Ars longa, vita brevis

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.

Translations

The original text, a standard Latin translation, and an English translation from the Greek follow.

Interpretation

The most common and significant caveat made regarding the saying is that "art" (Latin: ars, translating 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." Thus in plainer language "it takes a long time to acquire and perfect one's expertise (in, say, medicine) and one has but a short time in which to do it". It can be interpreted as "art lasts forever, but artists die and are forgotten" (in this use sometimes rendered in the Greek order as "Life is short, Art eternal"), but most commonly it refers to how time limits our accomplishments in life.

Too Short

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. He is best known for his hit songs like "The Ghetto" and "Blow the Whistle". Too Short is one of the very few musicians to have been able to collaborate with both 2Pac and The Notorious B.I.G. during the height of their careers.

Too Short is credited as being one of the pioneer rappers of West Coast hip hop. Many of his rap lyrics are about pimping, drug use & sexual antics.

Career

Shaw was born and grew up in South Central Los Angeles, California. In the early 1980s, Shaw and his family moved to Oakland, California. He was a drummer in the band at Fremont High School in Oakland. In the mid 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. This was also one of the first hip hop records to use the word "bitch" - a word which became one of the rapper's trademarks and was the focus of subsequent raps such as Ain't nothing but a word to me.

I Am the Greatest: The Adventures of Muhammad Ali

I Am the Greatest: The Adventures of Muhammad Ali is an animated series featuring heavyweight boxing legend Muhammad Ali, who starred as his own voice. The short-lived series was broadcast Saturday mornings on NBC in the fall of 1977, but was cancelled after just 13 weeks.

Episodes

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