Carpe Diem?

Simon Hollister, a secret-service Un-man, spying on Venus, marries there. He thinks:

"Carpe diem. If he ever pulled out of this mess, he'd just have to pull her out with him..."
-Poul Anderson, "The Big Rain" IN Anderson, The Psychotechnic League (New York, 1981), pp. 201-280 AT p. 236.

These two statements are at variance. "Carpe diem" means "seize the day" whereas "...pull her out with him..." implies a longer term commitment to another person. While I approve of this latter attitude, it is not that of every undercover man. In Britain recently, undercover policemen infiltrated dissident groups, started relationships with women members and even had children with them. The women felt betrayed when the truth came out.