A straw hat rests in a striped hammock between two small potted trees, with a peach beside one pot.

Original artwork, not a still

Imitation of Horace

John Dryden

Happy the man, and happy he alone, He who can call to-day his own; He who, secure within, can say, To-morrow, do thy worst, for I have liv'd to-day.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The speaker says only one who can call today truly his own is happy: someone settled enough to tell tomorrow to do its worst, having already lived fully today. It praises contentment in the present and defiance toward whatever the future may bring.

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