Thursday, November 17, 2011

Remember to Die!




It's autumn, and autumn is my season.  Part of my annual duties is to wander about, stamping the word DEATH on fallen leaves.  This year, as an experiment, I spray-painted some of those leaves white.  To make them stand out so they'll be easier to find when I strew them about.

The reason I do this is because autumn is the season that implicitly says MEMENTO MORI.  Which is Latin for Remember to Die.  There's no big hurry on this one.  But it's on your list of things to do.  

Because if you haven't died, you haven't lived a rich, full life yet.


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2 comments:

JJM said...

Excellent post. Spooky leaves. Memento mori means "remember you will die", of course, not quite the same as "remember to die" -- but I can see why you translated it as you did.--Mario

Michael Swanwick said...

You're absolutely right, Mario. Though, credit where it's due, I stole the mistranslation from some sly source or other.