall live to do that’, tomorrow's life is too late; live today.”

— Martial, Epigrammata, Book I, 15

About Martial

40 – 104

Roman poet, master of the epigram.

“Your birthday as my own to me is dear.”

“My poems are naughty, but my life is pure.”

“Glory paid to ashes comes too late.”

“The wise man will live as long as he ought, not as long as he can.”

“The universe is flux, life is opinion.”

“The young have exalted notions, because they have not been humbled by life or learned its necessary limitations.”

“I want to know whether I can live with what I know and with that alone.”

“When Life does not find a singer to sing her heart she produces a philosopher to speak her mind.”

“You never know how much you really believe anything until its truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life and death to you.”