Tempus fugit
Encyclopedia
- This article is about the Latin expression. For other uses of the English expression, see Time FliesTime FliesTime Flies was an American straight edge hardcore punk band from Virginia in the late 1990s and the height of the youth crew revival . They shared members with the band Count Me Out, also from Virginia...
.
Georgics
The Georgics is a poem in four books, likely published in 29 BC. It is the second major work by the Latin poet Virgil, following his Eclogues and preceding the Aeneid. It is a poem that draws on many prior sources and influenced many later authors from antiquity to the present...
written by Roman poet Virgil
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro, usually called Virgil or Vergil in English , was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid...
: Sed fugit interea fugit irreparabile tempus, singula dum capti circumvectamur amore, which means, "But meanwhile it flees: time flees irretrievably, while we wander around, prisoners of our love of detail."
Use as a proverb, an aphorism, or a catchphrase
In English the expression, either in the form of the Latin: tempus fugit or the English: time flies, is proverbial, generally with the intended sense: "Time's a-wasting", expressing concern that one's limited time is being consumed by nothing in particular, or by something which may have little intrinsic substance, importance or urgency at that moment, if ever.The expression's succinctness and poignancy have contributed to its enduring popularity in various cultural contexts down the ages. In modern times it appears as titles for television episodes (The X-Files
Tempus Fugit (The X-Files)
"Tempus Fugit" is a 1997 episode of The X-Files television series. It was the seventeenth episode broadcast in the show's fourth season. "Tempus Fugit" surrounds the agents' investigation of a plane crash that Mulder suspects was intercepted by a UFO....
), and musical compositions (jazz pianist Bud Powell
Bud Powell
Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell was an American Jazz pianist. Powell has been described as one of "the two most significant pianists of the style of modern jazz that came to be known as bop", the other being his friend and contemporary Thelonious Monk...
, progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
group Yes
Yes (band)
Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...
). It also makes many appearances in literature, television (Star Trek: Voyager, Trailer Park Boys
Trailer Park Boys
Trailer Park Boys is a Canadian comedy mockumentary television series created and directed by Mike Clattenburg that focuses on the misadventures of a group of trailer park residents, some of whom are ex-convicts, living in the fictional Sunnyvale Trailer Park in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. The...
), in Dan Brown's novel The Lost Symbol and in movies such as in one of the final scenes in the original Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider is a 2001 adventure thriller film adapted from the Tomb Raider video game series. Directed by Simon West and starring Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft, it was released in U.S. theaters on June 15, 2001. The film was a commercial success...
, as a recurring phrase uttered by Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn in The Music Man
The Music Man
The Music Man is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and uniforms to naive townsfolk before skipping town with...
and in the newsreel in the movie The Hudsucker Proxy
The Hudsucker Proxy
The Hudsucker Proxy is a 1994 screwball comedy film written, produced, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. Sam Raimi co-wrote the script and served as second unit director....
. There are games (like Arcanum
Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura
Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura is a single player / multi-player computer role-playing game developed by Troika Games and published by Sierra Entertainment. It was released in North America and Europe in August 2001 for Microsoft Windows...
) that use the expression to name spells that have an impact on time. A Batman villain, the Clock King, shares the expression as his surname. In addition, the final episode of season one of Warehouse 13
Warehouse 13
Warehouse 13 is an American fantasy television series that premiered on July 7, 2009 on the Syfy network.Executive-produced by Jack Kenny and David Simkins, the dramatic comedy from Universal Media Studios has been described as borrowing much from 1980s television series Friday the 13th: The...
has the character James MacPherson
James Macpherson
James Macpherson was a Scottish writer, poet, literary collector and politician, known as the "translator" of the Ossian cycle of poems.-Early life:...
, played by Roger Rees
Roger Rees
Roger Rees is a Welsh actor. He is best known to American audiences for playing the characters Robin Colcord on the American television sitcom show Cheers and Lord John Marbury on the American television drama The West Wing...
, say this expression to the one posing as Claudia as he prepares to flee and destroy the warehouse.
See also
- Ars longa, vita brevisArs longa, vita brevisArs longa, vita brevis are the first two lines of a Latin translation of an aphorism by Ancient Greek physician Hippocrates. The words are commonly translated in English as art is long, life is short. The full text in Latin is:...
- Carpe diemCarpe diemCarpe diem is a phrase from a Latin poem by Horace that has become an aphorism. It is popularly translated as "seize the day"...
- Memento moriMemento moriMemento mori is a Latin phrase translated as "Remember your mortality", "Remember you must die" or "Remember you will die". It names a genre of artistic work which varies widely, but which all share the same purpose: to remind people of their own mortality...
- List of Latin phrases
- Tempus Fugit (The X-Files)Tempus Fugit (The X-Files)"Tempus Fugit" is a 1997 episode of The X-Files television series. It was the seventeenth episode broadcast in the show's fourth season. "Tempus Fugit" surrounds the agents' investigation of a plane crash that Mulder suspects was intercepted by a UFO....
, an X-Files episode dealing with a plane crash involving time loss - Temple FugateClock KingClock King is a title used by two fictional characters, supervillains published by DC Comics. The first Clock King debuted in World's Finest Comics #111 , and was created by France Herron and Lee Elias.-Publication history:...
, a comic book character known as the "Clock King" Breve et inreparabile tempus omnibus est vitae