Literally, "Art is long, life is short."
This saying is a
Latin translation of an
aphorism by the
Greek philosopher
Hippocrates. The "art" Hippocrates was referring to was
medicine, so originally the saying had the meaning "The Art(of medicine) takes long to learn, the life (of the patient and the doctor) is short."
Geoffrey Chaucer translated this saying into English in his work
The Parliament of Fowles:
That lyf so short, that craft so long to lerne
Th'assay so hard, so sharpe the conquerynge.
The first line of Chaucer's translation later became the
motto of the magazine
The Craftsman, published around the turn of the 20th century by
Gustav Stickley. Since then, it has become a popular saying among followers of the
American Arts and Crafts movement. It can be found
engraved into various pieces of furniture (chairs, tables, etc.), on posters,
cross stitches, etc.