Traduko - Latina lingvo-Angla - Vitae summa brevis spem nos vetat incohare longam

I'm lost here!

Could you explain in other words this line, please?

Yes, another try: "The brevity of life forbids us to entertain hopes of long duration". You know Lilian ...this is a poem by Ernest Dowson, that I found here.

My knowledge of Latin is so to say "not good"

Those poets like to make things difficult for us, ordinary mortal beings!

Ernest Dowson! Probably the right translation... Thank you

They are not long, the weeping and the laughter,
Love and desire and hate
I think they have no portion in us after
We pass the gate

They are not long the days of wine and roses:
Out of a misty dream
Our path emerges for a while, then closes
Within a dream

So I believe that "the brevity of life forbids us to entertain hopes of long duration" is quite close. For my part, being French I wrote: La vie est courte et ne permet pas de nourrir des longues espérances.
Thank you for your help.

Good if you are happy with the "result" Najatte.

Yes Lilian...they (poets) know how to complicate things.

So ...shall I edit to "The brevity of life forbids us to entertain hopes of long duration"?

If that is the "official" translation let's keep it.

The original is from Horace´s Carmina (I, IV, 15: Vitae summa brevis spem nos vetat incohare longam. )

Thanks Pirulito... do you agree with the translation ?

Hm ...I can't understand the poem in Latin, but you are kind pirulito...always give a lot of input to the translations. Maybe Lilian or Najatte reads Latin.

Lilian ...I don't know if that is the "official" translation, but I think so. At least that is how Ernest Dowson interpret that Latin "line".

A third interpretation here.

by the way I browsed on Gutenberg.org (Horace) and found:
How should a mortal's hopes be long, when short his being's date ?
by John Conington, M.A. Oxford University

With all due respect: the latin text was not a question.

Thanks to you all... for your help. I'm quite satisfied with the result and I might read a few more lines by Horace, or at least try to.