- published: 03 Apr 2014
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Ars longa, vita brevis is a Latin translation of an aphorism coming originally from Greek. The Latin quote is often rendered in English as Art is long, Life is short.
The aphorism quotes the first two lines of the Aphorismi by the Ancient Greek physician Hippocrates. The familiar Latin translation Ars longa, vita brevis reverses the order of the original lines. Sometimes the Greek original is rendered directly in English as Life is short, Art eternal.
The most common and significant caveat made regarding the saying is that "art" (Latin: ars, Ancient Greek: τέχνη (techne)) originally meant "technique, craft" (as in The Art of War), not "fine art". Hippocrates was a physician who made this the opening statement in a medical text. The lines which follow: "The physician must not only be prepared to do what is right himself, but also to make the patient, the attendants, and externals cooperate."
The Latin is more clearly recognizable, but less idiomatic, using English terms descended from the Latin:
Todd Anthony Shaw (born April 28, 1966), better known by the stage name Too Short (stylized as Too $hort), is an American rapper, producer, and actor who started his career at the age of fourteen in Oakland, California.
In the early 1980s, Shaw produced custom songs (called "special requests") for people with his high school friend, Freddy B. In 1985, Too Short had his first release, Don't Stop Rappin' which, along with the following three releases, featured raw, simple drum beats from a LinnDrum drum machine. In the early 1990s his beats came from mostly a TR-808 and from mid-to-late 2000s, a TR-909 was used. In 2005, Too Short and Freddie B. formed the label Dangerous Music to regionally distribute his music. Dangerous Music became Short Records, and then Up All Nite Records. With his 1989 release, Life Is...Too Short, he began used replayed established funk riffs (rather than samples) with his beats.
Come on everybody, it's about that time
Come on everybody, it's about that time
Come on everybody, it's about that time
This life is short, don't waste it
This life is what you make it
This life is short, don't waste it
This life is what you make it
Don't call it jiggy
Call it danceable
Throw out a beat to fill the dance floor
I'll be on the side just sittin' and watchin'
Happy and content vicariously rockin'
It's great to be alive and well
Still in the capitol where I reside and dwell
So tell me if you hear me loud and clearly
Reality's just a bit more near me
So we make the most of every given minute
Here's a jam for the world and the 7 billion in it
Limits we know not
Don't really want to stop
Go-getter's get what they got by goin' for it
Caught in this crazy mix over the years
Learned some tricks
Throw 'em on my records just for kicks
And it's obvious that if it's what God gives
See we gotta keep the energy positive
This life is short, don't waste it
Don't waste it, I hope that you appreciate it
This life is what you make it
What you make it, I hope that you appreciate it
Hey, every new day brings a new day
To say thank you and relay my gratitude
For the time I've been given
Listen been given permission to embrace the rhythm
So live a little
Come on, breathe a little
Tell me, who wants to rhyme for close-minded people?
Not I
Okay good, me neither
This here feature won't follow procedure
Instead, the forecast includes a brainstorm
With elastic thinking to help me stretch the norm
Life's too short for me to conform
Daily renewal helps me transform
And live life to the utmost
Here's a toast to the future
Faith, love and hope
And all the things that truly remain and exist
It goes a little something like, like
This life is short, don't waste it
Don't waste it, I hope that you appreciate it
This life is what you make it
What you make it, I hope that you appreciate it
Come on
Yeah
So, I'm thinkin' life... is... anyways... bring it back
Life's too short
To have enemies
I make no apologies for being friendly
Life's too short
To live in poverty
I'm not talking money, I'm talking mentally
Cause I've been broke and at the same time happy
I'm well aware of my history
So I approach life a little more humbly
Cause being full of yourself will leave you empty
This life is short, don't waste it
Don't waste it, I hope that you appreciate it
This life is what you make it
What you make it, I hope that you appreciate it
This life is short, don't waste it
This life is what you make it
This life is short, don't waste it