Momento mori…

(A moment to die…)

hora tenuis…

(a fragile hour…)

vita longa…

(Life is long…)

mors brevis…

(Death is brief…)

(ora… ora…)

(pray… pray…)

Non scimus diem neque horam latentem,

(We do not know the hidden day nor the hour,)

sed scimus vitam ardere praesentem.

(but we know that life burns in the present.)

Per annos crescit, lente floret,

(Through years it grows, slowly it blossoms,)

sed uno ictu… omnia cadunt et morent.

(but with one blow… all things fall and die.)

Per annos structa in lumine fragili,

(Built through years in fragile light,)

lapis super lapidem, spe tranquilli.

(stone upon stone, in patient hope.)

Sed flatus deficit, cor languescit,

(But breath fails, the heart grows faint,)

in tacita nocte vita quiescit.

(in silent night life comes to rest.)

Si mors venit sicut fur in nocte,

(If death comes like a thief in the night,)

quid manet post ultimam vocem forte?

(what remains after the final brave voice?)

Non aurum, non nomen scriptum in saxo,

(Not gold, not a name carved in stone,)

sed quod dedimus… corde laxato.

(but what we gave… with an open heart.)

(hoc manet…)

(this remains…)

Momento mori — unum momentum est,

(A moment to die — it is but one moment,)

sed vita tota in manibus gest.

(but an entire life is carried in our hands.)

Vive ita ut mors te honoret,

(Live in such a way that death honors you,)

ut nomen tuum numquam deforet.

(that your name may never fade.)

Momento mori — brevis est finis,

(A moment to die — the end is brief,)

sed longior fit amor in hominis.

(but love in humanity lasts longer.)

Si cadimus, sed flamma manet,

(If we fall, yet the flame remains,)

per manus vivorum Deus permanet.

(through the hands of the living, God remains.)

Non est potestas quae tempus frangat,

(There is no power that can break time,)

non est imperium quod animam tangat.

(no empire that can truly seize the soul.)

Si memoria servatur viva,

(If memory is kept alive,)

nulla vis erit definitiva.

(no force will be final.)

Sed si silemus, si cedimus umbrae,

(But if we are silent, if we yield to the shadows,)

si tradimus ignem frigidae turbae,

(if we hand the flame to the bitter crowd,)

tunc mors secunda nos absorbet,

(then a second death consumes us,)

et lumen nostrum lente sorbet.

(and slowly drains our light.)

Vita pretiosa, rara, tremens,

(Life is precious, rare, trembling,)

inter infinitum et nihil pendens.

(hanging between infinity and nothing.)

Unus spiritus, una occasio,

(One spirit, one opportunity,)

inter aeternum et oblivio.

(between eternity and oblivion.)

(elige…!)

(choose…!)

Momento mori — unum momentum est,

(A moment to die — it is but one moment,)

sed vita tota in manibus gest.

(but an entire life is carried in our hands.)

Vive ita ut mors te honoret,

(Live in such a way that death honors you,)

ut opus tuum numquam deforet.

(that your work may never fade.)

Momento mori — brevis est finis,

(A moment to die — the end is brief,)

sed longior fit amor in hominis.

(but love in humanity lasts longer.)

Si unus cadit, sed alius stat,

(If one falls, yet another stands,)

per nos aeternitas ambulat.

(through us eternity walks.)

("ambulare…")

("walk…”)

Vivere difficile est…

(To live is difficult…)

mori facile est…

(to die is easy…)

Annis discimus stare in lumine,

(Through years we learn to stand in the light,)

sed mors venit sine discrimine.

(but death comes without discrimination.)

Totum datur per longum tempus,

(Everything is given over a long time,)

sed tollitur in puncto unus…

(but taken away in a single instant…)

Si ego cado hodie in pulvere,

(If I fall today into the dust,)

quid restabit in corde tuo vere?

(what will truly remain in your heart?)

Non vox mea sola, sed actus mei —

(Not my voice alone, but my deeds —)

in te vivant… post fata mei.

(may they live in you… after my fate.)

Honora diem sicut ultimum,

(Honor the day as if it were the last,)

amplectere proximum intimum.

(embrace your neighbor closely.)

Da flammam tuam alteri manu,

(Give your flame into another hand,)

ne pereat in frigido vano.

(so it may not perish in cold emptiness.)

Vita transit sicut aura,

(Life passes like a breeze,)

sed amor firmior quam saxa dura.

(but love is stronger than hard stones.)

Quod traditur, non moritur,

(What is handed on does not die,)

in corde altero renascitur.

(it is reborn in another heart.)

Momento mori — unum momentum est!!!

(A moment to die — it is but one moment!!!)

Sed vita sacra in nobis rest.

(But sacred life remains in us.)

Vive ita ut mors sit clara,

(Live so that death may be clear and radiant,)

non tenebra… sed lux amara.

(not darkness… but a solemn light.)

Momento mori — non est terror,

(A moment to die — it is not terror,)

sed verum pondus, sacer ardor.

(but true weight, a sacred fire.)

Si flamma nostra non extinguitur,

(If our flame is not extinguished,)

Deus in homine non moritur.

(God in humanity does not die.)

("non moritur…”)

("does not die…")

Momento mori…

(A moment to die…)

sed dum spiramus… vivamus.

(but while we breathe… let us live.)

Vita longa…

(Life is long…)

mors brevis…

(death is brief…)

(in manibus nostris… aeternitas…)

(In our hands...eternally)

-FINIS-