Sapere Aude (Dare to Know)

I wrote this poem during our History session about the Renaissance. I love the Renaissance, a time that devoted itself to true beauty, the versatility of the human mind, and the perfection of art.

Refine thy young mind, harness it fullest yield,

And bring forth from thyself thy true beauty;

Hardened in each area, proud in every field,

Explore the earth with a yearning for uncertainty.

Emboldened by ambition, seize the glorious day,

And seek only what has not yet been sought!  

For as long as the flowers do not cease to decay,

And do Heaven persist the tempest wrought, 

Thou should cease not in thy own refinement.

All remains not the same, hence be as inconstant,

In what thou knows and not, in thine assessment,

In thine familiarity; sapere aude, do not be hesitant!

Remember, whoever hath developed his thinking,

Shall gain his joys and earn his honor and merit, 

And great woe to he who is not at all striving,

To improve his mind, for he shall one day lose it! 

Author's Note

The statement "sapere aude" was drawn from the first book of Horace's Epistles. It literally means "dare to be wise" or "dare to know".