Tempus abire tibi est
“It is time for you to go.”
Horace, Epistulae 2.2.215
What does “Tempus abire tibi est” mean?
Tempus abire tibi est translates as “It is time for you to go.”
Know when to leave the party. Every stage of life has its end.
“Tempus abire tibi est” word by word
| Latin | English | Grammar |
|---|---|---|
| Tempus | time | nominative singular neuter of tempus (genitive temporis), “time”; here it is the subject of est |
| abire | to go away | present infinitive of abeo, “I go away, depart”; it completes the idea of “time” |
| tibi | for you | dative singular of tu, “you”; shows who the time to leave belongs to |
| est | it is | third person singular present indicative of sum, “I am” |
How to pronounce “Tempus abire tibi est”
The two systems differ only slightly. The vowels of tibi shift a little between them, and the stress falls on TEM, BEE and TI in both.
The story behind it
Word for word the line says “time to go away is for you”, the Latin way of saying “it is time for you to go”. Latin often leaves out words that English needs, so the word order feels back to front.
It comes from Horace’s Epistles, Book 2, Letter 2, a verse letter to a friend, Julius Florus. Horace was writing late in life, in the Augustan age, and in this letter he reflects on getting older.
He ends the letter with a picture from the banquet: you have played, eaten and drunk enough, and it is time to leave before the guests who have had too much start to mock you. The thought is about leaving at the right moment, not about running away.
The line is still quoted when someone retires, quits a job or steps back from a role, and it is a common way to say that every stage of life has its natural end.
How to use “Tempus abire tibi est”
It suits a retirement card, a farewell speech or a caption for a career change or a move. As a tattoo or motto it works for someone who values leaving a chapter gracefully.
- Latin
- Tempus abire tibi est
- English
- It is time for you to go.
- Source
- Horace, Epistulae 2.2.215
- Era
- Classical
- Theme
- Time
Common mistakes
- It does not mean “time is leaving you”. The tibi (“for you”) shows that the person addressed is the one who should go.
- In the full text the line goes on, comparing the guest who has had his fill, so shortening it to a bare “time to go” loses part of Horace’s picture.
- For more than one person the pronoun changes to vobis: Tempus abire vobis est.
- Do not rewrite it as “Tempus abeo” or similar. The infinitive abire is what makes the phrase work.
Questions about “Tempus abire tibi est”
What does “Tempus abire tibi est” mean literally?
Literally “time to go away is for you”. In natural English it means “it is time for you to go”.
Who said “Tempus abire tibi est”?
The Roman poet Horace wrote it in his Epistles (2.2.215), in a letter to Julius Florus.
How do you pronounce “Tempus abire tibi est”?
In Classical Latin it is TEM-poos ah-BEE-reh TIH-bee est. In Church Latin the only real change is TEE-bee for tibi.
Is “Tempus abire tibi est” correct Latin for a tattoo?
Yes. It is the original line as Horace wrote it and the grammar is sound. If you want it to address several people, change tibi to vobis.
More to explore
Translation and grammar checked by Latin Quoter · last reviewed November 2026
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