Horace 1.11

Si carpe diem,

sapis et patis quicquid

Jovis tribuet

If you seize the day,

you are wise and you endure whatever

Jupiter assigns

Epicurean in Children's Books

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
In this story the mouse can never get enough. Once he gets a cookie he wants milk, then a straw, then a napkin, and so on. This shows Epicurean philosophy because the mouse is being greedy. Epicurean philosophy says that you will never find pleasure if you are greedy. The mouse just wanted more and more so he was never happy. He was never content at the end of the day because he still wanted more.

It's Mine
In this story there are three frogs and they are always fighting. They never want to share, saying things like "The air is mine!" and "The earth is mine!" They eventually learn their lesson when a huge storm comes and their only way to survive is if they share a rock together. From then on they enjoy their home together. This also shows Epicurean philosophy because the frogs are greedy. They will not share with each other, but this story takes it a little farther in showing what happens when they do share. The frogs realize that they are way happier when they are not being greedy and they get to take part in the pleasures of life together.

Cookies
In this story Toad makes really good cookies and brings them over to his friend Frog's house. They ate the cookies greedily, but then Frog realized that they should stop because they would soon be sick. In the end Frog gives the rest of the cookies to the birds so that Toad and him would not eat any more. This story shows Epicurean philosophy because it shows that too much pleasure could cause displeasure. If they were to keep eating the cookies they would soon be sick and they needed the willpower to stop and be content with what they had already eaten.

Epicurus and Horace 1.9

Horace's poem is a lot like what Epicurus believed. The poem was all about pleasure; the pleasure of being warm, of drinking, and of childhood fun. Horace told his friend not to think about the future because this would make him unhappy, he should live his life to the fullest. The pleasures in this poem were simple pleasures, which the person Horace was talking to should not take too much a part in. If he did it would lead to dissatisfaction later. Horace told this man to take part in all these pleasures and according to Epicurus it would make him happy.