Define Epicureanism and explain how Horace's poetry fits into the general philosophy. You must cite / close read the Latin of no less than five poems by Horace. 8 pages.
Epicureanism was founded around 307 BC and it is a philosophy based on the beliefs of Epicuris. He was a follower of Democritis. Democritis was an atomic materialist, which means that he believed that all things were made from matter. Therefore, he believed there is no God, gods, or spirits. He did not believe in superstition or divine intervention. Atomic materialism is the antithesis of idealism. Epicureans believe that the way to experience true happiness and achieve the greatest food is to seek modest pleasure which would five them peace of mind and to learn about how the world works and the limits of human desires. They believe in living every moment of their lives to the fullest and they believe in deriving as much pleasure as they possibly can out of each of those moments. They did not believe in thinking about consequences or what the future may bring. Epicureanism is often mistaken for hedonism. They are related, both proclaim that pleasure is the only intrinsic good, but Epicureans believe that being without bodily pain is the greatest pleasure and they support a simple lifestyle. Hedonists are the more materialistically indulgent of the two groups.
Horace was an Epicurean. He makes this evident throughout much of his poetry. Horace’s 1.1 illustrates the Epicurean belief that pleasure is the greatest good a person can have. He begins the poem by thanking Maecenas. Maecenas has, in many ways, enabled Horace to be a poet because Maecenas is his patron. Lyric poetry brings Horace much pleasure, so he dedicated his book of lyric poetry to the man who enables him to write it.
The rest of that poem was about other people finding pleasure in what they do. After the dedicated to Maecenas he writes about Charioteers and their spectators. “Sunt, quos curriclo pulverem Olympicum collegisse iuvat metaque fervidus evitata rotis palmaque nobilis terrarium dominos evehit ad deos.” This means “there are some that delight in racing chariots and avoiding burning wheels at the turning point in the Olympian dust and the noble palm lifts up the lords of the earth to the gods.” He is saying that the charioteers enjoy the glory of the racing and the challenge that the race brings. They have to avoid the spikes that are in the other racers’ wheels. The people watching derive pleasure from watching the racers. It makes them feel distinguished and noble, almost as though they are gods.
Later in the poem (Lines 15-18), Horace illustrates the Epicurean belief that people should be free of pain. He writes of a merchant who came home early with broken rafts because fighting the Africans was bringing him too much pain. He came home in order to get as much pleasure out of his life as possible instead of waiting until he beat the Africans to have pleasure in life.
The last thing that Horace writes about in this poem is his own love of writing poetry. He writes “Me doctarum hederare praemia frontium dis miscent superis, me geldum nemus” which menas “the rewards of being a doctor of ivy, mixes my brow with the higher gods.” He is saying that he revels in the rewards he gets from writing poetry. He feels distinguished just by this simple occupation. He feels as though he is one of the gods. The simplicity of his pleasure is a major belief in the Epicurean philosophy.
Ode 1.5 is about how Horace avoided the pain of heartbreak through pursuing a girl, Pyrrha, who was already involved with another man. He writes that he has saved Pyrrha from “shipwrecking” as in her relationship with the other man was a shipwreck and Horace was truly the right choice. This relates to Epicureanism in that Horace avoided pain through winning Pyrrha, therefore bringing himself pleasure.
Horace’s Ode 1.22 is a love poem to Lalage. He tells her that his love for her is invulnerable. This poem also follows the Epicurean belief in simple pleasures. “Integer vitae scelerisque purus non eget Mauris iaculis neque arcu, nec venetatis gravida sagittis, Fusce, pharetra.” He says that he does not need deadly weapons in order to have a full and pleasurable life. He is not afraid of death. He writes of traveling to different place, but only wanting to be with love, Lalage. Horace finds simple pleasures through laying in an empty field, many people would view this as a waste of time because he is not being productive, but were humans really put on the earth to constantly be productive? No one really knows why humans were put on earth, but Horace chooses to spend the time that he has earth lying in fields, thinking about his love and his poetry.
Ode 1.37 addresses another major Epicurean belief. They do not believe in an afterlife, so there is no need to fear death. Cleopatra did not fear death after her troops failed. “ausa et iacentem viscere regiam voltu sereno, fortis et asperas tractare serpents, ut atrum corpore combiberet venenum”. Cleopatra committed suicide, which was considered an honorable death. She was serene and unafraid of the snakes that bit her. The Latin says that her body drank the serpent’s venom. Also in this ode, Horace writes of how Cleopatra became drunk off of cheap wine after she knew that her troops would lose. In a sense it is in keeping with Epicurean beliefs, but it also differs. It brought pleasure to Cleopatra to become drunk, but it was overindulgence on her part which is against Epicurean beliefs of seeking simple pleasures. She had to change her state of mind in order to receive pleasure out of the situation. Epicureans also do not drink cheap wines. They believe in drinking the best because there may not be a tomorrow so there is no point in saving wine for a special occasion; everyday is a special occasion.
Horace’s Ode 1.11 encapsulates the philosophy of Epicureanism with two words, “carpe diem”, meaning “seize the day”. Of course, in the poem he says, “carpe diem”, in order to persuade Leuconae to have sex with him. The entire line is “Carpe diem, quam minimum crodula poster”, meaning “Seize the day, putting as little trust as possible in tomorrow.” He said it to give her a new perspective on the situation. He did not want her to refuse him because for fear of what others may think. He told her to do what she could do today, because there may not be a tomorrow. He teaches to live every day as though it was the last. “Carpe diem” has become one of the most famous quotes in the world and it can be applied to most people. Horace taught people to look at the world in a different way. Instead of worrying about the future or feeling like they have some debt they have to pay today in order to have pleasure tomorrow he teaches that love and pleasure should be found in everyday occurrences. He teaches that human relationships should always take priority over work or business.
The first thing Horace says in the poem is “tu ne quaesieris (scire nefas), quem mihi, quem tibi finem di diderint, Leuconoe, nec Babylonios temptaris numerous”. That means that Leuconae should not worry about the future for that would be sacrilege because only the gods know what the future hold. Horace is saying that what is meant to be will happen, so it is a waste of time to worry about will happen since it is going to happen anyways.
In order to drive that point home, Horace uses two examples. “Seu pluris hiemes, seu tribuit Iuppiter ultimam, quae nunc oppositis debilitat pumicibus mare Tyrrhenum,” The first example is Jupiter can allow for many more winters or she can allow for the current one to be the last one, either way humans have no effect on it and it is just up to the god’s whims. He says that to Leuconae because he does not want her to fear the god’s wrath. He is basically telling her that the gods could care less about what she does. The second example is one pumice stone damaging the Tyrrhenian Sea, instead of the sea damaging the stone. The stone obviously cannot damage a sea too much. Horace uses that example to illustrate that Leuconae is just one person and there thousands more people the gods worry about. Her actions cannot damage everyone because she is the pumice stone and the rest of the world (including the gods) is the sea.
He also says earlier, “dum loquimur, fugerit invida aetas”, meaning “while we talk, jealous time flees.” He is saying that she should not hesitate or waste time that she could be spending with Horace hesitating. This philosophy has survived through the ages. Hootie and the Blowfish’s “Time” is an example of this. “Time, you left me standing there; Like a tree growing all alone” says that wasting time doing things that are not truly important, such as nurturing relationships with other people or challenging popular (possibly misguided) beliefs will only lead to loneliness. The next lines in the song are “The wind just stripped me bare, stripped me bare; Time, the past has come and gone; The futures far away; Now only lasts for one second, one second.” That supports Horace’s Epicurean belief of living in the moment. The reason Horace told Leuconae that time is fleeting is because he knew that if she thought about the consequences of her actions she would never have sex with him. Horace challenges Leuconae to think for herself, to do what she thinks is right or what she wants to do regardless of what others think.
Horace has given the world a true gift through his words. The philosophy of “carpe diem” has survived the ages and continues to inspire people today. People embrace those words and apply them to their lives. Without those thoughts there may have never been the works of Picasso, Warhol, and da Vinci. Those artists would have been too busy worrying about what other people think to dare to create something original, they would have wasted their time hesitating.
